Who is Tedros, and how did he get his influential position?

Does the name Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus ring a bell?

If you've been paying attention to the propaganda wars about the new coronavirus, it should.  He's the "Director-General" of the U.N.'s World Health Organization.

Tedros is from Ethiopia, and is the first DG of the W.H.O. to not be an M.D.  So you might be wondering how an Ethiopian who's not an M.D. was named to the top spot in the World Health Organization.  I mean, if you're looking for someone to head the U.N.'s health org doesn't everyone automatically think of Ethiopia?  Sure.  Oh wait...

Tedros got the top post in 2017 because of a heavy push from...wait for it...China, defeating a British M.D.  Washington Post columnist Frida Ghitis noted at the time that China “worked tirelessly behind the scenes to help Tedros defeat the United Kingdom candidate for the job.

So when China told Tedros on January 14 that they had no clear evidence that the virus could be transmitted person-to-person, the W.H.O. quickly echoed that message without a cautionary word.  ("No clear evidence" is a fairly useless claim, and has turned out to be false.)

Then when president Trump halted flights from China to the U.S. on January 31, three days later Tedros rebuked the U.S. and other countries for taking what would prove to be a life-saving measure, saying “There is no reason for measures that unnecessarily interfere with international travel and trade. We call on all countries to implement decisions that are evidence-based.”

So the next time the W.H.O. issues some statement, you might keep in mind who runs it, and how he got the job.