Egypt has nominated its former minister of tourism and antiquities, Khaled El Enany, to the position of director general of Unesco.
Mr El Enany’s nomination to the UN cultural organisation was announced by Egyptian Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly at a press conference on Wednesday, held at the Cabinet building in the New Administrative Capital.
Credited with maintaining Egypt’s tourism industry through the Covid-19 pandemic, Mr El Enany was the first minister to be given the task of managing the country’s tourism and antiquities sectors together.
The tourism and antiquities sectors were divided into two separate ministries in 1966.
During his tenure, he opened a number of new museums and launched dozens of restoration and development projects at archaeological sites.
In a speech at Wednesday's ceremony, Mr El Enany said Unseco’s goals of preserving cultural heritage are in line with Egypt’s own objectives for its many heritage sites.
An election for the new Unesco director general will be held at the end of 2025.
“I understand the importance of this nomination, especially in light of the large responsibility that is on the Unesco’s shoulders at this critical moment in human history,” Mr El Enany said at the ceremony.
“There are still tens of millions of children around the world who don’t receive adequate education, and material and immaterial cultural heritage is also facing significant challenges, old ones and new ones, like climate change and disparities in wealth and technological advancement.”
Egypt has previously nominated candidates for the position but an Egyptian has yet to be elected.
In 2017, diplomat Moushira Khattab, who served as minister of state for family and population between 2009 and 2011, was nominated for the position but lost the bid to Unesco’s current Director General Audrey Azouly.
Before that, Egypt’s former culture minister Farouk Hosny was nominated but lost to Bulgaria’s former foreign minister Irina Bokova.
