Seven candidates have been proposed by Member States of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the position of WHO Director-General.
According to WHO, The candidates Dr. Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, Dr. Hanan Balkhy, Dr. Hans Henri P. Kluge, Dr. María P. Neira, Mr. Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Dr. Li Song and Dr. Gevorg Tamamyan will engage with Member States and Associate Members on 18–19 November 2026 at the first candidates’ forum at WHO Headquarters in Geneva.
The forum will be publicly webcast on the WHO website in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish. The World Health Assembly is the decision-making body of WHO. The Executive Board is composed of 34 technically qualified members elected for 3-year terms.
The current head of the World Health Organization (WHO) is Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. His second and final five-year term concludes on 15 August 2027
At its 160th session in early 2027, the WHO’s Executive Board will decide on a shortlist of five candidates. Executive Board members will then interview these candidates and nominate up to three to go forward for consideration by the World Health Assembly.
A second candidates’ forum with candidates nominated by the Executive Board will take place on 15 March 2027 and will also be publicly available on the WHO website in all official languages.
At its 80th session in May 2027, the World Health Assembly will appoint the new Director-General. The new Director-General will take office on 16 August 2027.
