Khaled El-Enany
Director-General elect of the UNESCO (since 2025)

Khaled El-Enany
خالد العناني
El-Enany in 2025
11th Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
Incumbent
Assumed office
15 November 2025
Preceded byAudrey Azoulay
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities
In office
22 December 2019 – 13 August 2022
PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi
Prime MinisterMostafa Madbouly
Succeeded byAhmed Issa
Minister of Antiquities
In office
23 March 2016 – 22 December 2019
PresidentAbdel Fattah el-Sisi
Prime MinisterSherif Ismail
Mostafa Madbouly
Preceded byMamdouh Eldamaty
Personal details
Born (1971-03-14) 14 March 1971 (age 54)
Giza, Egypt
PartyIndependent
Alma materHelwan University
Paul Valéry University Montpellier

Khaled Ahmed El-Enany Ali Ezz (Arabic: خالد العناني; born 14 March 1971) is an Egyptian Egyptologist and politician who was elected as the 11th Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in November 2025. He previously served as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities of Egypt between 2016 and 2022.

Early life

Khaled El-Enany was born on 14 March 1971 in Giza, Egypt, and grew up in Roda Island in Cairo.[1][2] He is the son of an engineer and a French teacher.[2] He attended a French-speaking secondary school, where he passed his baccalauréat in 1988.[3][4][2]

He studied Egyptology at Helwan University and early worked as a tourist guide.[5][2] He later obtained a MAS in 1996 and PhD at the Paul Valéry University Montpellier in 2001, both in Egyptology.[6][2]

Career

Academic

He became a professor of Egyptology at the University of Helwan.[1] He also teaches the Ancient Egyptian language at several universities around the world, including the University of Palermo and Paul-Valéry-Montpellier University.[3] In addition, he became a member of several scientific institutions, notably being a corresponding member of the German Archaeological Institute in Berlin, as well as an associate researcher and member of the board of directors of the French Institute of Oriental Archeology (IFAO) since 2002.[4][7][2]

In October 2014, he became director-general of the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation (NMEC).[8][2] Between 2015 and 2016 he was director-general of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.[2]

Minister of Antiquities of Egypt (2016–2019)

On 23 March 2016, al-Anani became the Minister of Antiquities in the government of Sherif Ismail.[8][9]

When the government of Mostafa Madbouly was appointed in 2018, he retained his post.[9] Tourism was added to his portfolio during the reshuffle of 22 December 2019, to become the Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.[10][9]

Khaled al-Anani at the International Congress of Egyptologists in Giza (November 2019)

During his tenure, he managed to secure funds to build the Grand Egyptian Museum, and renovate other historical buildings such as the Baron Empain Palace, Graeco-Roman Museum and Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue.[6] He also oversaw projects such as the Pharaohs' Golden Parade and the reopening of the restored Avenue of Sphinxes in Luxor in 2021 and had to face the consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic affecting the Egyptian tourism sector.[2][11]

He was replaced by Ahmed Issa as Minister of Tourism and Antiquities in a cabinet reshuffle on 13 August 2022.[12]

He also organises press conferences following archaeological discoveries to promote tourism.[13] In addition, he aims to combat extremism by encouraging the Egyptian population to take a greater interest in ancient Egypt history.[14]

In 2024, he was designated UN Tourism Ambassador for Cultural Tourism.[15] In January 2025, he was designated as the rapporteur of the African World Heritage Fund.[16]

Director-General of UNESCO (2025–present)

El-Enany was presented as Egypt's candidate for Director-General of UNESCO in 2023.[5] His candidacy was supported by the African Union, the Arab League and several countries including France, Spain, Turkey, Gabon, Germany and Brazil.[2][17][18]

On 6 October 2025, UNESCO's Executive Board proposed him as the new Director-General of UNESCO, receiving 55 votes out of 57 and beating the Republic of Congo's candidate Firmin Edouard Matoko.[19][20] He was formally elected by the General Conference on 6 November 2025 held in Samarkand, Uzbekistan.[7][21] He became the first Arab to led the agency and the second from Africa after Senegal's Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow, and will succeed Audrey Azoulay on 15 November 2025.[19][5][22][21] Among the challenges he will encounter during his term of office will be the political and financial impact of the withdrawal of the United States from UNESCO, scheduled to take place in December 2026.[23]

His election was criticised by 50 cultural heritage groups and experts for failing to properly manage Egypt's heritage during his tenure as Minister of Antiquities, for allowing, for example, the demolition of parts of the City of the Dead in Cairo and the construction of tourism infrastructure near Saint Catherine's Monastery in Sinai, which are both UNESCO World Heritage Sites.[24][23] They argued that he was not a fit person to lead UNESCO.[24]

