Next WHO director-general could be Hans Kluge, the World Health Organization’s regional director for Europe, who has announced his candidacy to succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge began his second term as WHO Regional Director for Europe on 1 February 2025, following his unanimous renomination by the WHO Regional Committee for Europe and reappointment by the WHO Executive Board.
Dr Kluge has over 30 years of experience in medical practice and public health around the world. Having qualified in medicine, surgery and obstetrics from the Catholic University of Leuven in 1994, and tropical medicine from the Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp in 1995, he began his career as a family doctor in Belgium.
The Belgian physician has led the WHO Regional Office for Europe, based in Copenhagen, since 2020. His announcement confirms long-standing speculation that he would seek to succeed Tedros, whose second and final term as WHO director-general expires in August 2027.
