Former health ministers, serving WHO regional directors and senior health-policy officials have entered the race to succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the agency confronts acute financial and geopolitical pressures.
The contest to lead the World Health Organization (WHO) from August 2027 has taken shape, with member states nominating seven candidates for the top post at the United Nations’ health agency.
The field includes two serving WHO regional directors, a former Qatari health minister, Indonesia’s current health minister, a Spanish physician and senior WHO official, a Chinese health-policy administrator, and an Armenian cancer specialist nominated by Botswana.
The WHO announced the candidates on October 29.
The contest will help determine the agency’s direction at a time of mounting pressure over global health financing, pandemic preparedness, access to care and international cooperation.
The nominees are Dr Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari of Qatar, Dr Hanan Balkhy of Saudi Arabia, Dr Hans Henri P Kluge of Belgium, Dr María P Neira of Spain, Budi Gunadi Sadikin of Indonesia, Dr Li Song of China, and Dr Gevorg Tamamyan, nominated by Botswana.
However, Dr Hanan Balkhy, WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean, and Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe, have both temporarily stepped away from their regional duties while campaigning for the director-general position.
The next director-general will succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose second term ends on August 15, 2027.
The successor will assume office the following day.
Seven candidates, seven distinct profiles
Dr Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari (Qatar) brings extensive experience in health-system management and public administration.
She served as Qatar’s minister of public health from 2016 to 2024 and led Hamad Medical Corporation, the country’s largest public healthcare provider, from 2007 to 2024.
She holds a PhD in healthcare management from Brunel University in the United Kingdom and has served on the WHO Executive Board, chairing it in 2023–24.
After leaving the ministry, she became an adviser to Qatar’s prime minister on public health affairs.
Her candidacy draws on experience managing a national health system and engaging with international health governance.
Dr Hanan Balkhy (Saudi Arabia) has been WHO regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean since February 2024.
A paediatrician specialising in infectious diseases, she previously served as WHO assistant director-general for antimicrobial resistance from 2019 to 2024.
Her expertise spans infection prevention, antimicrobial resistance and public health emergencies.
Her current position gives her direct oversight of WHO operations in a region marked by conflict, humanitarian crises and persistent health-system fragility.
Dr Hans Henri P Kluge (Belgium) has served as WHO regional director for Europe since 2020.
A family physician with more than three decades of experience in public health and international health programmes, he previously worked with Médecins Sans Frontières and on WHO initiatives addressing tuberculosis and HIV.
From 2009 to 2020, he headed the Division of Health Systems and Public Health at WHO Europe.
He guided the region through the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent public health emergencies, giving him extensive institutional experience.
Dr María P Neira (Spain) is a physician and senior WHO official whose work has centred on environmental health, climate change and public health policy.
She has served as director of WHO’s work on environment, climate change and health, and previously held senior public health positions in Spain, including vice-minister of health and consumer affairs.
Her career also includes humanitarian field service with Médecins Sans Frontières.
She is closely associated with climate-related health risks, pollution and the environmental determinants of disease.
Budi Gunadi Sadikin (Indonesia) has been Indonesia’s health minister since December 2020.
Unlike most of his rivals, he does not have a clinical medical background.
A former banker and corporate executive, he has been closely involved in Indonesia’s Covid-19 response and national vaccination programme, as well as healthcare financing and health-system reform.
His candidacy offers a managerial and economic perspective as the WHO faces pressure to secure its financial sustainability.
Dr Li Song (China) is a senior public health official with extensive experience in health administration and policy.
She previously headed the women and children’s health department of China’s National Health Commission and has worked on maternal and child health policy and international cooperation.
Her career includes involvement in China’s responses to major public health emergencies, including SARS and Covid-19.
She currently serves as a secretary of the secretariat of the All-China Women’s Federation.
Her nomination comes as Beijing seeks a larger role in multilateral institutions and global health governance.
Dr Gevorg Tamamyan (nominated by Botswana) is an Armenian paediatric oncologist, professor and medical researcher specialising in cancer and blood disorders.
He leads the Pediatric Cancer and Blood Disorders Center of Armenia and heads the Department of Pediatric Oncology and Hematology at Yerevan State Medical University.
He has also held leadership roles in international paediatric oncology.
His nomination by Botswana is notable because he is not a national of the country proposing him.
WHO rules allow a member state to nominate a candidate who is not its citizen.
His clinical background brings a focus on cancer care and access to health services to a field otherwise dominated by senior administrators and government officials.
A consequential contest
The election arrives at a difficult moment for the WHO, which faces financial constraints, declining international health spending and questions over how it can sustain its global programmes while responding to emergencies.
The withdrawal of the United States from the agency, together with a broader contraction in global health financing, has deepened concerns about its future.
The next director-general will be expected to stabilise the organisation’s finances, preserve cooperation among member states and strengthen its credibility in global health decision-making.
The candidates’ backgrounds point to differing priorities, from health-system management and emergency response to climate and environmental health, financing and clinical care.
The nominations alone, however, do not reveal a clear frontrunner.
The outcome will depend on diplomatic engagement and the support each candidate can secure among member states through the formal election process.
How the election will proceed
November 18–19, 2026: The seven candidates will participate in the first candidates’ forum at WHO Headquarters in Geneva, engaging member states and associate members. The forum will be publicly webcast in the organisation’s six official languages.
January 2027: At its 160th session, the WHO Executive Board will shortlist five candidates, interview them and nominate up to three for consideration by the World Health Assembly.
March 15, 2027: A second candidates’ forum will be held for those nominated by the Executive Board.
May 2027: The World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decision-making body comprising delegations from all member states, will appoint the new director-general at its 80th session.