UPDATE: Egypt’s Former Minister of Tourism Khaled El-Enany overwhelmingly elected UNESCO Director-General for 4-Year Term

CAIRO – 6 October 2025: Egypt’s academic and former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, Professor Khaled El-Enany, was overwhelmingly elected -on Monday- as the new Director-General of United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) for a four-year term, serving from 2025 to 2029.

During its 222nd session, UNESCO’s Executive Board elected Enani as the new Director-General, selecting him over Congolese diplomat Firmin Edouard Matoko to succeed Audrey Azoulay, who has served two four-year terms since 2017. Fifty-five of the 57 member states of UNESCO’s Executive Board voted in favor of Enany, marking the highest number of votes ever received by a candidate in a competitive election for Director-General since the Organization’s founding in 1945. 

Enany expressed his gratitude, saying: "I thank my country, Egypt, for supporting my candidacy, as well as the Arab countries and the African Union for their backing. The world needs UNESCO now more than ever, and I pledge to serve the organization impartially, without discrimination or a regional agenda."

Enany is the first Egyptian and Arab, and only the second African, to assume the position of Director-General of UNESCO—a historic achievement that reflects the international stature and growing influence of Egyptian foreign policy during this critical time for the region and the world," the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement. "This success comes under the leadership and with the full support of the President of the Republic." The elections took place on Monday, October 6, 2025, coinciding with the anniversary of the glorious October 6 victories.

Today’s voting results mark the culmination of a comprehensive 30-month election campaign led by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, under the guidance of His Excellency President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, the Ministry added.

President Sisi offered his congratulations to Enany, saying “I wish to extend my sincere congratulations to Dr. Khaled El-Enany on the occasion of his landslide victory in the elections of the Executive Board of the UNESCO and his election as Director-General of the Organization, in which he garnered an overwhelming support of 55 votes out of a total of 57; a historic achievement that shall be added to Egypt’s diplomatic and cultural record and to the achievements of the Arab and African peoples.

“This well-deserved triumph embodies Egypt’s standing as a great civilization, reaffirms the capability of its sons and daughters to play leading roles in international forums, and reflects the world’s confidence in Egypt’s competent professionals that combine knowledge, expertise, and devotion,” President Sisi added.  “I wish all the best to Dr. El-Enany in his noble mission. I am confident that he will contribute to promoting cultural dialogue and protecting human heritage in a manner that is worthy of Egypt’s great civilization and all the great civilizations of humanity,” the President continued.

Born in 1971, El-Enany served as Minister of Antiquities from 2016 to 2019, and subsequently as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities following the merger of the two ministries.

Currently, he is a Professor of Egyptology at Helwan University, where he also earned his bachelor's degree in 1992 from the Department of Tourism Guidance (French Section), Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management (FTH).

He began his career as a tour guide for two years before becoming a teaching assistant at the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management.

Between 2006 and 2016, El-Enany worked as an associate researcher, expert Egyptologist, and member of the Administrative and Scientific Councils at the French Institute of Oriental Archaeology (IFAO). During that period, he also served as the General Supervisor of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization from 2014 to 2016.

In 2015, he was named a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin. That same year, he was also appointed General Supervisor of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo, a post he held until 2016.

In recognition of his cultural contributions, El-Enany was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun by Japan in 2021. That same year, he played a key role in organizing the globally acclaimed Pharaohs’ Golden Parade, which saw the relocation of 22 ancient Egyptian mummies from the Egyptian Museum in Tahrir Square to the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization in Fustat, Old Cairo.

In 2025, he received the Knight of the National Order of the Legion of Honor from France and was named Patron of the African World Heritage Fund. In 2024, he was appointed Special Ambassador for Cultural Tourism by UN Tourism and was awarded an Honorary Doctorate from the University Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3.

Since 2023, El-Enany has served on the Board of Trustees of the French University in Cairo and other educational institutions in Egypt.

According to MENA News Agency, the African Union endorsed his nomination through three successive resolutions during its summits in February 2024, July 2024, and July 2025.