Unesco confirms Audrey Azoulay as new chief

Paris Nov 10 (IANS/AKI) The UN cultural agency UNESCO on Friday named France s Audrey Azoulay as its new Director-General.

The second woman to hold the post she will take over from outgoing UNESCO chief Irina Bokova on November 15 the agency said.

UNESCO s general conference which includes all 195 members on Friday formally approved Azoulay s four-year term after the agency s executive board nominated her in October to replace Bokova in a highly politicised race overshadowed by Middle East tension.

Azoulay who hopes to restore the agency s standing told its general conference that UNESCO was "irreplaceable" but admitted it was facing "current global challenges".

UNESCO is reeling from last month s decision by the administration of US president Donald Trump to pull out of the body due to its alleged anti-Israel bias. The agency has been mired in financial woes since the US withdrew its sizeable funding in 2011.

Azoulay 45 was France s Culture Minister from February 2016 to May this year. She has held senior positions in France s public broadcasting sector and has served as rapporteur to France s public auditing authority and as a European Commission legislative expert on cultural and media issues.

--IANS/AKI
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