PARIS, October 6, 2025 (WAFA) - UNESCO’s Executive Board announced on Monday that Egyptian candidate Khaled El-Enany was elected the organization's new Director-General, replacing outgoing chief Audrey Azoulay of France.

El-Enany won the vote against his Congolese challenger, Firmin Edouard Matoko, to become the first Arab to head the organization, and the second African after the Senegalese Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow (1974-1987).

El-Enany's victory and his official assumption of duties are scheduled to be ratified during a general assembly of the organization, which includes all 194 members, to be held on November 6 in the city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan.

The Executive Board is expected to be finalized at a meeting of UNESCO’s General Assembly in Uzbekistan next month.

A.D./ K.F.