In the first election conducted under new, more open and democratic rules, Tedros Adhanom Gheybreysus of Ethiopia was elected director general of the World Health Organization on Tuesday.

After nearly two years of public campaigning, originally by six candidates, the election itself took place in a closed-door session in which the health ministers of 185 countries cast their ballots in secret.

Tedros — who campaigned under his first name — ultimately beat David Nabarro, the British candidate, after two rounds of voting by winning 121 votes.

Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani cardiologist and expert in noncommunicable diseases, was eliminated after a first round with 38 votes.

Tedros, 52, was known for having drastically cut deaths from malaria, AIDS, tuberculosis, and neonatal problems when he was Ethiopia’s health minister. He trained 40,000 female health workers, hired outbreak investigators, improved the national laboratory, organized an ambulance system and multiplied medical school graduates tenfold.

New York Times