UNESCO's next Director-General

• UNESCO's Executive Board has nominated Egyptian university professor and former minister Khaled al-Anani as the agency's next Director-General.
• If his appointment is confirmed by UNESCO's General Assembly in Uzbekistan next month, he will become the first Director-General from the Arab world.

• Al-Anani won the vote, defeating economist Firmin Edouard Matoko of the Republic of the Congo.
• This nomination follows Audrey Azoulay's two consecutive four-year terms as UNESCO chief.
• Al-Anani, 54, is a renowned Egyptologist and currently serves as a professor at a public university in Cairo.

• As Egypt's Minister of Antiquities and later Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, he oversaw projects such as the National Museum of Egyptian Civilization and major archaeological discoveries.
• Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi described his nomination as a historic achievement for Egypt.