Election of the UNESCO Director General

9/17/09

More coverage of the election and the candidates

Starting after the first vote toward the selection of the new Director General of UNESCO I will post links to news articles as I find them. This list extends the previous list which has more than 200 links.

The First Round of Voting

The first round of voting ended a couple of hours ago in Paris. I have had several reports on the totals which are in general agreement/

Farouk Hosny, the Egyptian candidate as expected had most votes, but was far from the majority of 30 needed to be selected.

Irina Bokova (Bulgaria), Alexander Yakovenko (Russia), Ivonne Baki (Ecuador) and Benita Ferrero-Waldner (Austria) were bunched with 7 or 8 votes each.

The remaining candidates (Marciulionyte, Muhongo, Tadjani and Bedjaoui) were far behind.

I understand that there is to be another vote tomorrow.

Recall that the Executive Board has some 60 items on its agenda so the delegates have a great deal to do beside the election of a new Director General.

Remember, that the rules allow the voting to end when any candidate gets a majority on a ballot. If that has not happened by the fourth vote, the voting in the fifth round is limited to the two candidates who received the most votes on the fourth.

Read:

Incidentally, this website has had more than 8,000 visits in less than a month.

9/16/09

The Poll

Thanks to all the people who took the time to vote in the poll.

I added a poll to this website to allow people to express their opinions on who should be elected Director General of UNESCO. As I write this, there have been 4650 votes recorded, the vast majority for Ina Marciulionyte (4424 votes).

Four other candidates have enough votes to show up on the graph of results: Ivonne Baki (44 votes), Irina Bokova (28 votes), Benita Ferrero-Waldner (42 votes), and Farouk Hosny (42 votes).

In the first days of the poll, Ivonne Baki took the lead. That lead rapidly deteriorated as the Marciulionyte faction started registering votes.

In interpreting this data you have to recognize that one vote does not represent one person, and the domination of Ms. Marciulionyte is almost certainly the result of her supporters mobilizing more effectively to cast votes. The number of "real votes" is quite small. 70 votes were divided among the other three candidates, with none getting as many as 28 votes.

Mohammed Bedjaoui was not included in the poll as it was thought he had withdrawn from the competition when the poll was created.

I suppose the conclusions that can be drawn are that Ina Marciulionyte's supporters are more effective in using the Internet, and perhaps that support in cyberspace for the other candidates is fairly evenly split.

In another unscientific poll, a Egyptian blogger strongly opposed to the candidacy of Farouk Hosny asked her readers whether Farouk Hosny deserved to win the UNESCO Chair. The results as of this writing are 14 yes, 91 no.

9/15/09

Interviews Were Held Today

Following the rules of the Executive Board of UNESCO, each of the candidates for the post of Director General of UNESCO was interviewed by the Board today. With nine interviews, scheduled for an hour each, it must have been a long day.

After a long debate on Friday and Monday, Mohammed Bedjaoui was included in the interviews. The Algerian, nominated by the Government of Cambodia, had sought to withdraw from the race but his resignation was apparently not accepted. Apparently he made a strong impression on the Board -- not surprisingly due to his impressive career.

The voting is to take place on Thursday, September 17. You may recall that if a candidate does not obtain the majority of votes on any of the first four ballots, then the fifth ballot is to be limited to the top two candidates on the fourth ballot.

We will soon know who will get the nod from the Executive Board, to be recommended to the entire General Conference which meets in October.

While Farouk Hosny, the Egyptian Minister of Culture, continues to claim leadership in the race, others suggest it is still open, with several contenders having a chance for selection.

Read the UNESCO News Service release on the session.

7/26/09

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.

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

Criteria for Evaluation of Candidates for the Post of Director General of UNESCO

The candidates for the post of Director General should be judged on how well qualified they are to carry out the functions of their important post. It is often useful to define a set of explicit criteria against which those qualifications may be judged. This posting is an attempt to define such criteria. It is assumed without stating that all the candidates nominated by member states are persons of high moral character, physically fit to carry out the arduous duties of the Office.

