The executive board of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) has selected former Egyptian antiquities and tourism minister Khaled El-Enany as its next director general.
El-Enany secured 55 votes against two for his opponent, Republic of Congo’s Édouard Firmin Matoko, in Monday’s vote. If confirmed, he will become the first Arab and only the second African to lead the global cultural agency. He is set to succeed France’s Audrey Azoulay, who has completed two four-year terms.
The 54-year-old Egyptologist’s nomination will now go before UNESCO’s 194-member general assembly for ratification when it meets in Uzbekistan in November.
The United States abstained from the vote. In June, Washington accused UNESCO of bias against Israel and announced plans to withdraw from the organisation by the end of next year.
El-Enany has pledged to prioritise reconciliation and has expressed hope of persuading the US to remain. “I will work to bring the United States back,” he said. America currently contributes about eight percent of UNESCO’s budget.
El-Enany served as Egypt’s minister of antiquities and later as minister of tourism under President Abdel Fatah el-Sissi between 2016 and 2022.
Faridah Abdulkadiri
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