Electing the Next Director General

The process for the election of the next Director General of UNESCO is spelled out in a recent report by UNESCO's Executive Board.

• Member states are to submit information on their candidates for the post by May 31, 2009.
• The Secretariat will provide a list of candidates (in confidence) to the member states and Executive Board by the first week in June.
• Candidates will then have until August 1st to submit statements of their views about the future of UNESCO.
• At the 182nd session of the Executive Board (7-23 September 2009) the candidates are to be interviewed, and one is to be selected by secret ballot to be recommended to the General Conference (which is expected to meet 6 to 23 October 2009).
• The General Conference is to elect the next Director General, but in the past the General Conference has always ratified the recommendation of its Executive Board.
  

Thus the race is getting hot. In 1999, when the current Director General was elected to his first five year term, there were eleven candidates for the post. Several have already been identified publicly (click on the "governance" tag below to see the list).

Al-Ahram in November had an interview with the Egyptian candidate.

Another Candidate for UNESCO DG

According to Topposts, Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan has been nominated by Oman for the post of Director General of UNESCO. According to Wikipedia:

Ambassador Dr. Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan is a career diplomat and academic. Dr. Hassan is one of the longest serving diplomat to UNESCO as Ambassador, Permanent Delegate of Oman from May 1984 to present. He has been decorated with 1 UNESCO Gold Medal, 3 UNESCO Silver Medals as well as the honorary title of "Ambassador for Peace."

He was President of the 33rd session of the General Conference, UNESCO's supreme governing body.

Read the Ambassador Dr. Musa Bin Jaafar Bin Hassan's biography.