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The World Health Organization's (WHO) executive board has nominated Jong Wook Lee, MD, MPH, as the organization's next director-general.

Jong Wook Lee, MD, MPH, a South Korean epidemiologist and expert on tuberculosis and vaccine-preventable diseases in children, has been named the new director-general of the World Health Organization. If his nomination is confirmed as expected, he will assume the post next July. (Photo credit: WHO/P. Virot)

Lee, a South Korean epidemiologist and expert on tuberculosis (TB) and vaccine-preventable diseases in children, is a WHO insider who has worked for the Geneva-based agency for 19 years. He began his career with the WHO in 1983 as a leprosy consultant in Micronesia.

More recently, Lee headed the organization's vaccine and immunization program and in 2001 was appointed director of the WHO's Stop TB program, a consortium of 250 partners that includes WHO member states, donors, industry, and nongovernmental organizations.

The 32-member executive board elected Lee from a slate of 5 candidates, which included Peter Piot, MD, PhD, the Belgian head of the United Nations Joint Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS); Mozambique's Prime Minister, Pascoal Mocumbi, MD; Mexican Health Minister Julio Frenk Mora, MD, PhD, MPH; and former Egyptian Health Minister Ismail Salam, MD.

In his election manifesto describing his priorities for the agency, Lee said that disease-specific interventions are necessary but insufficient to reach the organizations target'sreducing child mortality, improving maternal health, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria, TB, and other diseases.

"A broad and significant investment in health care systems and services is also needed to rebuild health care infrastructures and strengthen national capacity," he said.

The 57-year-old Lee received his medical degree from Seoul National University and a public health degree from the University of Hawaii.

If the nomination is approved by the 192-nation World Health Assembly in Maya step that is considered a formalityLee will succeed Gro Harlem Brundtland, MD, MPH, in the post and begin his 5-year term on July 21.