The General Conference of UNESCO on Thursday elected Egypt's Khaled El-Enany as Director-General of the UN cultural agency, making him the first Arab and only the second African to lead the organisation since its founding nearly eight decades ago. El-Enany, 54, won 172 votes out of 174 ballots cast, UNESCO said in a statement. He will succeed France's Audrey Azoulay, who has served as Director-General since 2017. An Egyptologist and professor at Helwan University, El-Enany previously served as Egypt's Minister of Antiquities and later as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities from 2016 to 2022. He oversaw major cultural projects, including the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. The General Conference said El-Enany brings decades of academic and cultural experience, highlighting his work bridging heritage preservation and tourism development. He has been a visiting professor at Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University in France and speaks Arabic, French, and English. El-Enany's election marks a milestone for the Arab world and Africa — he is the first Arab to head the Paris-based agency and the second African since Senegal's Amadou Mahtar Mbow, who served from 1974 to 1987. In recent years, El-Enany has also served as Special Ambassador for Cultural Tourism at the UN World Tourism Organisation and as patron of the African World Heritage Fund. He will officially assume office on 15 Nov.