In its letter to the member states inviting nominations for the Post of Director General, the Executive Board wrote the following:

In facing the challenges of the new millennium, it is important to highlight the personal qualities required for the UNESCO Director-General. The point of departure is that the General Conference, in the interests of all Member States, should appoint the best person for the post who should have the following qualities:
leadership and proven administrative and management skills;
a strong commitment to all the objectives of the Organization;
a visionary and active approach to the role of UNESCO in the community of nations;
good knowledge of the United Nations system;
commitment to the highest moral and ethical standards;
strong communication skills so as to develop effective internal and external communication strategies, vision and objectives for the Organization;
empathy and sensitivity to civil society as an important UNESCO constituency by utilizing, as appropriate, the existing structures and in particular the National Commissions for UNESCO."

(Tony Fleming, in his report titled "Improving Global Leadership Selection" has summarized the criteria used by other agencies of the United Nations system.)

While I do not disagree with the general criteria identified by the Board, it seems to me that more specificity might be useful. Here is a complementary list of criteria that might be considered:

General Criteria

Demonstrated effective action for the promotion of peace.

Demonstrated effective action for the promotion and conduct of dialog among diverse cultural groups.

Skills in international diplomacy.

Demonstrated effective action in assisting in social and economic development in an international context.

Organizational Skills

Ability to manage and reform a large complex intergovernmental organization, demonstrated by education and experience.

Ability to interface with and motivate global networks of individuals and organizations, especially the educational, scientific, cultural and other intellectual networks working with UNESCO.

Sectoral Leadership and Management

Education: A strong background in educational management, as might be demonstrated by background as a minister of education or president of a university.

Natural and Social Sciences: A strong background in scientific administration, such as might be demonstrated by background as a minister of science, energy or environment, or direction of a scientific organization such as a research center.

Culture: A strong background in management of cultural institutions, such as might be demonstrated by background as a minister of culture or direction of a cultural organization such as a firm in a cultural industry or a development assistance organization focusing on culture and development.

Communications and Information: A strong background in management of institutions in this field, such as direction of a national library, major newspaper, or media network, or minister of communications and information.

Personal

The Director General should be a public intellectual, capable of obtaining and holding the respect of the international intellectual community.

The Director General should understand broad global social and economic processes that are affecting demands for an on educational, scientific, cultural and communications and information systems.

Of course, no individual is likely to score well against all these criteria. Moreover, not all these criteria deserve equal weight in the selection of the Director General. Thus, the core function of UNESCO is to build the defenses of peace in the minds of men, and demonstrated commitment to the promotion of peace would seem to merit great weight in the selection.

The relative importance of the ability to manage UNESCO’s formal organization versus the ability to mobilize the informal networks that UNESCO catalyzes and stakeholder communities that UNESCO serves should be weighed. I would suggest that while bureaucratic management will continue to be important, it is still more important that the next Director General seek to improve the UNESCO’s outreach to this larger community.

Often through the use of such criteria, candidates can be divided into groups such as:

Highly qualified.
Qualified.
Marginally qualified
Unqualified.

Comments and suggestions are welcome!

An assessment of the race for the position of Director General

Geographic Considerations
It is generally believed that the position of Director General of UNESCO should not be monopolized by any one nation, or indeed by any region. Most previous Directors General have been from Western Europe or the United States, with one Asian, one Latin American and one African. There is also an unwritten agreement that the top positions within the United Nations system should be distributed among many nations.

It should be noted that UNESCO divides member nations into five groups, each of which chooses a specified number of members of the Executive Board. (Click here to see a report with the current members by group.) Active nominees according to this grouping are:

Group 1: one nominee (Benita FERRERO-WALDNER, Austria; 6 previous Directors General),
Group 2: three nominees (Irina Gueorguieva BOKOVA. Bulgaria; Ina MARČIULIONYTĖ, Lithuania and Alexander Vladimirovich YAKOVENKO, the Russian Federationl; no previous Directors General)
Group 3: one nominee (Ivonne JUEZ de A. BAKI, Ecuador: one previous Director General)
Group 4: no nominees (the current Director General)
Gruop 5: three nominees (Nouréini TIDJANI-SERPOS, Benin; Farouk HOSNY. Egypt and Sospeter Mwijarubi MUHONGO , Tanzania; one previous Director General)

The voting for Director General is by secret ballot on the basis of one vote per member nation. Developing nations hold the vast majority of the votes. It was thought early in the process of selection that a citizen of an Arab or Islamic nation might have an advantage in this UNESCO election.

