Ethiopia's Tedros Adhanom (PhD), a former minister of health, has been elected as the leader of the World Health Organization.
Tedros defeated Britain's Dr. David Nabarro, a U.N. veteran, in the final round of voting on Tuesday.
He will be the first African to lead the U.N. health agency.
He succeeds China's Dr. Margaret Chan, who has been at the helm of WHO for 10 years.
Tedros led all three rounds of voting and won 133 votes in the third round to Nabarro's 50. There were two abstentions.
The third candidate, Pakistan's Dr. Sania Nishtar, was eliminated after the first round.
Ethiopian delegates could be seen hugging and high-fiving each other after their countryman made it to the second round, which Tedros went on to win.
Ethiopia's Tedros Adhanom, a former minister of Foreign Affairs as well, has led the race to head the World Health Organization for three rounds of voting.
Delegates, health ministers and other high-level envoys were deciding Tuesday between Tedros and Britain's Dr. David Nabarro, a U.N. veteran, to be the U.N. health agency's next director-general.
In the second round, Tedros won 121 votes to Nabarro's 62.
After the election moves to a third round of voting; Tedros won more than two-thirds of the votes to win the post.
He was the only African in the election and will succeed China's Dr. Margaret Chan, who is ending a 10-year tenure at WHO's helm.
Nishtar was among three candidates vying to replace outgoing Chief Dr. Margaret Chan.
Tedros was ahead after the first round, winning 95 votes. Nabarro had 52 votes and Nishtar 38. There are 185 countries eligible to vote.
Pakistan's candidate wished to be the next director-general of the World Health Organization, cardiologist Dr. Sania Nishtar, said she decided to go into public health after being told the hospital where she worked would start using recycled catheters for patients who couldn't pay.
In her remarks Tuesday to the World Health Assembly, who will soon vote to choose the U.N. health agency's next leader, Nishtar cited her past experience leading non-governmental organizations, saying that would help her bridge the numerous polarizing situations in public health.
In the final phase of the race to elect the WHO's next leader, the three remaining candidates are making their last pitches Tuesday.
First to speak was Ethiopia's candidate to lead the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom.
Ghebreyesus said it was "pure luck" that he was competing in the race to be its next director-general, noting that his seven-year-old brother was killed by a childhood disease and it could just as easily have been him.
Among other pledges, Ghebreyesus said he would work "tirelessly to fulfill WHO's promise of universal health coverage."
Health ministers, diplomats and other high-level envoys have choosen the next director-general of the World Health Organization among three finalists.
As it stands, 185 member states attending WHO's World Health Assembly cast ballots Tuesday afternoon.
Speaking to the delegates, Nabarro said "the health of 7 billion people rests in your hands" and acknowledged that some have felt "let down" by WHO and want it to be "more relevant, responsive and reliable."
He added: "Under my leadership, it will be."
Nabarro cited lessons from the Ebola crisis that "speed and flexibility" are needed, but above all WHO should be "competent and dependable."
avid Nabarro, 67, a physician and longtime U.N. official from Britain.
Like the other two candidates, Nishtar promised to make WHO accountable, saying she was credited for bringing transparency to public health when she was a minister in Pakistan.
She says "I will come to your countries not to cut ribbons but to work with you."
The president of this year's World Health Assembly opened this afternoon's proceedings by calling for a minute of silence to remember the victims of the Manchester bombing attack.
The U.N. agency's chief has considerable power to set global medical priorities and declare health emergencies, such as outbreaks of the Zika or Ebola viruses.
The candidates are Tedros Adhanom (PhD), a 52-year-old former Ethiopian; Dr. Sania Nishtar, a 54-year-old cardiologist and former Pakistrani minister.
(AP)