Ireland's former European commissioner David Byrne was not among the 13 candidates announced yesterday in the race to head the World Health Organisation (WHO).
There had been speculation in recent weeks that Mr Byrne could be a candidate for the vacant post, which will be filled later in the year. However, Mr Byrne's name was not among the list of contenders.
Among those standing for the post of director general are Margaret Chan of Hong Kong, who heads the agency's campaign against bird flu, former French health minister Bernard Kouchner and former Mozambique prime minister Pascoal Manuel Mocumbi.
The position is filled by an election process, with the 36-member executive committee of the WHO, representing the 192 member states, making the final decision.
Mr Byrne's name emerged in discussions in Brussels in recent weeks about the likely candidate to be put forward by the European Union. To secure the post Mr Byrne would first have had to be supported by the Government and then by the EU.
Mr Byrne worked as a special envoy for the WHO for a six- month period after he completed his term as an EU commissioner for health and consumer protection in October 2004.
The last director general of the WHO, Dr Lee Jong-wook, died in May following a sudden illness, less than halfway through his term of office.
The process of finding a successor will get under way next month and will be concluded by November 9th.
