Senior official nominated to be next chief of UN health agency

A senior official from the World Health Organization (WHO) was nominated today to be the next chief of the United Nations agency.

The WHO Executive Board, which represents 32 nations, selected Dr. Jong Wook Lee from a shortlist of five after it heard oral presentations yesterday of each candidates’ vision of the future priorities and challenges for the Organization and questioned the applicants.

His nomination will be submitted for approval to the fifty-sixth World Health Assembly, scheduled to meet in Geneva from 19 to 28 May. If approved, Dr. Lee will succeed Director-General Gro Harlem Brundtland as WHO’s chief technical and administrative officer and policymaker and begin his five-year term on 21 July.

A native of the Republic of Korea, Dr. Lee has worked at WHO for 19 years in technical, managerial and policy positions, notably leading the fight against two of the greatest challenges to health and development: tuberculosis and vaccine preventable diseases of children.

After heading the WHO Global Programme for Vaccines and Immunizations and serving as a Senior Policy Advisor, in 2000 he became Director of the Stop TB programme, a coalition of more than 250 international partners, including WHO Member States, donors, non-governmental organizations, industry and foundations.