Samarkand – The General Conference of UNESCO elected Mr. Khaled El-Enany (Egypt) as Director-General of the Organization, with 172 votes out of a total of 174 ballots. The new Director-General will succeed Audrey Azoulay, who has held this position since 2017, on 15 November.
Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz, born in 1971, is an Egyptologist and Professor of Egyptology at Helwan University (Egypt), where he has been teaching for over 30 years. He has served as Vice Dean of the Faculty of Tourism and Hospitality, Director of the Open Learning Center, and Head of the Tour Guide Department. He holds a PhD in Egyptology from Paul-Valéry Montpellier 3 University (France), where he has been a visiting Professor on several occasions.
He led the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (2014-2016) and the Egyptian Museum in Cairo (2015-2016). From 2016 to 2022, he served as Minister of Antiquities and then Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of the Arab Republic of Egypt.
He is a member of several international learned societies. In November 2024, he was appointed Special Ambassador for Cultural Tourism by the World Tourism Organization and, more recently, patron of the African World Heritage Fund. He holds several international distinctions. He speaks Arabic, French and English.
Khaled El-Enany is the 12th Director-General of UNESCO. He is the first Director-General from an Arab country, and the second from Africa to hold this position since Amadou Mahtar Mbow (1974-1987) from Senegal. Mr El-Enany will take office on 15 November for a four-year term.
