Egypt’s Khaled El Enany Elected UNESCO Director-General
Khaled El Enany is the first Egyptian and Arab to win the Director-General of UNESCO post.
Egypt’s former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Dr. Khaled El-Enany, has been elected as the new Director-General of UNESCO, becoming the first Egyptian and Arab to head the UN cultural agency. The announcement was made by Egypt’s ambassador to Paris following a vote during the 222nd session of UNESCO’s Executive Board.
El-Enany won the election against Congolese candidate Firmin Edouard Matoko, succeeding outgoing Director-General Audrey Azoulay of France.
A professor of Egyptology at Helwan University, El-Enany previously served as Minister of Antiquities (2016–2019) and Minister of Tourism and Antiquities (2019–2022), becoming the first to hold both portfolios since 1966.
Throughout his career, El-Enany has earned international recognition, receiving several prestigious honors including the French Legion of Honour (2025), Japan’s Order of the Rising Sun (2021), and Poland’s Order of Merit (2020). He also serves as UN Tourism Ambassador for Cultural Tourism (2024) and Patron of the African World Heritage Fund (2025).
- Previous Article Inside Asma Khan’s Cairo Food Week Kitchen
