Belgium nominates Hans Kluge as WHO Director General
The Belgian federal government has nominated Hans Kluge for the position of Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO)
“I am very honoured by the trust Belgium has placed in me and am grateful for the opportunity to take on this important responsibility,” Kluge said on X. “Serving the WHO has been the greatest privilege of my professional life.”
Kluge has served as WHO Regional Director for Europe since 2020 and began a second term in February 2025. Under WHO rules, he will step aside as WHO/Europe Director while campaigning for the role, a process that involves lobbying member states, NGOs and the organisation's largest funders.
Tried and tested
After qualifying as a doctor in Belgium, he began his international career with Médecins Sans Frontières in conflict settings in Liberia and Somalia. He subsequently coordinated tuberculosis programmes in Siberian prisons and across the former Soviet Union.
Kluge joined WHO in 1999, initially working on tuberculosis and HIV in Russia. He later held senior roles in Myanmar covering HIV, tuberculosis and malaria and worked in North Korea and Thailand. He moved to WHO's Regional Office for Europe in 2009, becoming Director of Health Systems and Public Health before his election as Regional Director.
Since 2020, Kluge has steered WHO Europe through COVID-19, mpox, war-related health emergencies in Ukraine and extreme weather events, while expanding its work in areas including mental health and digital health.
Although best known for leading WHO's European Region, Kluge's experience extends well beyond Europe. He has worked for WHO for more than 25 years and has over three decades of experience in medicine and public health across several continents.
Runners and riders
One of his principal strengths may be his diplomacy. Kluge has built relationships with heads of state, governments and ministers across the diverse ‘Europe’ region, which extends into Central Asia. His fluency in English, French, German, Russian and Dutch adds to that diplomatic profile.
But he could face a strong field. Among the names being discussed is Hanan Balkhy of Saudi Arabia, WHO's Eastern Mediterranean regional director, whose WHO experience and potential Gulf backing could make her a formidable candidate. Other possible contenders include: Sania Nishtar of Pakistan, the Gavi chief and former WHO leadership candidate; and Indonesian Health Minister Budi Gunadi Sadikin, who could benefit from calls for a stronger Asian voice in global health.
That competition also highlights Kluge's most obvious vulnerability: he is European. Some member states may believe it is better for WHO leadership to be awarded to another region.
But Kluge's career spans African conflict zones, Russia, Southeast Asia, and European leadership. He is also considered to be someone of great political nous, a critical requirement in this sensitive area.
The difficulties of agreeing the final piece in the Pandemic Agreement treaty on Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing (PABS) expose the sharp divisions between wealthier countries and the ‘Global South’. Kluge's challenge will be to convince member states that he is not primarily a European candidate, but a global WHO diplomat whose experience and negotiating skills equip him to forge consensus in an increasingly divided world.
Catherine Feore