Former Egyptian minister Khaled El-Anany has been elected Director-General of UNESCO, becoming the first Arab to hold the position since the organization’s founding in 1945.
El-Anany secured 55 votes in the Executive Board election, while his Congolese rival received only two. The United States abstained from voting.
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi congratulated El-Anany on what he called a “historic achievement for Egypt and for both the Arab and African worlds.”
At 54, El-Anany succeeds France’s Audrey Azoulay, becoming only the second African to lead the organization after Senegal’s Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow.
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