UNESCO poll

Irina Bokova was elected director general of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) on Tuesday. She eliminated her main rival, Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny, after five rounds of voting by the Paris-based agency's executive council.

Bokova, a former communist turned Europhile, has represented Bulgaria on UNESCO's board since 2007 and is also her country's ambassador to France and Monaco.

The process of finding a successor for incumbent director general Koichira Matsuura has been plagued by controversy from the start, primarily due to Hosny's nomination.

Anti-Semitic remarks

The 71-year-old Hosny, who had hoped to become the first Arab to head the UN agency, has been accused of anti-Semitism because he has publicly derided Israeli culture. Last year, he said he would personally burn any Israeli book found in the library of Alexandria.

He has since apologized for his statements, but has not been able to satisfy his detractors.

The latest public personality to come out against Hosny's candidature was former French minister and Auschwitz survivor Simone Weil, who was quoted in Tuesday's edition of the daily ‘Liberation' as saying that Hosny's statements "raise many questions for me."

The controversial Egyptian minister and the Bulgarian diplomat were the only candidates remaining in the race after the first four rounds of voting.

In Monday's fourth round, Bokova and Hosni both received 29 votes from the 58-member executive board, setting up a tense finish to what turned out to be an historic election.

First woman chief

57-year-old Bokova will become the first woman to head the agency after UNESCO's General Conference, which consists of representatives of member states, approves her appointment when it meets in October.

In the past, whoever emerged as winner of the council's election has been automatically accepted by the General Conference.

rb/AFP/AP/Reuters

Editor: Rick Demarest