WHO nominates Dr Jong Wook Lee as next Director-General

This article is more than 22 years old.

Dr Jong Wook Lee, the South Korean head of WHO's Stop TB Campaign, is to succeed Gro Harlem Brundtland as Director-General of the World Health Organization when she steps down in July. The BBC reports here that he won by a 17-15 margin over Dr Peter Piot, the head of UNAIDS.

Following Dr Lee's nomination by the 32-member Executive Board, the final decision will be taken by the 192 member governments represented at the World Health Assembly due to be held in Geneva, 19-28 May.

A news release setting out Dr Lee's background is available on WHO's website here.

Glossary

UNAIDS

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) brings together the resources of ten United Nations organisations in response to HIV and AIDS.

A manifesto setting out Dr Lee's vision for the organisation is available as a PDF file here.