An inauguration ceremony was held on Tuesday for Dr. Khaled El-Enany, Egypt's former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, as Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) following his official election by the General Conference of UNESCO at its 43rd session held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.
El-Enany took oath to assume his new post as
Director-General of UNESCO as of November 15 for four-year term. He succeeded
Audrey Azoulay, who has held this position since 2017.
In a statement on Thursday, the General Conference of UNESCO elected El-Enany
as Director-General of the Organization, with 172 votes out of a total of 174
ballots.
On 6 October, El-Enany was elected director-general of UNESCO, achieving a record victory in the organization’s vote with 55 votes, compared to just two for his closest rival, Firmin Edouard Matoko of the Republic of Congo.
El-Enany, born in 1971, is an Egyptologist and
Professor of Egyptology at Helwan University (Egypt), where he has been
teaching for over 30 years. He has served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of
Tourism and Hospitality, Director of the Open Learning Center, and Head of the
Tour Guide Department. He holds a PhD in Egyptology from Paul-Valéry
Montpellier 3 University (France), where he has been a visiting Professor on
several occasions.
He led the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (2014-2016) and the
Egyptian Museum in Cairo (2015-2016). From 2016 to 2022, he served as Minister
of Antiquities and then Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab
Republic of Egypt.
He is a member of several international learned
societies. In November 2024, he was appointed Special Ambassador for Cultural
Tourism by the World Tourism Organization and, more recently, patron of the
African World Heritage Fund. He holds several international distinctions. He
speaks Arabic, French and English.
El-Enany is the 12th Director-General of UNESCO. He is the first
Director-General from an Arab country, and the second from Africa to hold this
position since Amadou Mahtar Mbow (1974-1987) from Senegal.
El-Enany will take office on 15 November for a four-year term.
Source: Egypt Today
