If elected, Song would succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose second five-year term ends on August 15, 2027. Tedros, who began his second term in August 2022, cannot seek a third term under WHO rules.

China on Thursday formally nominated Song Li to become the next director-general of the World Health Organisation (WHO), putting forward a public-health specialist whose career has included maternal and child healthcare, reproductive health, international cooperation and China’s response to major health emergencies, including SARS, avian influenza and Covid-19.

If elected, Song would succeed Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, whose second five-year term ends on August 15, 2027. Tedros, who began his second term in August 2022, cannot seek a third term under WHO rules. The World Health Assembly will appoint the next director-general in May 2027, after the WHO Executive Board shortlists up to three candidates.

Who is Song Li?

Song has spent much of her professional life inside China’s health system, rising through its maternal and child health administration.

Her curriculum vitae submitted to the WHO in 2023, when China nominated her for the position of regional director for the WHO Western Pacific region, shows that she studied clinical medicine, specialising in gynaecology and obstetrics, at Shandong Medical University, where she obtained a master’s degree between 1997 and 2000.

She later completed a PhD in public health at Peking University between 2006 and 2010. In 2010, she spent six months at Harvard University as a visiting scholar in global health.

Song began working in China’s health administration in 2002 as a programme officer in the women’s health division. She later became deputy director and then director of the division.

In December 2015, she became deputy director-general of the Department of Maternal and Child Health. From March 2021, she served as director-general of the department, according to her WHO CV.

In October 2023, she was appointed secretary of the Secretariat of the All-China Women’s Federation, China’s official mass organisation representing women.

A career focused on women and children

Maternal and child health has been the central focus of Song’s career.

In documents submitted during her 2023 WHO candidature, she was described as having more than 21 years of experience in the field, including work on policymaking, health-system organisation and workforce development.

Her responsibilities covered areas including midwifery, prenatal diagnosis, assisted reproductive technology and prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV, syphilis and hepatitis B. She was also involved in a programme providing hospital-delivery subsidies to rural pregnant women in China.

Role during the Covid-19 pandemic

The coronavirus pandemic brought her work into a more prominent public role.

In July 2020, Song, then deputy director of China’s maternal and child health department, described measures adopted to maintain maternal and newborn healthcare during the pandemic.

She said authorities had established treatment networks for pregnant women infected with Covid-19 and designated hospitals to treat them. Maternal and child health institutions were also instructed to maintain triage and infection-control procedures while restoring routine medical services.

According to her official biography, Song was also editor-in-chief of a 2020 Covid-19 prevention and control question-and-answer document concerning maternal and child health. The document was intended to provide national guidance on managing maternal and child healthcare during the pandemic.

Nomination for regional director for WHO’s Western Pacific region

Song has already sought a senior leadership position within the WHO.

In 2023, China nominated her for the position of regional director of the WHO’s Western Pacific region. She was one of five candidates in the election, but ultimately lost to Saia Ma’u Piukala of Tonga.

Why is China putting her forward now?

Song’s nomination comes at a consequential moment for the WHO.

The organisation is dealing with financial pressures, debates over institutional reform and the continuing fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. At the same time, the United States’ withdrawal from the WHO under President Donald Trump has altered the political landscape around the organisation.

Reuters reported that China’s move could allow Beijing to expand its influence within the WHO at a time when Washington has stepped back from the organisation and from parts of the wider UN system.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said on Thursday that Song’s nomination demonstrated China’s support for multilateralism and would help promote the construction of a global health community. China also said it believed Song could help the WHO play a more active role in improving health and well-being worldwide.

The nomination comes as China seeks a greater role in international institutions as the United States has reduces its engagement with some of them.

A Chinese national has led the WHO before

If elected, Song would be the second Chinese national to lead the WHO.

Margaret Chan, a Hong Kong-born physician and former director of health of Hong Kong, served as WHO director-general from 2007 to 2017.

Chan’s tenure came before the Covid-19 pandemic and the sharp deterioration in US-China relations.

How is the WHO chief elected?

The WHO’s election process began in April 2026, when member states were invited to submit candidates. The deadline for nominations was September 24.

The organisation is expected to announce the candidates after the remaining regional committee meetings, with the first candidates’ forum scheduled for November 18.

The Executive Board will then consider the candidates and nominate up to three people at its January 2027 session. The final appointment will be made by the World Health Assembly in May 2027 through a secret ballot.

Other publicly identified candidates include officials from Saudi Arabia, Belgium, Qatar, Botswana, Indonesia and Spain.