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SWAHILI TODAY

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is an Ethiopian biologist, public health researcher, and diplomat currently serving as the 8th Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO). Rising through the ranks of Ethiopia’s ministry of health and serving as foreign minister, he earned international recognition for expanding primary healthcare infrastructure, malaria prevention, and maternal care across Ethiopia. Elected to head the WHO in 2017 and re-elected unopposed for a second term in 2022, his tenure has been defined by navigating major global health crises—including the COVID-19 pandemic, mpox outbreaks, and public health emergencies in global conflict zones—while managing severe geopolitical friction between major donor nations.

Quick facts about Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus

  1. Born in Asmara (then part of Ethiopia, now Eritrea), his name Tedros is Ge'ez/Amharic for "Theodore" (meaning "Gift of God"). When elected in May 2017, he made global institutional history as the first African Director-General of the WHO and the first non-physician to lead the organization (holding a PhD in Community Health rather than an MD).
  2. Prior to his international career, he served as a senior leader in the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF). He held key cabinet posts under Prime Ministers Meles Zenawi and Hailemariam Desalegn as Minister of Health (2005–2012) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2012–2016).
  3. During his campaign for WHO leadership in 2017, health experts accused him of downplaying and covering up three major cholera epidemics in Ethiopia (2006, 2009, and 2011) by classifying them as "Acute Watery Diarrhea" (AWD) to avoid damaging national tourism and economic trade.
  4. During the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, he faced intense international criticism over the WHO's delays in declaring a Public Health Emergency of International Concern (PHEIC) and praising Beijing's early containment measures. The controversy culminated in U.S. President Donald Trump freezing U.S. funding and attempting to withdraw the United States from the organization.
  5. In November 2020, following the outbreak of the Tigray War, the Ethiopian military chief publicly accused Dr. Tedros of using his international diplomatic standing to procure weapons and diplomatic support for TPLF rebel forces charges he firmly denied while criticizing the government's humanitarian blockade of Tigray.
  6. As a UN Level 32 executive official, his base annual salary is capped at approximately $240,000 gross per year (supplemented by UN diplomatic allowances), contrasting sharply with the multi-million dollar compensation structures of private pharmaceutical and corporate executives.

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