28.03.2024

Audrey Azoulay elected as new Director General of UNESCO

Ex-Minister of Culture of France Audrey Azoulay has been elected the new Director General of UNESCO following a vote.

She got 30 votes out of 58 possible. Her rival in the final was Qatari diplomat Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari, who received 20 votes, respectively.

The candidate who won the election will be confirmed during the 39th session of the UNESCO General Conference.

As a reminder, on October 12, 2017, the US State Department officially announced its withdrawal from UNESCO. According to the official statement of the US Department of State, which was presented to UNESCO Director General Irina Bokova, this decision was made in connection with «the growing debts of UNESCO, the need to carry out fundamental reforms in the organization and prejudice against Israel.»

Earlier, the American edition of Foreign Policy wrote that this decision was due, among other things, to the desire to save financial resources. The United States currently donates $ 80 million annually to UNESCO. US President Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed dissatisfaction with the «disproportionate» share of the United States in financing international institutions.

The decision will come into force on December 31, 2018. After that, the United States expects to continue cooperation with UNESCO as a permanent observer.

Soon after the statement of the American State Department, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the Israeli Foreign Ministry to prepare for the process of leaving the organization simultaneously with the United States.

Audrey Azoulay. Help (based on Wikipedia) .

She was born on August 4, 1972 in Paris, in a family of Moroccan Jews. Daughter of Andre Azulay, adviser to the kings of Morocco Hassan II and Mohammad VI.

She earned her Master of Science from the University of Paris-Dauphine and her Master of Business Administration from Lancaster University. Graduated from the Institute for Political Studies in Paris and the National School of Administration.

After graduating from the National School of Administration in 2000, she worked in the Accounts Chamber of the Ile-de-France region and was a member of the Committee for Monitoring the Cost and Efficiency of Public Services.

In 2006, she moved to the National Center for Film and Animation, where she eventually became the head of the audiovisual division. In 2014, she became an adviser to President François Hollande.

On February 12, 2016, she became French Minister of Culture in the second government of Manuel Valls. On December 6, 2016, she became a member of the Kaznev government, receiving the portfolio of the Minister of Culture and Communications.

On May 25, 2017, she arrived at the G7 summit in Taormina, Sicily, as part of the election campaign for the post of UNESCO Director General, which she joined back in March 2017.

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