World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will not run to become the next secretary general of the United Nations in New York and instead campaign for a woman to fill the role.
(Bloomberg) — World Health Organization head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus will not run to become the next secretary general of the United Nations in New York and instead campaign for a woman to fill the role.
“Absolutely not — it’s actually embarrassing that we don’t have a female secretary general,” Tedros said in an interview with Bloomberg News when asked about his ambitions. “So far we’ve had nine secretary generals and not a single female. Why?”
Tedros said another reason he won’t run is because since he became Ethiopia’s minister of health in 2005 he has continuously worked weekends and barely taken any holiday. Due to the strains placed on the WHO over the course of the Covid-19 pandemic he has taken just 24 days of holiday in six years and wants to spend more time with family.
Tedros of late has received growing calls for him to replace António Guterres, the current secretary general of the UN, who is due to step down from his position in December 2026, according to people familiar with the situation.
WHO members re-elected Tedros to serve a second five-year term as director-general of the world’s leading public health agency in May 2022. His appointment came despite efforts by Ethiopia to derail his candidacy due to his alleged support for the Tigray People’s Liberation Front, which was at war with the government at the time.
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