UN has 9 candidates on shortlist for cultural agency chief

But Arab nations say it’s their turn to head the body. They note UNESCO has had European, Asian, African and American chiefs, but never an Arab one since the organization was founded in 1945 following World War Two to promote world peace through culture.

Egypt has been lobbying hard for its choice, former minister Moushira Khattab, after it lost the 2009 nomination to current chief Irina Bokova of Bulgaria, who’s stepping down this year after two terms. Khattab robustly defended her candidacy to The AP on Thursday — saying that Egypt’s history of dialogue with Israel would make it uniquely positioned to heal wounds in the organization.

“Don’t forget that we started peace with Israel,” Khattab said from Cairo, referring to the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty that made Egypt the first Arab state to officially recognize Israel. “Over decades, and despite the upheavals that we’ve seen in the very recent six years, we’ve still maintained the peace. Egypt is a country that … believes in dialogue.”

The other Arab candidates include Qatar’s Hamad bin Abdulaziz al-Kawari, Iraq’s Saleh al-Hasnawi and Lebanon’s Vera el-Khoury Lacoeuilhe.

Also on the shortlist are Guatemala’s Juan Alfonso Fuentes Soria, Vietnam’s Pham Sanh Chau, Azerbaijan’s Polad Bulbuloglu, China’s Qian Tang, and France’s Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay.

Azoulay’s candidacy, which has the backing of French President Francois Hollande, is considered powerful because UNESCO’s headquarters is based in Paris.

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Thomas Adamson can be followed at Twitter.com/ThomasAdamson_K

Thomas Adamson, The Associated Press

by Canadian Press

UN has 9 candidates on shortlist for cultural agency chief

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