The Election of the UNESCO Director General

A new Director General is to be elected for the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization this year. A total of nine candidatures were received by the Executive Board. They are (in chronological order of reception):

• - Ms Ina MARČIULIONYTĖ (Lithuania) Candidature proposed by: Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia

• - Mr Mohammed BEDJAOUI (Algeria) Candidature proposed by: Cambodia

• - Ms Irina Gueorguieva BOKOVA (Bulgaria) Candidature proposed by: Bulgaria

• - Mr Farouk HOSNY (Egypt) Candidature proposed by: Egypt, Kowait, Sudan, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya

• - Mr Sospeter Mwijarubi MUHONGO (United Republic of Tanzania) Candidature proposed by: United Republic of Tanzania

• - Mr Alexander Vladimirovich YAKOVENKO (Russian Federation) Candidature proposed by: Russian Federation

• - Ms Ivonne JUEZ de A. BAKI (Ecuador) Candidature proposed by: Ecuador

• - Ms Benita FERRERO-WALDNER (Austria) Candidature proposed by: Austria, Colombia

• - Mr Nouréini TIDJANI-SERPOS (Benin) Candidature proposed by: Benin

Each candidate is to present a brief document with a vision for the future of UNESCO, and the candidates are to be interviewed by the UNESCO Executive Board in September. The Executive Board is to recommend a candidate to the General Conference, which in turn is to elect the new Director General during its meeting in October.

Read more:

• The rules for the selection of the candidate for the position of Director General to be nominated to the General Conference by the Executive Board (182 EX/INF.9)
• The announcement of the candidates from UNESCO with additional information on the election process.
• A news item from UNESCO news on the Executive Board meeting.
• UN Eleactions: "UNESCO Receives Nine Candidatures for Director-General, Interviews Set for September"
• SciDev.Net: "Who Will Be the Next Head of UNESCO" by Yojana Sharma
• SciDev.Net: "Last-Minute Candidates Vie for UNESCO's Top Posts" by Yojana Sharma
• Deutscher KulturRAT: "UNESCO – more than just culture, but less than just politics" by Andreas Westerwinter
• UNESCO in the Spotlight: "Editorial: Electing a New Director General for UNESCO" by John Daly
• UNESCO in the Spotlight: "Thoughts About Choosing a New Director General for UNESCO" by John Daly
• TerraViva United Nations: "UNESCO Race Wide Open" by Alecia D. McKenzie
• "Why UNESCO is not going to get the leadership it needs" by John Daly

Here are some articles reporting on prior elections:

• The Deccan Chronicle: "Chequebook Diplomacy" by Thalif Deen
• Taqaza: "The hypocracy of it all" by Kamran Shafi
• The New York Times: "Campaigning for a Top Job at UNESCO" by Barbara Corssette
• The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka): "Day of Cheque Book Diplomacy in Paris" annonymous editorial
• The Don-A Ilbo (South Korea): "How Japanese Diplomats Got Appointed to Top Int'l Posts" annonymous
• The Guardian: UNESCO's "New Head Vows to End Corruption"
• Le Monde: "Le Japonais Koichiro Matsuura va succéder à Federico Mayor à la tête de l'Unesco"
• The New York Times: "UNESCO Director Withdraws Bid for Reelection"
• Al Ahram Weekly: "New departures for UNESCO?"
• U.N. Wire: "Battle For Top Job Goes Public"
• Save UNESCO: "UNESCO's Director Generals: A History of Boldness"
• Asian Tribune: "The Battle for the Top Job at UNESCO"
• Asian Tribune: "A Post Mortem on UNESCO Director General Election"
  

Prior to the formal nominations by the representatives of member nations of UNESCO, there was a process in which various individuals were identified as potential candidates. Several individuals from Arab nations were floated as possible candidates, but eventually withdrawn in favor of Farouk Hosny. There was a considerable controversy in Brazil about two possible Brazilian candidates, neither of whom were finally nominated.

A note on this website:

This website seeks to make a broad body of information on the election and candidates available to all interested parties. I neither seek nor will I accept financial contributions from any source for its content or upkeep. The website is made possible by the free, public services of Blogger, Google, Google translate and Google alerts. Thanks to those who have suggested published reports that might be of interest to its readers. John Daly