Andrew

Black

Head of Secretariat, WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC)

Andrew Black was appointed Head of the Secretariat of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) on 10 August 2026 for a period of four years. He is a public health policymaker with extensive experience in tobacco control.

Andrew has been a member of the Convention Secretariat since 2016. Before his appointment as its Head, Andrew led the Secretariat’s work to provide implementation assistance to Parties – including delivering the FCTC 2030 project, which has provided intensive support for implementation of the WHO FCTC and of the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products to over 30 low- and middle-income countries. He has also led efforts to promote the WHO FCTC as an accelerator for sustainable development, to strengthen governance for tobacco control at the national level, and to understand the full economic costs of tobacco to countries.

Before joining the Convention Secretariat, Andrew was a civil servant at the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland’s Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), leading the country’s tobacco control programme for a decade. His achievements include the introductions of new legislation on smokefree places, health warnings, age-of-sale restrictions and plain packaging; the development and implementation of two national tobacco control strategies; the creation of award-winning social marketing campaigns; the expansion of evidence-based tobacco cessation services; and the defence of tobacco control measures from legal challenges. During this time, smoking rates fell by one third among adults and by two thirds among young people (aged 13–15 years). In 2015, the DHSC was awarded the Luther L. Terry Award for exemplary leadership in tobacco control by a government ministry. While at the DHSC, Andrew also held various other roles in health diplomacy, medicines regulation, social care and in the office of the Minister of Health.

Andrew was the WHO FCTC focal point for the United Kingdom, and was a member of working groups that developed implementation guidelines for WHO FCTC Articles 8, 9/10 and 11; he also acted as a key facilitator for the working group on Article 14, and was a member of the working group on sustainable measures to strengthen implementation of the WHO FCTC established in 2012. Andrew served as Chairperson of Committee B at the Sixth session of the Conference of the Parties to the WHO FCTC in 2014.

Early in his career, Andrew was an officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, during which time he served on peacekeeping duties as part of the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor.

Andrew holds a master’s degree in health promotion from King’s College London, United Kingdom, postgraduate qualifications in communications and management, and an undergraduate degree in human geography.

Andrew was made an Honorary Member of the United Kingdom’s Faculty of Public Health for his contribution to tobacco control.

Andrew is a citizen of Australia and the United Kingdom, and grew up in Melbourne, Australia.