Election of the WHO Director-General
April 2021 - May 2022
The Director-General is WHO’s chief technical and administrative officer.
The appointment of the next WHO Director-General took place at the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly in May 2022.
Process and timelines
The election process began in April 2021 when Member States were invited to submit proposals for candidates for the post of Director-General. The deadline to submit proposals closed on 23 September 2021.
Information on proposals as received from Member States was published on 29 October 2021 and is available here.
Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was proposed as a candidate by several Member States, and was the only candidate proposed. The Executive Board at its 150th session in January 2022 nominated Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus for the post of Director-General of WHO. The nomination was considered by the Seventy-fifth World Health Assembly in May 2022 and Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was appointed as the Director-General by secret ballot.
A Director-General can be re-appointed once.
Relevant documentation related to the election process is available here.
