Against the backdrop of a global pandemic, steep recession, intensifying US-China tensions and rising protectionism, the World Trade Organisation needs to name a leader. Only the resilient should apply.

Brazilian Director-General Roberto Azevedo surprised the WTO’s 164 members last week by announcing he would quit at the end of August, a year earlier than expected, adding to the tumult facing global agencies amid a backlash against globalisation.

The Geneva-based body ideally needs to find a successor by the time Azevedo leaves, or at least by year end, when it is set to go into overdrive on a series of issues ahead of its biennial conference in 2021.