Farouk Hosny -- 2001 -- Acrylic on Canvas - 105x205 cmZamalek Art Galary
Farouk Hosni, having served for two decades as Egyptian Minister of Culture, has been nominated by his government to be the next Director General of UNESCO, and is considered to be a leading candidate. He is also know internationally as an abstract artist. One of his paintings is reproduced above. The second term of office of the current Director General, Koïchiro Matsuura, ends in October 2009.
Minister Farouk Hosni is controversial. He of course would bring strong qualifications to UNESCO, both as an experienced minister of Egyptian cultural policies and as an artist in his own right. He has however been involved in controversies, and his decades of service in the Egyptian cabinet itself raises concerns in the minds of some.
It seems likely that someone from an Arab country will be elected to the post of DG, and several countries with large majority Islamic populations have already indicated their support for the Egyptian candidate. Moreover, news reports indicate a serious effort to enlist support from other regions of the world.
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