UNESCO’s new Director-General will be Khaled El-Enany (Egypt): the organization’s General Conference elected him with 172 votes out of a total of 174. He will succeed Audrey Azoulay, who has been in office since 2017. With his appointment, Khaled El-Enany becomes UNESCO’s 12th Director-General, the first from an Arab country and the second African to lead the institution, following Senegalese Amadou Mahtar Mbow, who served between 1974 and 1987. He will officially assume office Nov. 15, for a four-year term.
Born in 1971, he is an Egyptologist and professor of Egyptology at Helwan University in Egypt, where he has taught for more than 30 years. During his academic career, he has held several senior positions, including Vice Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Director of the Open Learning Center, and Head of the Department of Tourist Guides. He holds a PhD in Egyptology from Paul-Valéry Montpellier University 3 (France), where he was a visiting professor several times.
Between 2014 and 2016, he directed the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and, in parallel, in 2015-2016, also the Egyptian Museum in Cairo. Subsequently, from 2016 to 2022, he served as Minister of Antiquities and later as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
El-Enany is a member of numerous international scientific societies. In November 2024, he was appointed Special Ambassador for Cultural Tourism by the World Tourism Organization and recently patron of theAfrican World Heritage Fund. He is the recipient of several international awards and honors. He speaks Arabic, French and English.
Pictured: Khaled El-Enany elected director-general of UNESCO. ©UNESCO
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| Egyptologist Khaled El-Enany is UNESCO's new director-general. He succeeds Audrey Azoulay |
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