Professor Itamar Grotto. Photo: Permanent Mission of Israel in Geneva.

Professor Itamar Grotto — an associate director-general at the Israeli Health Ministry — was elected on Friday to the Executive Board of the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO).

The vote took place in the Swiss city of Geneva, where WHO is headquartered. Representatives from Finland, Germany and Romania also won spots on the Executive Board on Friday.

“It is both a great honor and a great responsibility,” Grotto said. “I hope to bring the best of Israel’s knowledge and expertise and work with our partners towards achieving ‘Health for All’” — the moniker of a WHO programming goal.

Israel’s permanent representative to the UN and other international organizations in Geneva, Ambassador Aviva Raz Shechter, said, “This is a great accomplishment for Israel, and a world recognition of Israel’s expertise in the field of health.”

Grotto will be the second Israeli ever to serve on WHO’s Executive Board. The first was Pnina Herzog, who was elected two and a half decades ago.