The director-general of the World Health Organization is the

chief executive officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

of the

World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a list of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations which coordinates responses to international public health issues and emergencies. It is headquartered in Gen ...

(WHO) and the principal advisor to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

on matters pertaining to global health. The director general is elected by and answers to the

World Health Assembly The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the forum through which the World Health Organization (WHO) is governed by its 194 World Health Organization#Membership, member states. It is the world's highest health policy setting body and is composed of h ...

(WHA). The current director-general is

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (, sometimes spelled ; born 3 March 1965) is an Ethiopian public health official, researcher, diplomat, and the DGWHO, Director-General of the World Health Organization since 2017. He is the first African to become W ...

, who was appointed on 1 July 2017, and re-appointed on 24 May 2022. The director-general also leads the World Health Organization Secretariat and is also the ''

ex officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, or council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term '' ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by r ...

'' secretary of the

, the World Health Organization Executive Board, and of all commissions and committees, and conferences convened by the organization. __TOC__

Selection process

Candidates for director-general can be proposed by Member States, then nominated by the executive board and appointed by the

. The appointment process begins more than one year prior to the May vote, when the World Health Organization sends out a letter informing Member States that the nomination process has begun. The nomination period ends in mid-September, and candidates are announced at the end of October. If there are multiple candidates, the executive board of the World Health Organization – a panel of members from 34 member countries representing the various World Health Organization regions – interviews the nominees. The term of the director-general lasts for five years. A director-general can be re-appointed only once. The director-general is typically appointed in May, when the World Health Assembly meets.

List of directors-general of the World Health Organization

References

{{WHO Directors-General World Health Organization Public health