The final decision in fact depends on the qualities of the individual candidates and the support that the sponsoring nations are willing to give each candidate.

The Candidates
Nine candidates were formally nominated prior to the deadline. Four are women, and there has never been a woman Director General of UNESCO. Four were from Europe, two from Sub-Saharan Africa, two from North Africa, and one from Latin America.

A number of individuals from Arab nations were reported to be seeking nomination and support for their candidacy, but at last Farouk Hosny was nominated. Mohammed Bedjaoui of Algeria was nominated by Cambodia, but (reportedly under heavy pressure) has withdrawn his candidacy.

Two Brazilians , UNESCO Deputy Director General Marcio Barbosa and Brazilian Senator Cristovam Buarque were considered for nomination by Brazil, but finally neither was nominated, reportedly due to a decision to support the Egyptian candidate.

The Permanent Representatives of Bulgaria (Irina Bokova) and Lithuania (Ina Marctulionyte) were nominated as had been expected, and have been actively campaigning for the position. Assistant Director General for African Programs, Nouréini Tidjani-Serpos was the only member of the Secretariate to receive a formal nomination, that of his country Benin.

There were four nominations that had not been widely expected, Benita Ferrero-Waldner (an Austrian, and the Commissioner for External Relations of the EC), Alexander Vladimirovich Yajivenko (the Deputy Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation), Ivonne Baki (an Ecuadorian, and the President of the Andean Parliament), and Sospeter Muhongo (a Tanzanian, and Regional Director for Africa of the International Council for Science).

The Campaigns

The only votes that count are those of the representatives of the member states in the governing bodies, and these are usually determined by instructions from their governments. Therefore perhaps the most important aspect of campaigning is done in negotiations between governments, and those negotiations are normally done in secret. In this election, however, there have been a number of news stories that open the process somewhat. Thus we can read the agendas of bi-national diplomatic discussions that include requests for support of a national candidate among other topics. The negotiations between the Egyptian government and those of Israel and France have been the subject of speculation in the press. Russia came up with a unique campaign tactic, offering publicly to increase its contribution to UNESCO from $12 million to $20 million per year if its candidate is chosen.

Candidates themselves have been actively seeking the office by a variety of means. Several attended major meetings supported by UNESCO (World Conference on Higher Education, meeting of the World Heritage Committee). Hospitality suites have been set up in these fora in which candidates can meet permanent representatives to UNESCO from other nations. Several have travelled to meet government officials in key nations. Most have established websites and given interviews with the press discussing their candidacy. Vision statements from most of the candidates have been made available to the public.

There has been quite a bit of press coverage of the election. When Koichiro Matsuura was elected the first time, the Internet was much less developed than it is today. As a result, this year there is much more opportunity for private citizens to be informed about the election and even to express support or opposition to candidates.

The candidacy of Farouk Hosny has proven to be especially controversial, raising vocal opposition from a number of groups, and serious lobbying against his election by a number of member states, as well as strong support from his partisans.. His early lead in the race is reported to have deteriorated. However, he appears to have continued strong support from his government. The government of Israel had at one time opposed his candidacy, but withdrew that opposition. The government of France was at one time announced to be in support of Hosny, but more recently announced that it was not supporting a specific candidate.

Rumors suggest that:

the two African candidates have weakened support for the Egyptian candidate among African nations;
the support from the Islamic nations for the Egyptian candidate is not as solid as had once been believed.
the European nations may be seeking a process by which they can all support a single European candidate.

The Selection Process

The 58 members of the Executive Board will have the opportunity to review the qualification statements for the candidates submitted by their governments, to read the vision statements they themselves have submitted (probably often with the help of their government's UNESCO representatives), and to interview the candidates.

