Khaled El-Enany is an Egyptologist academic, who has served as the Director-General of UNESCO since November 2025. His landslide election was historic, making him the first Arab and Muslim leader to guide the global organisation since its inception. A former Egyptian Minister of Tourism and Antiquities, El-Enany holds a PhD from France and has spent decades championing cultural heritage preservation. At UNESCO, he prioritises global education. Under his leadership, UNESCO has actively driven emergency aid in the Gaza Strip. El-Enany has overseen the creation of temporary digital learning hubs and a virtual university campus to help over 88,000 displaced Palestinian students. Additionally, he has consistently leveraged UNESCO’s mandate to supply emergency assistance to local media workers and publicly condemn the killings of journalists in Gaza.