Ekeomah Atuonwu
The World Health Organization (WHO) Member States re-elected Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to a second five-year term as Director-General of the world’s leading public health agency on Tuesday.
The election was the culmination of a process that began in April 2021, when Member States were invited to submit proposals for candidates for the position of Director-General. Dr Tedros was nominated for a second term by the WHO Executive Board in January of this year.
His re-election was met with applause from ministers and others at the Geneva Assembly. According to news reports, he received 155 votes out of 160 cast, but he did not receive support in his home country of Ethiopia due to opposing views on the Tigray conflict.
The new mandate of the WHO Director-General takes effect on August 16. According to World Health Assembly rules and procedures, a Director-General may be reappointed only once.
Prior to his appointment as WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros served as Ethiopia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs from 2012 to 2016, and as Minister of Health from 2005 to 2012.
He had also served as chair of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria; as chair of the Roll Back Malaria (RBM) Partnership Board; and as co-chair of the Board of the Partnership for Maternal, Newborn and Child Health.