In past elections of new Directors General, the Executive Board did not give a majority to a candidate on the first round of voting, and with eight active candidates it seems quite possible that this time there will be more than one round of voting as well. Thus the process by which members of the Executive Board switch their support from one to another candidate may be important.

The recommendation of the Executive Board is considered likely to be accepted by the General Conference, and Chairman Yai of the Executive Board is likely to play an important role in managing the election process. It is difficult for an outsider to predict in advance which candidate will eventually emerge as the victor. The nomination of a candidate for Director General of UNESCO is one of 62 items on the crowded agenda of this meeting (September 7 - 23, 2009) of the Executive Board.

A good source for news and views on UNESCO and this election is the UNESCO's Friends Group on LinkedIN.

Coverage of the election and candidates

I recommend Google Translate and/or Babel Fish for online translation of articles from their original language to your language.

This set of links is being updated on a daily basis!

The following list is in order that I found the reference, and is not in chronological order of their publication. The articles I believe to be most influential are in red.

Save UNESCO: Why Farouk Hosni Cannot Become the UNESCO's Next Director General is a blog operated by some French students which posts information on UNESCO and the race for Director General. Omar Massalha, a representative of the committee to support Farouk Hosny has asked that I post also a link to their blog: Yes4FaroukHosny.

The Facebook site for "Egyptians Against Nominating Farouk Hosny for UNESCO" has a number of links to articles in Arabic. If you do not read Arabic, I suggest that you can get a rough translation online using Google translate.

I can not post titles in Arabic but here are links to some articles relevent to the election of the new UNESCO Director General in that language:

There are other news articles on these candidates which I have not been posting as they are not specifically related to UNESCO nor the election campaign. This is especially true of Benita Ferrero-Waldner whose duties as EU Commissioner result in a great deal of media coverage. There are also unposted articles discussing Egyptian cultural matters naming Farouk Hosny in his role as Minister of Culture. I have difficulty following the literature posted in the Cyrillic alphabet.

Biographical Information for Ivonne Baki

Personal Data

Name: Leila Ivonne Juez de Baki
Marital status: Married. Spouse: Sami Abd-El Baki
Place of residence: Quito

Studies

1993 Doctorate in Public Administration. School Government John F. Kennedy - Harvard University (Editor's note: This seems to be an error as her website lists a Masters degreee in public administration.)
1992 Master in Public Policy, School of Government John F. Kennedy - Harvard University
1982 Master of Art University La Sorbonne in Paris (Editor's note: The candidates website does not list the degree.)
1979 Architectural Studies at the University of Beirut

Positions

2007 President of the Andean Parliament
Andean Parliamentary since 2006; Elected for a period of four years
2003-2005 Minister of Trade Industry, Fisheries and Competitiveness
2003-2004 President of the Commission of the Andean Community of Nations
1998-2002 Ambassador of Ecuador to the United States of America
1984-1990 Honorary Counsel of Ecuador in Lebanon
1992-1998 Honorary Counsel of Ecuador in Boston, MA
1998 Adviser to the President of Ecuador in the negotiations culminated in the signing of peace treaty with Peru
1995 Member of the Foundation "Without Borders"; Dedicated to help depressed areas of the province of Esmeraldas
1994-1996 Member of the Board of Directors of "Conflict Management Group ", a nonprofit organization dedicated to conflict resolution and the promotion of peace in many regions of the World, led by Professor Roger Fisher.

