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The next Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) will be one of seven people whose names are now public.
WHO released the list on 29 October 2026 in a note for media issued from Geneva.
Nobody has been chosen yet.
The appointment comes in May 2027, and the new Director-General takes office on 16 August 2027.
Who are the seven candidates?
Member States, the countries that belong to WHO, proposed all seven.
They are Dr Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, Dr Hanan Balkhy, Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, Dr María P. Neira, Mr Budi Gunadi Sadikin, Dr Li Song and Dr Gevorg Tamamyan.
WHO's note gives names only.
It says each candidate's CV is posted on the WHO website in Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish, the organisation's six official languages.
Seven names, but not seven finalists
The list will get shorter.
In early 2027, at its 160th session, WHO's Executive Board will decide on a shortlist of five candidates.
Board members will interview those five and nominate up to three to go forward. So at least four of today's seven will not reach the final stage.
Who decides?
Two bodies share the work.
