He was elected during the UN body's conference in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, becoming the first UNESCO chief from an Arab country. The election is seen as a victory for Egyptian President Abd al-Fattah al-Sisi, who wants to increase the country's international influence.
Khaled al-Anani will take up his new position on November 15 and will lead UNESCO during a period when the United States is leaving the UN agency, which Donald Trump justifies by saying that UNESCO promotes “woke, divisive cultural and social agendas.” The cultural and educational agency UNESCO will thus lose 8 percent of its funding at a time when European countries have declared their unwillingness to contribute more money.
