Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus re-elected as WHO Director-General

WHO DG: Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was re-elected as WHO Director-General for a second five-year term on May 24, 2022 by WHO Member states during the 75th World Health Assembly. He was the sole candidate for the post of WHO Chief. He was first elected to the position in 2017. 

The re-election vote brings an end to the election process that began in April 2021 when the Member States were invited to submit proposals for candidates for the post of Director-General. The WHO Executive Board had nominated Dr. Tedros for a second term in a meeting in January 2022.

Speaking after his re-election, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “I am humbled by the opportunity provided by the Member States to serve a second term as WHO Director-General. This honour, though, comes with great responsibility and I am committed to working with all countries, my colleagues around the world, and our valued partners, to ensure WHO delivers on its mission to promote health, keep the world safe and serve the vulnerable.”

The WHO Director General's new term will officially begin from August 16, 2022. 

“Heartfelt congratulations to my brother @DrTedros for your re-election as @WHO Director-General. We @WHOEMRO look forward to working ‘together for a healthier world’, benefiting from your wisdom & leadership at this critical time.”

Dr Ahmed Al-Mandhari#HealthForAll_ByAll pic.twitter.com/udsDNROsnl

— WHO EMRO (@WHOEMRO) May 24, 2022

READ ALSO: Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus becomes first African to be elected as WHO Director-General

Dr Tedros’s First Term

• During his first term as WHO Director-General, Dr. Tedros instituted a wide-ranging Transformation of the World Health Organisation that was aimed at increasing its efficiency driving impact at the country level to promote healthier lives, protect more people in case of emergencies and increase equitable access to health facilities. 
• His first term saw the biggest health emergency in over a century when the COVID-19 outbreak brought the world to a halt. He played a major role in steering WHO’s efforts to coordinate a tumultuous global response to the pandemic, which is one of the worst crisis the world has seen since World War II.
• He has also played a major role in guiding WHO's response to other outbreaks including Ebola in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and the health impacts of multiple other humanitarian crises including the current invasion of Ukraine by Russia.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus: 5 Top Facts

1. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is a former Ethiopian biologist. He had become the first African to take over as the WHO Chief in 2017. 

2. He served as the Foreign Minister of Ethiopia from 2012-2016 and as the health Minister from 2005-2012. 

3. He was a former top official in the Tigray People's Liberation Front. 

4. He had also served as the chair of the Board of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

5. He had also served as the 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.

First Candidate Not Nominated by Home Country

Dr. Tedros was the sole candidate for the post of WHO Chief before the final deadline of submissions on September 23rd. He was nominated for the second term by France and Germany along with other European Union nations and not his home country Ethiopia. 

Generally, the candidates for the top post are nominated by their home countries but there is no compulsion as any WHO member state can back any candidate. Ethiopia had reportedly withdrawn its support from him over the conflict in his home region of Tigray. The WHO Chief has been quite outspoken about the killings and other human rights abuses in the Tigray region, which has not gone down well with the Ethiopian government led by Nobel Peace Prize-winning Prime Minister, Abiy Ahmed.

READ ALSO: WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus nominated for second term by France, Germany