The World Health Organization said Friday that its director-general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is running unopposed for a second five-year term.
The U.N. health agency made the announcement after the deadline for candidacies for the next term expired on Sept. 23. The formal selection of the next director-general takes place at the WHO s next assembly in May.
Tedros, an Ethiopian national who is the first African to head WHO, has overseen the agency's complex response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which has overshadowed his tenure. Trained in biology and infectious diseases with a doctorate in community health, he is also the first WHO chief who is not a medical doctor.
A former health and foreign minister from Ethiopia, Tedros — who goes by his first name — received a strong endorsement when France and Germany announced their support for him shortly after the nomination period closed.