Decorations and Awards

"It merits of Excellence l'Européene"
Order of the Cedar of Lebanon
National Order of Merit of Ecuador
Decoration Resident Artist at Harvard University.
Award 1992 "Art for Peace", Princeton University
Honorato Vasquez Prize 1992, awarded by the Government of Ecuador.
The 1998 Order of The House of Representatives United States of America.
Designated 1999's "The five most powerful women Washington, "Embassy of Ecuador
"Excellency in Leadership Award" of the Economic International Order of Merit of Lebanon
The U.S. Women in Leadership Award
The Global Citizen Award. Patel Foundation
The Humanitarian Rose Award. Princess of Wales Foundation

Publications

"Forces of Change: Artists of the Arab World"
"A Life of Art: Searching for Peace"

Check out:

Ivonne Baki's personal website
Her Twitter account
Her profile by Larry Luxner in Saudi Aramco World (2000)
"A Woman's Touch for UNESCO" by Claude Salhani, Middle East Times (article on Ivonne Baki's qualifications for the position)
"Candidate A-Baki Envisions UNESCO as 'Institution of Ideas"" Rolf Rosenkranz, Devex News (article on the candidate and her chances)
"Art of the Possible," The Washington Times (article on Ivonne Baki and her campaign.
"Ivonne Baki Recibe en Paris el Premio America", El Universo, August 25, 2009.
Her article "Where Poverty and Culture Intersect: Embracing Local Traditions to Better Fight Poverty" in The Huffington Post.
Her article "Women Building a Culture of Peace" in the Imagine Peace archives
An online gallery exhibit of Ivonne Baki's paintings

Short Video (Spanish): Homenaje a la Dra. Ivonne Baki

Biographical Information for Irina Gueorguieva Bokova

Irina GEORGIEVA BOKOVA (ИРИНА ГЕОРГИЕВА БОКОВА)
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Bulgaria to France and to the Principality of Monaco; Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Bulgaria to UNESCO

Born: 12 July, 1952

Nationality: Bulgarian

Civil status: Married, two children

CIVIL SOCIETY POSITIONS

Feb. 1997 – June 2005 Founder and Chairperson of the European Policy Forum
1997-1998 Member of the Working Group on Enlargement with the Robert Schuman Institute of European Studies in Florence, Italy, addressing the geo-political implications of enlargement.
1997 – 2005 Key-note speaker or invitee to a number of conferences, organized inter alia by the Robert Schuman Institute of European Studies in Florence, Italy, Wilton Park Conferences, UK, Center for European Policy Studies (CEPS), Belgium, College of Europe, Brugge, Belgium, Open Society Foundation, The US Institute of Peace, The Bertelsmann Foundation, Germany, George Marshall Fund, US.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Feb. 1997 – Sept. 1997 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Office of the Minister, Adviser to the Minister (with rank of Ambassador)
Nov. 1996 – Feb. 1997 Minister of Foreign Affairs
June 1995 – Feb. 1997 State Secretary on European Integration, First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs in charge of UN, OSCE, EU and NATO, Chief co-ordinator of Bulgaria–EU relations. Co-Chairperson, Bulgaria – EU Association Committee, National PHARE Coordinator, Chairperson, Inter-Agency Co-ordination Commission on European Integration (at deputy ministerial level), Took part as head of delegation or keynote speaker in a number of international fora, Member of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for European Studies
September 1995 Deputy head of the Delegation of Bulgaria to the Fourth World Conference on Women “Action for Equality, Development and Peace” (Beijing, China)
Oct. 1991- March 1992 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sofia, European Security Department, First Secretary
June 1990 – Oct. 1991 Member of the Constituent National Assembly, Took part in the drafting of the new Bulgarian Constitution, Head of the delegation of the Bulgarian Parliament to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe
Member of the Foreign Policy Committee and the Human Rights Committee, Initiated the first parliamentary seminar on the European Declaration on Human Rights
Aug. 1986 – Jan. 1990 Office of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, Sofia, Adviser to the Minister (with the rank of First Secretary)
Jan. 1984 – Sept. 1986 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, UN DepartmentThird and Second Secretary, Member of the Bulgarian delegation as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (1986-87).
Sept. 1982 – Jan. 1984 Permanent Mission of Bulgaria to the UN, New York, Third Secretary In charge of political and juridical affairs
Jan. 1977 – Sept. 1982 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Sofia, Attaché and Third Secretary In charge of political and human rights issues

