Cablegate: Bernard Kouchner's Candidacy for Director General

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

© Scoop Media