Kim Jong-yang of South Korea had been chosen as Interpol new president, beating a Russian official whose candidacy had unnerved Western nations.
The US-backed Kim, Interpol's acting president, was picked at a meeting of delegates from Interpol member nations in Dubai to replace Meng Hongwei, who went missing in his native China in September.
Delegates from Interpol member nations are meeting in Dubai to replace Meng Hongwei, who went missing in his native China in September. Beijing later said Meng resigned after being charged with accepting bribes.
The vote took place on Wednesday morning. The two leading candidates pit a US-backed South Korean against a Russian official who remains the favourite but has unnerved Western nations and some of Moscow's neighbours.
On Tuesday, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo threw his weight behind Kim Jong-yang, currently the acting president of the global police body.
"We encourage all nations and organisations that are part of Interpol and that respect the rule of law to choose a leader with integrity. We believe Mr Kim will be just that," Pompeo told reporters.
The endorsement came as calls grew within Western nations for Interpol to reject Russian candidate Alexander Prokopchuk -- a Russian interior ministry official and current Interpol vice president -- over fears Moscow could abuse the role to target political opponents.
Critics have raised concerns over Russia's previous applications for Interpol "Red Notices", or international arrest warrants, to target those who have fallen foul of the Kremlin.
Whoever becomes president needs the backing of two-thirds of the votes and will serve out Meng's term until 2020.
Interpol's president chairs its General Assembly while day-to-day operations are handled by the organisation's Secretary general Juergen Stock.
In an open letter this week, a bipartisan group of US senators said choosing Prokopchuk would be like "putting a fox in charge of a henhouse".
"Russia routinely abuses Interpol for the purpose of settling scores and harassing political opponents, dissidents and journalists," they wrote.
Harriett Baldwin, a minister of state at the British foreign office, told parliament on Tuesday that London would support Kim's bid.
Anti-Kremlin figures have also raised concerns, including Alexei Navalny, the Russian opposition leader who has been repeatedly jailed by authorities.
"Our team has suffered from abuse of Interpol for political persecution by Russia," Navalny wrote on Twitter.
"I don't think that a president from Russia will help to reduce such violations."
US National Security Council spokesman Garrett Marquis echoed the endorsement for Kim.
"As recent events show, the Russian government abuses INTERPOL's processes to harass its political opponents," he said on Twitter.
The controversy also comes amid security concerns over accusations of Russian agents attempting to poison an ex-spy in Britain and trying to hack the network of the global chemical weapons watchdog.
Ukraine, deeply at odds with Moscow over its annexation of Crimea and support for separatists, threatened to pull out of Interpol if Prokopchuk prevailed.
Lithuania also said it would consider withdrawing from the network.
Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov dismissed the US senators' letter as a "vivid example" of an attempt to interfere in the vote.
Moscow's interior ministry denounced a "foreign media campaign aimed at discrediting Russia's candidate".
But two foes of Russian President Vladimir Putin, who have been targeted by international arrest warrants sought by Moscow, also said Tuesday they were launching a bid to get Russia suspended from Interpol for abusing the agency.
(AFP)
