The World Health Organisation (WHO) on Wednesday nominated China's Margaret Chan, its top official on bird flu, as its new chief as it gears up for a feared flu pandemic and battles global scourges such as AIDS.
Chan, 59, will become the first person from China to head a major UN agency. A former director of Hong Kong's department of health, her career has been focused on public health.
With Beijing campaigning hard, she had been the front-runner to replace South Korea's Lee Jong-wook who died suddenly in May from a blood clot in the brain, three years into his five-year term as director-general.
The 193-state WHO's top decision-taking body, the World Health Assembly, will be asked to approve the nomination by its board at a special session on Thursday. The assembly has never rejected the board's candidate. "I am deeply honoured by the vote of confidence," Chan told the board following the ballot.
The diminutive medical doctor stepped aside from her job as the WHO's Assistant Director-General for communicable diseases to run for the top job in global health.
The profile of the WHO, which has a two-year budget of $3.3 billion, has risen dramatically with the emergence of global health emergencies such as AIDS and threats from new diseases such as Sars, a killer respiratory illness, and bird flu. Beijing's decision to put Chan forward for the post was seen by diplomats as a further sign that China, a permanent member of the UN Security Council, was interested in playing a wider international role.
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