Former French minister picked to head Unesco

PARIS: French former culture minister Audrey Azoulay was named to head the UN’s embattled cultural agency, beating her Qatari rival after a politically charged contest.

Azoulay, 45, came from behind to defeat Hamad bin Abdulaziz al Kawari, also a former culture minister. The vote was 30 to 28. The campaign to succeed Unesco’s outgoing chief Irina Bokova was overshadowed by Washington’s announcement last Thursday that it planned to withdraw from the Parisbased body after years of tensions over decisions seen as critical of Israel.

“In a time of crisis, we need more than ever to get involved (and) work to strengthen the organisation,” Azoulay said after the final vote.

Azoulay will face the difficult task of trying to persuade the United States and Israel to remain as members.

Just as daunting will be her job of reforming the agency struggling under the weight of a bureaucracy that has become unwieldy over the seven decades since it was founded.

French President Emmanuel Macron hailed her victory on Twitter, saying: “France will continue to fight for science, education and culture in the world.”

Azoulay, who will become Unesco’s second woman leader after Bokova, had edged out Egyptian rights activist Moushira Khattab earlier last Friday as the main challenger to Al Kawari, the frontrunner until the final runoff. Azoulay’s nomination must be approved by the agency’s 195 member states on November 10, a vote that has never previously gone against the board’s nominee.