Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Biography of Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus
Date of Birth: 03.03.1965
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus - Ethiopian politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia (2012-2016). Since 2017, he has been the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO).
Place of Birth. Education. Born on March 3, 1965, in Asmara, Ethiopia, in an engineering family. In 1986, he graduated with a bachelor's degree in biology from the University of Asmara.
After the overthrow of Mengistu Haile Mariam's military regime in 1991, he had the opportunity to continue studying abroad. In 1992, he obtained his master's degree in immunology of infectious diseases from the University of London. In 2000, he earned a PhD in Public Health from the University of Nottingham (UK). He completed additional educational programs in Denmark and Sweden.
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Career. After graduating from university, he started working as a laboratory technician in the Ethiopian Ministry of Health.
From 2001 to 2003, he headed the Health Department in the Tigray region. In 2003, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Health of Ethiopia.
From 2005 to 2012, he served as the Minister of Health of Ethiopia. In this position, he implemented a reform of the country's healthcare system to improve access to medical care.
From 2012 to 2016, he was the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia. In this role, he contributed to the development of several regional initiatives in health and development. In 2013, he chaired the Executive Council of the African Union (AU) and was the initiator of the drafting of Agenda 2063 - a strategic document to accelerate Africa's economic, political, and social development. In 2015, he participated in the international conference on financing for development in Addis Ababa, where he helped overcome disagreements and reached a consensus on the adoption of the sustainable development action plan.
He was deputy chair of the 60th World Health Assembly (2007, the governing body of the World Health Organization - WHO), chaired the 56th session of the WHO Regional Committee for Africa (2007), was a member of the Board of the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (2008-2009), and chaired AIDS Watch Africa (2013).
From 2012 to 2014, he was a member of the advisory board of Harvard University 'Leading Role of Ministers in Health Programs'. He was a member of the Global Leaders Council for Reproductive Health's advisory board of the Aspen Institute (USA), and of the advisory board of Addis Ababa University (Ethiopia).
From 2016 to 2017, he was a special advisor to the Prime Minister of Ethiopia.
Since 2017, he has been the Director-General of WHO.
Scientific Specialization. He is an expert in malaria research. He has co-authored numerous publications in various international scientific journals ('Tropical Medicine and Parasitology', 'The Lancet', 'Nature', 'Parasitology').
Criticism. As Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ethiopia, he was accused by an expert panel of covering up outbreaks of cholera in Ethiopia in 2006, 2009, and 2011.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Tedros was criticized by the public for a slow response to the epidemic and for too close ties to the Chinese government (where the pandemic began).
Awards. In 2016, he was awarded the Order of the Serbian Flag.
He was the first non-American to receive the Humanity Award from Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter (USA, 2001).
In 2016, he received the Women Deliver international NGO award 'for his tireless efforts' recognizing his contribution to women's health.
In 2012, he was appointed an honorary member of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.
Family. Tedros is married and has five children.
03.03.2022