Samarkand, November 06 – The UNESCO General Conference has overwhelmingly elected Mr. Khaled El-Enany of Egypt as the Organization’s new Director-General, securing 172 out of 174 votes. He will take over from Audrey Azoulay on 15 November.
Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz, born in 1971, is an esteemed Egyptologist and professor at Helwan University in Egypt, where he has taught for over three decades. His academic roles include Vice Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Director of the Open Learning Center, and Head of the Tour Guide Department. He earned his PhD in Egyptology from Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University in France, where he has also served as a visiting professor multiple times.
El-Enany has led the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (2014-2016) and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (2015-2016). He was Egypt’s Minister of Antiquities and later Minister of Tourism and Antiquities from 2016 to 2022.
He is affiliated with numerous international academic societies. In November 2024, he became Special Ambassador for Cultural Tourism appointed by the World Tourism Organization, and recently became the patron of the African World Heritage Fund. El-Enany is multilingual, fluent in Arabic, French, and English.
He becomes the 12th UNESCO Director-General and the first from an Arab nation. He is also only the second African to hold the post since Amadou Mahtar Mbow of Senegal (1974-1987). His term begins 15 November and will last four years.
About UNESCO: UNESCO has 194 Member States and works globally to promote peace through education, science, culture, communication, and information. Based in Paris, it operates 54 offices worldwide and employs over 2,300 people. Its programs include managing over 2,000 World Heritage sites, Biosphere Reserves, and Global Geoparks, as well as networks of Creative and Sustainable Cities and thousands of associated educational and research institutions.
The current Director-General is Audrey Azoulay.
“Since wars begin in the minds of men, it is in the minds of men that the defenses of peace must be constructed.” UNESCO Constitution, 1945.