Honours

References

  1. ^ a b Réveillard, Marie-France (October 2025). "L'Égyptien Khaled El-Enany Prend Les Commandes de l'UNESCO". Forbes Afrique. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Islah, Fadwa (16 September 2024). "Who is Khaled El-Enany the Egyptian candidate for UNESCO chief?". The Africa Report. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Who is Khaled Al-Anani.. Minister of Antiquities & Tourism?". see.news. 22 December 2019.
  4. ^ a b "Entretien exclusif avec le nouveau ministre des Antiquités égyptiennes". Sciences et Avenir (in French). 2 May 2016.
  5. ^ a b c "Khaled El-Enany, de guía a turístico en El Cairo a director general de la Unesco". La Vanguardia (in Spanish). 6 November 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  6. ^ a b "Khaled el-Enany, le très francophile ministre Égyptien". LeJournaldesArts.fr (in French). 31 March 2019.
  7. ^ a b Sow, Dieynaba Khaty (6 November 2025). "Khaled El-Enany elected Director-General of UNESCO". UNESCO. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  8. ^ a b "Who's who: Meet Egypt's 10 new ministers in Sherif Ismail's cabinet". Ahram Online. 23 March 2016.
  9. ^ a b c Al-Youm, Al-Masry (23 November 2019). "Profile – Khaled al-Anany, the first Minister of Antiquities and Tourism". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  10. ^ "Profile – Khaled al-Anany, the first Minister of Antiquities and Tourism". Egypt Independent. 23 December 2019.
  11. ^ Knell, Yolande (15 July 2020). "Egypt desperate to revive coronavirus-hit tourism industry". BBC News. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  12. ^ "Ahmed Issa appointed as new Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, succeeding Khaled El-Anany - Dailynewsegypt". 13 August 2022.
  13. ^ Sirgany, Sarah (16 December 2018). "4,400-year-old tomb discovered in Egypt". CNN. Retrieved 18 December 2018.
  14. ^ Stéphanie Pioda (5 July 2018). "La nouvelle ambition de l'Égypte". gazette-drouot.com (in French).
  15. ^ "Egypt's nominee for UNESCO director-general, Khaled El-Enany, chosen as UN Tourism Ambassador for Cultural Tourism - Tourism - Egypt". Ahram Online. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  16. ^ "Egypt's candidate for top UNESCO post Khaled El-Enany picked to be rapporteur of AWHF - Egyptian Gazette". egyptian-gazette.com. 27 January 2025. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  17. ^ "Election à l'UNESCO : la France, le Brésil, la Turquie, l'Union Africaine et la Ligue des États Arabes soutiennent le candidat Khaled El-Enany - Abidjan.net News" (in French). Archived from the original on 23 December 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  18. ^ "Succession à la tête de l'Unesco : Khaled El-Enany de plus en plus favori - Jeune Afrique.com". JeuneAfrique.com (in French). Retrieved 13 March 2025.
  19. ^ a b "UNESCO board backs Egypt's Khaled el-Enany as its next chief". Al Jazeera. 7 October 2025. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  20. ^ Ezz, Mohamed (6 November 2025). "Egypt's Enany set to lead UNESCO despite criticism of heritage record at home". Reuters. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  21. ^ a b Valmary, Simon (6 November 2025). "Egyptian Takes Reins At UN Cultural Agency Rocked By Trump Pullout". Barron's. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  22. ^ Toutate, Issam (6 November 2025). "UNESCO Elects Egyptian Archaeologist Khaled El Enany as New Director-General". Morocco World News. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  23. ^ a b "Egypt's Khaled el-Enany takes reins at UN cultural agency rocked by Trump pull-out". The Arab Weekly. 7 November 2025.
  24. ^ a b Khan, Sana (6 November 2025). "Egypt's El-Enany Poised to Lead UNESCO Despite Heritage Controversy". Modern Diplomacy. Retrieved 6 November 2025.
  25. ^ "تسلم وسام جوقة الشرف الوطني برتبة فارس وهو أعلى تكريم مدني فرنسي ضمن أبرز محطات د. خالد عناني". 2 September 2025.
  26. ^ "New Minister of Antiquities Khaled El-Enany vows to tackle budget gaps: Interview". ahram.org. 23 March 2016.
  27. ^ "خالد العنانى يحصل على الدكتوراة الفخرية من جامعة بول فاليري بمونبيليه بفرنسا". اليوم السابع (in Arabic). 27 September 2024. Retrieved 6 March 2025.
  28. ^ "Le Japon décerne l'Ordre du Soleil levant à Al-Anani et Hawas". 3 November 2021.
  29. ^ "Anani, Hawass Awarded Order of Merit of Poland". see.news. 26 October 2020.
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