CAIRO/ISTANBUL 

Egyptian candidate Khaled al-Anany was elected Monday as the new director-general of the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), succeeding French civil servant and politician Audrey Azoulay.

His term will run until 2029, according to the Egyptian news agency Mena.

Al-Anany, Egypt’s former Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, secured a decisive victory with 55 votes out of 58 during a session of the organization’s executive board in Paris.

His sole challenger, 69-year-old Firmin Edouard Matoko of the Republic of the Congo, received two votes, while the US abstained.

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi congratulated al-Anany on the “sweeping victory,” describing the election as “a historic achievement added to Egypt’s diplomatic and cultural record and to the accomplishments of Arab and African peoples.”

He added that the victory reflects Egypt’s civilizational status and expressed confidence that al-Anany will strengthen cultural dialogue and protect global heritage.

Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, who headed the Egyptian delegation in Paris, noted that this is the first time an Egyptian and Arab have led UNESCO since its establishment in 1945.

He said the result reflects the “leading position Egypt enjoys regionally and internationally” and highlighted al-Anany’s unique cultural background, representing layers of Egyptian civilization -- Pharaonic, Greek, Roman, Coptic, Arab-Islamic and modern.

Abdelatty stressed that member states’ overwhelming support demonstrates their trust in Egypt, the Arab world and Africa. He pledged that under al-Anany’s leadership, UNESCO will remain “a home for cultural diversity, intercultural dialogue, peace, heritage protection, creativity, knowledge expansion, and youth and women’s empowerment.”

With this election, al-Anany becomes UNESCO’s 12th director-general, the first Arab and the second African after Senegal’s Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow (1974-1987) to hold the post in the organization’s 80-year history.