Khaled El-Enany’s UNESCO win and contested legacy
Former tourism and antiquities minister Khaled El-Enany has drawn global attention after securing a decisive 55–2 victory in UNESCO’s Executive Board vote for the organization's new director-general. Only formal confirmation by the General Conference in November remains, paving the way for him to become director-general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization/UNESCO from 2025 to 2029, succeeding France’s Audrey Azoulay.
A record of achievement and controversy
El-Enany’s public image blends academic prestige with political dispute. As minister, he oversaw landmark events such as the Pharaohs’ Golden Parade, the opening of Luxor’s Avenue of the Sphinxes, and progress on the Grand Egyptian Museum. Yet his tenure was also marked by criticism over policies perceived as harmful to Egypt’s cultural heritage. These included demolitions of historic cemeteries, delisting of protected sites, and contentious restoration and relocation projects—most notably transferring ram statues from Karnak Temple to Tahrir Square, moving an obelisk to the Grand Egyptian Museum, and restoring the facade statues at Luxor Temple, which drew criticism from experts.
How might these controversies in El-Enany’s home country influence his stewardship of a global heritage organization? And can he reinvigorate UNESCO amid its declining international relevance and the renewed prospect of US withdrawal at the end of 2026?
From middle-class roots to international prominence
El-Enany’s rise reflects a classic story of social mobility. Born in 1971 into a middle-class family, he was not part of Egypt’s political or cultural elite. His father, son of a farmer, became an engineer and moved from Sharqiya Governorate to Cairo.
El-Enany has described his life as an example of merit-based advancement, achieving ministerial office through education and perseverance rather than privilege. That narrative resonates with many Egyptians striving for upward mobility.
Born in 1971, his mother worked as a professor of French at the Faculty of Tourism, Helwan University, which he later joined and became a teaching assistant. It was at this same faculty that he fell in love with one of his students and later married her.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in tour guiding in 1992, he completed a master’s in Egyptian antiquities in Nubia at Helwan University, then pursued advanced studies in France. He earned both a Diploma in Advanced Studies/DEA and a PhD in Egyptology from Paul-Valéry University, Montpellier 3. Until his UNESCO nomination, he served as a professor of Egyptology at Helwan University.
At the ministry
Appointed antiquities minister in 2016, El-Enany was later tasked with merging the tourism and antiquities portfolios in 2019. Supporters describe him as a pragmatic technocrat who combines academic rigor with efficient management.
Hussein Bassir, director of the Antiquities Museum at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, praised him as “a disciplined academic who approaches issues methodically, attentive to both detail and overarching vision,” adding that he is “courteous and intellectually engaged.”
Bassir told Al-Manassa that the Library of Alexandria had hosted El-Enany three years ago, when he delivered a distinguished lecture. “Since the launch of his campaign for UNESCO, he has conducted extensive tours around the world, meeting officials from many cultures and countries. He presented a comprehensive vision for education and human rights. The campaign was methodical and clear, coming from a well-known figure for his Francophone culture and his fluency in French, English, and Arabic.”
Yet detractors remain vocal, among them Nezar AlSayyad, distinguished professor emeritus of architecture, planning, urban design, and urban history at the University of California, Berkeley, and one of the most prominent figures interested in documenting Cairo’s heritage. AlSayyad argued that El-Enany’s tenure coincided with the demolition of Islamic heritage sites in Cairo, especially historic cemeteries, after some buildings were delisted from protection. These acts, he said, alarmed preservationists and archaeologists alike.
AlSayyad further criticized the 2019 merger of the tourism and antiquities ministries, calling it a repetition of a historical mistake. The state established a ministry named the “Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities” in 1964, but quickly separated them again in 1965 when antiquities were returned to the Ministry of Culture under Tharwat Okasha. After the January 2011 revolution, a new Ministry of State for Antiquities was created under the leadership of Zahi Hawass, and this arrangement remained in place until 2019, when the merger was reinstituted under Khaled El-Enany.
