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World

Fifth candidate enters race to lead WHO as nominations close

Five candidates — from Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Spain and Indonesia — will contest the WHO's top job after the nomination deadline closed on 24 September, with a shortlist due in January 2027.

By Sarah Whitfield · · 1 min read

A fifth candidate has entered the race to lead the World Health Organization, the agency’s website showed as the deadline for nominees closed overnight, Reuters reported on Friday 25 September 2026.

Candidates from five countries have submitted applications to replace Ethiopia’s Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as Director-General. They are Qatar’s Hanan Mohammed Al-Kuwari, Saudi Arabia’s Hanan Balkhy, Belgium’s Hans Kluge, Spain’s Maria Neira and Indonesia’s Budi Gunadi Sadikin.

Al-Kuwari is a former health minister; Balkhy is a physician who heads the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean office; Kluge is a physician and the WHO’s regional director for Europe; Neira is a physician and epidemiologist and a former WHO director; Budi is Indonesia’s health minister — roles corroborated by Health Policy Watch’s candidate tracking.

A candidates’ forum will take place in November — the WHO’s official timeline sets the first forum for 18 November 2026 — and the Executive Board will shortlist up to three of the candidates at its 160th session in January 2027.

Tedros has led the agency since 2017, steering it through the COVID-19 pandemic, Ebola epidemics and an mpox outbreak. During his tenure, then top donor Washington ordered an exit in 2025, with US President Donald Trump accusing the WHO of mishandling COVID — a claim the agency denies. (Reporting by Emma Farge, Reuters; editing by Kirsti Knolle.)

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