EDUCATION

1971 Secondary English Language School, Sofia
1976 Moscow State Institute of International Relations, MBA in international relation
Jan. – Aug. 1989 USA University of Maryland, School of Public Affairs, Washington, Ford Foundation fellow, Programme on the US foreign policy decision-making proces
Sept. 1992 – Dec. 1994 NATO fellow, Programme for Central and Eastern Europe on democratic institutions focusing on the national and legal mechanism for the protection of minorities
Nov. – Dec. 1999 Harvard University, John F. Kennedy School of Government Executive Programme in Leadership and Economic Development

LANGUAGES

English – fluent
Russian – fluent
Spanish – fluent
French – fluent

MAIN PUBLICATIONS

Bulgaria and Ethnic Tensions in the Balkans, Mediterranean Quarterly, January 1991
Monitoring Bulgaria’s Accession to the European Union, European Policy Forum, Annual publications 1999, 2000, 2001
Integration of South-Eastern Europe into the European Mainstream, Journal of South East and Black Sea Studies, October 2000
Einbahnstrasse EU-Erweiterung, Schüren Verlag, Marburg, Germany, September 2001
Numerous articles on foreign policy and European integration issues.

ADDITIONAL SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Biographical Information for Benita Ferrero-Waldner

Benita Ferrero-Waldner has been nominated by Austria as a candidate for the post of Director General of UNESCO. Here are some facts about her:

Born on 5 September, 1948 in Salzburg, Austria - married to Professor Francisco Ferrero Campos

November 2004

Member of the European Commission in charge of External Relations and European Neighbourhood Policy

February 2000 - November 2004

Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria

4 May 1995 - 3 February 2000

State Secretary for Foreign Affairs

1993 - 1995

UN Chief of Protocol

February 1993 - December 1993

Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs Deputy Chief of Protocol

July 1990 - February 1993

Austrian Embassy, Paris
First Counsellor and Deputy Chief of Mission,
Chargé d'Affairs a.i.

May 1987 - July 1990

Austrian Embassy, Paris
Counsellor for Economic Affairs

June 1986 - May 1987 Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs

Department for Development Co-operation

January - June 1986

Austrian Embassy, Dakar, Senegal
First Secretary

September 1984 - January 1986

Federal Ministry for Foreign Affairs
Department of Economic Affairs; Department of Political Affairs;
Department of Consular Affairs;

1 January 1984

Austrian Embassy, Madrid
Special Consultancy

1981 - 1983

Gerns and Gahler, Freilassing/Germany
Chief Management Assistant

1978 - 1981

P. Kaufmann Inc., New York
Sales Director for Europe

1971 - 1978

Paul Kiefel, Freilassing/Germany (1971-72), Export Department
Gerns and Gahler, Freilassing/Germany
Director for Export Promotion

1966 - 1970 University of Salzburg, study of law (Dr iuris)

Check out:

Benita Ferrero-Waldner's questionnaire responses when seeking her current EU position
Her entry on Wikipedia
Her profile on the EC website
The Benita Ferrero-Waldner for UNESCO Facebook site
Benita Ferrero-Waldner, la 'LIonne Souriante"
"UNESCO: A New Vision for the 21st Century" by Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner.
"UNESCO: Powerhouse of Cultural Dialogue" by Dr. Benita Ferrero-Waldner
A talk she presented in 2006 titled "Intercultural dialogue: the media’s role"
Interview by EuroNews (video, 2007)
"Empowering Women, Ensuring Stability," video for a conference in 2008 organized by Benita Ferrero-Waldner)

A Video of a Presentation by Benita Ferrero-Waldner (in English)

Biographical Information for Farouk Hosny

Present Position: Minister of Culture, Arab Republic of Egypt (1987-present)

