Race to lead OECD narrows to four candidates

Race to lead OECD narrows to four candidates

Withdrawal of deputy head leaves two women and two men in running for the secretary general post

Cecilia Malmström (left), a Swedish politician looking for a fresh challenge, is one of the candidates to lead the OECD.

Photograph: Thierry Monasse/Getty Images

The race to lead the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD), one of the world's most influential multilateral organisations, has narrowed after the deputy head of the organisation withdrew from the race.

The exit of Ulrik Knudsen, who is a former Danish foreign minister, leaves four candidates for the secretary general post, including two women: the former Greek education secretary Anna Diamantopoulou and Cecilia Malmström, the Swedish EU trade commissioner who spent four years in Brexit talks with the UK.

Ángel Gurría, who has run the OECD since 2006, will step down later this year amid growing conflict over how fast to tackle climate change, a crackdown on tax havens and the role of China among the OECD's 37 member countries, mostly in Europe and north America, though joined by Australia, Chile, Colombia, Mexico, New Zealand, Israel, Japan, and South Korea.

The Swiss candidate - Philipp Hildebrand

A former head of Switzerland's central bank who quit in 2012 following an insider trading scandal, Hildebrand has