Belgian physician Hans Henri P. Kluge, who began his medical career in Belgium before working in challenging settings from Siberia to Africa and later leading the WHO’s EU response to the COVID pandemic, is now formally in the race to become the organization’s next Director-General. Belgium officially nominated Kluge to succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

Kluge announced the nomination on August 21, 2026, and said he would take special leave from his position as WHO Regional Director for Europe during the candidacy process.

The election will be conducted at the World Health Assembly in May of 2027. Member States have submitted nominations until September 24, 2026. The WHO Executive Board will then assess the candidates and nominate up to three candidates for consideration by the World Health Assembly, which will elect the next Director-General.

Kluge’s career is distinguished by his extensive field experience. Rather than following a conventional path through academic medicine and international administration, he worked in challenging healthcare environments before taking on leadership roles.

A physician by training, Kluge began his career as a family doctor in Belgium. His international work with Médecins Sans Frontières included assignments in Liberia and Somalia, followed by coordinating tuberculosis programs in prisons in Siberia and advising on tuberculosis programs across the former Soviet Union. He later held positions with the WHO in the Russian Federation and Myanmar and worked as a consultant on tuberculosis in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Thailand.

This field experience is particularly relevant to healthcare professionals working in resource-limited, crisis, and high-pressure settings. His career gave him firsthand experience in providing care and managing public health programs where healthcare systems faced severe constraints.

Kluge became the WHO Regional Director for Europe in February 2020, just as the COVID pandemic was beginning to place unprecedented pressure on healthcare systems across the region. The WHO EU Region comprises 53 Member States and extends beyond the EU to Central Asia.

He was unanimously renominated by 53 Member States of the EU Region in October 2024 and formally reappointed by the WHO Executive Board in February 2025 for a second 5-year term.

His first term began with the COVID pandemic. Kluge was at the forefront of the regional health response, working with health ministers from 53 countries with diverse healthcare systems and political contexts. Managing the crisis under intense media scrutiny evaluated his skills in international coordination, public health communication, and decision-making under the uncertainty and challenges familiar to physicians responding to outbreaks.

The position of the WHO Director-General is far more than symbolic. The Director-General leads the organization’s global health agenda, sets priorities for research and funding, and works with governments, pharmaceutical companies, and nongovernmental organizations. This role requires diplomatic, scientific, communication, and crisis-management skills.

The selection comes at a critical time for global health governance, following criticism of the WHO during the COVID ​pandemic, renewed doubts about international health cooperation, and the US’ announced withdrawal under the Trump administration. The WHO needs a leader capable of restoring trust, bringing Member States with differing interests together, and strengthening the organization’s scientific credibility.

Kluge also brings a distinctive advantage: He speaks five languages. This is an asset for an organization with a global public health mandate.

Belgium’s nomination formally put Kluge in race, but the selection process is still in its initial stages. Other Member States can nominate candidates. The process will then include hearings before the WHO Executive Board, diplomatic negotiations, and a final vote by the World Health Assembly.

For the medical and healthcare communities, this election is more than a matter of international diplomacy. The next Director-General will help shape global health priorities for years to come, including pandemic preparedness, vaccination, mental health, chronic diseases, antimicrobial resistance, and health system resilience.

This story was translated​ from MediQuality, part of the Medscape Professional Network.