Election of the WHO Director-General 2027
Prospective Candidates
Dr Hanan Mohamed Al-Kuwari
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by State of Qatar
Dr Hanan Balkhy
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by Kingdom of Saudi Arabia
Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by Kingdom of Belgium
Dr María P. Neira
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by Spain
Mr Budi Gunadi Sadikin
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by Republic of Indonesia
Dr Song Li
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by People’s Republic of China
Dr Gevorg Tamamyan
WHO Director-General elections 2027
Proposed by Republic of Botswana
Countries and Potential Votes by WHO Region
Frequently Asked Questions
Election stories
Selecting the Next WHO Director-General: Learning from Predecessors (Part I)
The World Health Assembly chooses a new chief for the World Health Organization in May 2027. Before judging the candidates, ...
10/10/2026
BREAKING: China Confirms Song Li’s WHO Leadership Bid, Reshuffling Race Amidst Fraught Multilateral Landscape
Beijing confirmed the nomination of National Health Commission official Dr Song Li for WHO Director-General on Thursday (8 October). The ...
08/10/2026
EXCLUSIVE: One Doctor, Eight Billion Patients: After Stepping Back from the WHO Race, What I Stand For in the AI Society – Jiho Cha’s Story
I sought to lead the World Health Organization (WHO) because the rules of intelligence are becoming the rules of health. ...
More election stories
With support from the Global Health Centre of the Geneva Graduate Institute