Date and Place of Birth: 1938 , Alexandria

Academic Qualification: BA; Faculty of Fine Arts, University of Alexandria, 1964

Experience

Cultural Animator in the General Department of Fine Arts, Ministry of Culture (1964-1969)
Director, Anfoushy Cultural Palace, Alexandria (1969-1971)
Cultural Attaché and Director of the Egyptian Cultural Centre , Paris, France (1971-1978)
Director of Cultural Administration and Director, Children's Cultural Centre, Cairo, and Technical Advisor to the Minister of Culture (1978-1979)
Deputy Director, Egyptian Arts Academy, Rome (1979-1982)
Director, Egyptian Art Academy and Cultural Counselor, Egyptian Embassy, Rome (1982-1987), after which he was appointed to the post of Minister of Culture till of Egypt which he still assumes
Part-time Professor of Aesthetics at the University of Soka Gakkai, Japan, where he was offered on honorary Ph.D. in 1993
Part-time Professor in the Faculty of Fine Arts, Alexandria University since 1999 till to-date

Prizes, Awards and Accreditation Merits

Prize, Cagne-sur-mer Festival, France
Honorary Ph.D., Soka Gakkai University, Japan, 1993
Culture and Peace Award, Soka Gakkai University, Japan, 1993
Grand Official Award, Government of Italy, 1999
Mediterranean Arts Award of the Lazio region for 2005
Mediterranean Sea Award of Arts for 2006
Grand Audio-Visual Award, International Council of Films, Television and Audio-Visuals, UNESCO Paris, July 2007
Grand Audio-Visual Award, International Council of Films, Television and Audio-Visuals, UNESCO Paris, July 2007
Mediterranean Forum Peace Award, Lecce, Italy, 2008

Other Positions and Responsibilities

Chairman, Supreme Council of Antiquities, Egypt
Chairman, Supreme Council of Culture, Egypt
Member of the Board of Trustees, Bibliotheca Alexandria
Member, International Committee, Qatar Museums Board
Member, Plastic Artists Union, Egypt
Member, Alexandria Atelier Group for Artists and Writers

Hobbies: Music – Theatre – Archaeology

Languages:

Arabic - very good
French - very good
Italian - very good
English - fair

Check out these websites:

Farouk Hosny's website
His Wikipedia entry
Facebook: Links on "Farouk Hosny"
Facebook: Biography of Farouk Hosny
"Farouk Hosni: Politics of Temperment," Interview by Nevine El-Aref, Al Ahram, September 2005.
Exhibit of his paintings at the Zamelek Gallery (2003-2004)
Farouk Hosni presents his strategy for UNESCO

Biographical Information for Ina Marčiulionytė

Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Lithuania to UNESCO since January 2003

Recent Career

Vice Minister (Regions and Cultural Heritage), Ministry of Culture, Republic of Lithuania 1999-2003
Director of the Cultural Programme and Director of the Open Society Fund House, Open Society Fund Lithuania (OSFL) 1992-1999
Editor, “Gimtoji Kalba” Lithuanian language policy magazine 1988-1991
Correspondent, Deputy Editor, Šalčininkai regional newspaper 1986-1988

Responsibilities at UNESCO

Since 2007 Vice-President of the Executive Board
Since 2005 Member of the Executive Board
2004-2007 Member of the World Heritage Committee
2006, 2007- Rapporteur, Intergovernmental Committee for Promoting the Return of Cultural Property to its Countries of Origin or its Restitution in Case of Illicit Appropriation
2007 Chair, Credentials committee of the 34th UNESCO General Conference
2007 Chair, Headquarters Committee
2005-2006 Chair of the World Heritage Committee
2005, 2006 Chair of the Working group on the working methods of the World Heritage Committee
2004-2005 Vice-Chair of three intergovernmental expert meetings for the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions

Education

2004-2005 PhD course in international relations and diplomacy at the Centre d’Etudes Diplomatiques et Stratégiques, Paris
1981-1986 University of Vilnius. Major in Lithuanian language and literature, specialising in translation from English

Professional Studies

1997 Cultural Management, Belgrade
1998 Professional Communication, Budapest
1998 Leadership and Management, Budapest

Languages: Lithuanian, English, Russian, French

Publications: Several translated books and a number of published articles in the national and international press on arts and culture, cultural policy and heritage.

Teaching experience: Lithuanian language courses for Russian speaking professionals. Created and conducted summer courses for foreign writers and translators of Lithuanian literature.

Honours

Cross of Commander of the Order of the Lithuanian Grand Duke Gediminas

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