Dr. Al -Masry Khaled Al -Anani, headed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization “UNESCO”, won the recommendation of the organization’s executive council today, Monday in Paris.
Al -Anani, 54, competed for the position with Edward Firmin Matoku, 69, from the Republic of the Congo, who is currently the Deputy Director General in charge of external relations.
The UNESCO Executive Council voted by 55 votes to two votes, in favor of Al -Anani, the former Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, against Edward Firmin Matoko (69 years old) from the Republic of the Congo. The United States of America did not vote.
Al -Anani was the most fortunate candidate to win the secret ballot, and he actually won for a period of 4 years, succeeding French Azoulay, who held the position for two periods of four years, which is the maximum period for the position.
This is Dr. Khaled Al-Anani, the first Arab to head the organization, and the second African to assume this position after the Senegalese Amadou is the Mubu Mubu (1974-1987).
From the establishment of UNESCO until today, its general administration has not been managed by any Arab official, unlike the United Nations, which was moderated by former Egyptian Foreign Minister Peter Boutros Ghali, who also headed the World Organization of Francophone.
And Arab candidates have previously played the competition, including Ismail Sirajuddin, Farouk Hosni, Mashira Al -Khattab (Egypt), Ghazi Al -Qusaibi (Saudi Arabia), Muhammad Al -Badayawi (Algeria), Hamad Azir Al -Kuwari (Qatar), Fira Al -Khoury (Lebanon) and Rashad Lakhrah (Djibouti).
Al -Anani launched his campaign in early April 2023, and since then he has succeeded in building strong regional support and international alliances, as he is the candidate accredited by the League of Arab States and the African Union, and has been supported by other international gatherings.
