Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus was nominated by the Government of Ethiopia, and will begin his five-year term on 1 July 2017,” WHO said in a statement following the afternoon vote. A former health minister from Ethiopia, Tedros, who goes by his first name, will take over an organization that has been struggling to find funding and exert the political governance needed to address the world’s biggest health problems, NPR reports. As Minister of Health, Ethiopia, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus led a comprehensive reform effort of the country's health system, including the expansion of the country’s health infrastructure, creating 3500 health centres and 16 000 health posts; expanded the health workforce by 38 000 health extension workers; and initiated financing mechanisms to expand health insurance coverage. Tedros Adhanom Elected Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)

Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General-Elect (center), with Dr Veronika Skvortsova, President of the 70th World Health Assembly (left), and Dr Margaret Chan, WHO Director-General.
The World Health Organization (WHO) elects former Ethiopian Foreign Minister and Health Minister Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus as the international organization's new Director-General succeeding Dr. Margaret Chan, who has been in office since 2006. Tedros is the first African Director-General and the first non-medical doctor; he has a PhD in Community Health from the University of Nottingham.