Farouk Hosni nominated as UNESCO director

Daily News Egypt

The Egyptian government announced Monday that it was nominating Minister of Culture Farouk Hosni as a candidate for the position of director general of the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). There have been nine director generals since Unesco’s inception, but none of them have been from Egypt or any Arab country. Farouk Hosni has been the Minister of Culture since 1987, and is the longest serving member of President Hosni Mubarak’s cabinet. He is also an accomplished painter and artist, whose art has been exhibited around the world.

According to a spokesperson at the Ministry of Culture, Hosni is “very happy that the President has endorsed him as he seeks the position. He hopes that he will be the first Arab to be the director general of Unesco.” Many Egyptian experts on culture and society praised Hosni’s nomination, pointing to his extensive experience as Minister of Culture and his close work with Unesco on a number of projects in Egypt.