“El-Enany has the administrative capacity to lead UNESCO,” AlSayyad said, “but his emphasis on tourism over conservation blurred the ministry’s mission. The merger suggested that antiquities existed only to promote tourism.”
Other disputes surfaced as well. Mohamed Hamza, former dean of Cairo University’s Faculty of Archaeology, accused El-Enany in a press interview of “burying” the decision to form a committee on Cairo’s cemetery registration and then deliberately excluding him from the Supreme Council of Antiquities/SCA.
When later contacted by Al Manassa, Hamza clarified that the committee was suspended in 2016 due to security reasoms—not El-Enany’s interference—and that he had not been deliberately excluded. Rather his SCA membership was tied to his position as dean and ended automatically when his term finished. Nonetheless, he maintained that the new UNESCO leader “should turn a new page” and address earlier heritage missteps.
What comes next
Despite criticism, El-Enany’s victory opens a new chapter for Egypt and UNESCO alike. Mohamed Abdel Maqsoud, former secretary-general of the SCA, said “The focus should now be on his future actions. He represents Egypt, the Arab world, and Africa, and he is only the second African to hold this office after Senegal’s Amadou-Mahtar M’Bow (1974--1987).” Abdel Maqsoud expressed hope that El-Enany will champion new Egyptian nominations to UNESCO’s World Heritage List.
Egypt currently has seven World Heritage sites—fewer than Morocco’s nine, Saudi Arabia’s eight, and Iran’s twenty-two—while Italy leads globally with sixty-one. Abdel Maqsoud hoped his election would be “an opportunity to boost Egypt’s chances of registering more of its archaeological sites, in addition to supporting the Arab and Palestinian heritage that has been destroyed. This is the crucial point for me”
He also emphasized the need for reform within UNESCO. “The organization sometimes spends on non-priority items while neglecting its educational, scientific, and cultural priorities. With its complex bureaucracy, UNESCO requires stronger governance and clearer goals.”
Abdel Maqsoud concluded by saying, “The task ahead for Dr. Khaled El-Enany will undoubtedly be difficult, but it is a great responsibility that necessitates reform and balanced support for Egypt and the region.”
In contrast, AlSayyad warned against viewing El-Enany’s rise as a national triumph. “This isn’t about nationality,” he said. “It’s about competence. UNESCO has grown largely symbolic, with little authority beyond managing the World Heritage List. Egypt, though rich in antiquities, remains underrepresented—and unless El-Enany’s leadership changes that, his term may repeat past shortcomings.”
The challenges ahead
When El-Enany assumes office in November, he will inherit an organization facing institutional and financial fragility. The 2025 MOPAN assessment—a review by donor countries—found that UNESCO exceeded its 2022–2023 budget by $5.6 million due to rising salary costs and weak fiscal oversight. A March 2024 audit by the Executive Board identified similar governance gaps and called for stronger accountability.
UNESCO’s funding crisis deepened after the United States and Israel withdrew in 2018, cutting off its largest donor. Washington rejoined in 2023, pledging to finance 22% of the regular budget and repay $619 million in arrears. But by 2025, it again announced plans to withdraw by the end of 2026, reigniting financial uncertainty.
To stabilize the organization, El-Enany will need to diversify funding sources, rebuild donor confidence, and restore the agency’s credibility. His tenure will test whether UNESCO can evolve beyond political disputes, and whether its next chapter will mark renewed achievement or continued controversy.
This triumph caps three years of diplomatic campaigning. Egypt nominated El-Enany in April 2023, received the Arab League’s endorsement in September that year, and gained the African Union’s backing in February 2024. Through international alliances, he ultimately prevailed over his Congolese rival, Firmin Edouard Matoko.
For Egypt, El-Enany’s success represents the culmination of a efforts, following previous bids for UNESCO by Ismail Serageldin in 1999, Farouk Hosni in 2009, and Moshira Khattab in 2017.