UNESCO board backs Egypt’s Khaled el-Enany as its next chief

The Egyptologist and erstwhile curate of antiquities volition beryllium the archetypal Arab to pb the UN’s taste organisation.

The committee of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) has nominated Egypt’s Khaled el-Enany, an world and erstwhile curate of tourism and antiquities, arsenic its adjacent head, up of the organisation’s wide league adjacent month.

If confirmed, el-Enany, a prof of Egyptology astatine Cairo’s Helwan University, would go the archetypal Arab director-general of the organisation, which oversees the UN’s handling of taste heritage, alongside planetary practice efforts successful different areas including subject and education.

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The erstwhile curate campaigned wide for the role, which was besides contested by Firmin Edouard Matoko of the Democratic Republic of Congo, and Gabriela Ramos of Mexico, who withdrew from the contention earlier this year.

The determination by the board, which represents 58 of the agency’s 194 subordinate states, is expected to beryllium finalised astatine a gathering of UNESCO’s wide assembly successful Uzbekistan adjacent month.

The organisation’s adjacent person volition regenerate France’s erstwhile Minister of Culture Audrey Azoulay who has served successful the relation since 2017.

Azoulay notably helped pb a high-profile effort to rebuild the past Iraqi metropolis of Mosul aft it was devastated during warring betwixt the ISIL (ISIS) equipped radical and combined US and Iraqi forces.

El-Enany’s information comes arsenic the Paris-based UN assemblage continues to look governmental challenges, including successful its enactment of choosing which taste practice sites to assistance sphere from threats including wars, pollution and climate change.

The organisation is besides acceptable to look an 8 percent backing chopped astatine the extremity of 2026, erstwhile the United States again formally withdraws its membership, on with its funding.

It volition beryllium the 2nd clip that the Trump medication has pulled the US retired from the UN taste organisation successful protestation astatine its members’ determination to admit the State of Palestine arsenic a subordinate successful 2011.

The State of Palestine is besides a Permanent Observer State subordinate of the United Nations General Assembly, wherever much than 80 percent of subordinate states present backmost its afloat membership.

Explaining the US determination to retreat again, US State Department spokesperson Tammy Bruce claimed that allowing Palestine to stay a subordinate of UNESCO had “contributed to the proliferation of anti-Israel rhetoric wrong the organisation.”

Israel left UNESCO astatine the extremity of 2018.

The organisation has been remotely monitoring harm to cultural practice sites successful the Gaza Strip during Israel’s war, and says that it has verified harm to a full of 110 sites since October 7, 2023, including 13 spiritual sites, 77 buildings of humanities oregon creator interest, 3 depositories of movable taste property, 9 monuments, 1 depository and 7 archeological sites.

Ancient Pharaonic drawings wrong the newly-opened Tomb of Pharaoh Amenhotep III successful Luxor, Egypt, connected October 4, 2025 [Stringer/EPA]

El-Enani, 54, worked earlier successful his vocation arsenic a circuit usher astatine past Egyptian sites, earned a doctorate successful France and became a famed Egyptologist anterior to serving successful government.

He was curate of antiquities, and aboriginal tourism, nether Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi from 2016 to 2022.

El-Sisi welcomed the quality of el-Enani’s nomination, calling the information a ‘’historic accomplishment that shall beryllium added to Egypt’s diplomatic and taste grounds and to the achievements of the Arab and African peoples.”

During his tenure successful government, el-Enani oversaw the commencement of mega-tourism projects including the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation successful Cairo, the Jewish Temple and aggregate past discoveries that helped revive the country’s battered tourism sector.

He is expected to absorption connected UNESCO’s taste programs, and has pledged to proceed UNESCO’s enactment to combat anti-Semitism and spiritual intolerance according to the Associated Press quality agency.