VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHFR #6752 2861100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131100Z OCT 06
FM AMEMBASSY PARIS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2148
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC

UNCLAS PARIS 006752 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT ALSO FOR EUR/WE, INR/EUC, EUR/ERA, EUR/PPD, IO AND OES 
DEPT OF HHS FOR SECRETARY LEAVITT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: FR PGOV WHO
SUBJECT: BERNARD KOUCHNER'S CANDIDACY FOR DIRECTOR GENERAL 
OF WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO) 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Bernard Kouchner met with the Ambassador October 12 
to lobby for his candidacy as Director General of the World 
Health Organization.  His purpose was not to seek outright 
U.S. support for his candidacy, but rather support for 
including him on the short list of final candidates. 
Kouchner reviewed his substantial qualifications and 
felicitous public profile for the position, and he stressed 
two objectives if elected -- better 
management/transparency/accountability, and concrete results 
in the field in particular against emerging diseases. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Kouchner, who served as UN Special Representative 
in Kosovo from 1999 to 2001, and founded the NGOs "Doctors 
Without Borders" (which received the Nobel Peace prize in 
1999) and "Doctors of the World," has a long and 
distinguished record of innovation in humanitarian assistance 
and health.  Kouchner made a convincing case for himself as 
an outsider willing to tackle the entrenched bureaucratic 
interests that hamstring the WHO from within.  He has 
experience leading large organizations; for example, he 
served for eight years as France's Minister of Health.  His 
claim that he would focus on improving budgetary transparency 
and on bettering accountability for results at this UN 
specialized agency is supported by his record in France. 
Kouchner is also a world-class, humanitarian celebrity -- 
and, from our perspective in Paris, the clout that comes with 
that level of fame would help in bringing renewed visibility 
and vitality to the WHO in this era of deep crisis and great 
opportunity in global health. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Also worth noting is the fact that Kouchner, 
consistently one of the most popular left-of-center political 
figures in France, was the only prominent political leader to 
publicly support the U.S. intervention in Iraq, a stance he 
has continued to defend on a humanitarian basis.  He is 
generally well-disposed towards the U.S. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Ambassador's comment:  Washington is in a position 
to judge the competing candidacies for this key and 
unexpected vacancy, but Kouchner,s record, experience, and 
outlook warrant a serious look.  End Comment. 
Please visit Paris' Classified Website at: 
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/paris/index.c fm 
STAPLETON