The candidates, announced by the WHO on October 29, are Dr Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, Dr Hanan Balkhy, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, Dr María P. Neira, Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Dr Li Song and Dr Gevorg Tamamyan.
They will take part in the first candidates’ forum on November 18 and 19, 2026, at WHO headquarters in Geneva. The event will allow candidates to present their vision and respond to questions from member states and associate members. It will be broadcast publicly on the WHO website in the organization’s six official languages.
The selection process will continue in early 2027, when the WHO Executive Board is due to draw up a shortlist of five candidates at its 160th session. Board members will interview those shortlisted and nominate up to three candidates for consideration by the World Health Assembly.
A second public forum, featuring the candidates nominated by the Executive Board, is scheduled for March 15, 2027.
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The final appointment will be made by the World Health Assembly at its 80th session in May 2027. The person selected will take office on August 16, 2027.
Who are the candidates?
The seven nominees include current and former health officials from several WHO regions. Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari is Qatar’s former minister of public health, while Hanan Balkhy is the WHO’s Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
Hans Henri P. Kluge heads the WHO Regional Office for Europe. María P. Neira is a senior WHO official who has led its work on environment, climate change and health. Budi Gunadi Sadikin is Indonesia’s health minister, Li Song is China’s ambassador and permanent representative to the United Nations Office at Geneva, and Gevorg Tamamyan is an Armenian pediatric oncologist.
