Irina Bokova Wins UNESCO Race, Defeats Controversial Egyptian Farouk Hosny
share this story
PARIS — A Bulgarian diplomat on Tuesday became the first woman to lead the U.N.'s agency for culture and education, beating out a controversial Egyptian candidate whose one-time threat to burn Israeli books had galvanized opposition.
Irina Bokova, 57, defeated Egyptian Culture Minister Farouk Hosny after a suspenseful and drawn-out race, sealing victory in the fifth round of balloting at the organization's Paris headquarters. The vote among UNESCO board members was 31 to 27.
The race was tight and closely watched, with a flurry of secretive diplomatic efforts between each round, allegations of fraud and an uproar over Hosny's candidacy.
For months, Hosny had been considered the favorite. But critics raised Egypt's contentious record of cultural censorship and highlighted his threat last year to burn Israeli books, a comment he later apologized for. Bokova's candidacy took off late in the race as delegates sought a consensus figure.
Hosny and Bokova tied on Monday night – and if Tuesday's vote had also been a draw, officials were prepared to pick a name at random from a bag.
Bokova, who has witnessed Bulgaria's transformation from an Eastern bloc nation to an EU member, was her country's foreign minister for a brief period in 1996-1997 and helped negotiate Bulgaria's entry into the European Union and NATO. She is currently Bulgaria's ambassador to France.
After her win, she swept aside the tense voting process, telling reporters of her "respect and friendship" for Hosny and praising his campaign ideas. Asked if she thought Hosny's anti-Israel comment could have hurt his candidacy, she told The Associated Press: "In a campaign, everything counts."
UNESCO delegates were mostly tightlipped about what had swayed the vote.
"Women's equity, I think that this is what won it over for Mrs. Bokova," said Mansour Ghazali, the Saudi delegate, who took part in the behind-doors balloting. He said he had "no idea" whether Hosny's defeat could be linked to his comments on Israel.
In the run-up to the vote, Egyptian newspapers carried stories of a "conspiracy" against Hosny's candidacy by the United States and certain European countries, with the help of the "Zionist lobby."
Many Egyptians saw the opposition to Hosny as anti-Egyptian and anti-Muslims.
"There was so much pressure from Europe and America against him and it is sad that a small country like Israel has been able to control so many powerful countries from the West," Salah Eissa, a prominent intellectual and editor of the cultural weekly "Al-Qahira" told The Associated Press.
A few Egyptians, however, have spoken out against Hosny's candidacy, describing him as the product of a dictatorship and responsible for stifling the cultural scene in Egypt.
"I have always said that there are at least 10,000 other people in Egypt who would be better candidates for UNESCO than Faruk Hosny," said novelist Alaa al-Aswany.
Several Jewish groups campaigning against Hosny voiced relief. Bokova's win is a "tremendous sign of optimism and really the saving of the organization," said Shimon Samuels of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Paris.
Bokova said Tuesday said she would strive to give UNESCO a bigger role in international talks on climate change and other global issues like resolving the financial crisis.
"Ideas drive humanity forward, and I think UNESCO is about that," Bokova told the AP. She said she would "work very hard so that UNESCO does more in the fields of science, innovation and technology."
UNESCO, or the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, is charged with promoting international collaboration on education, science and culture. It has specialized centers throughout the world that promote events and projects.
The organization was troubled by cronyism and mismanagement until Koichiro Matsuura of Japan was elected in 1999. His work helped lure back the United States, which had quit UNESCO in 1984, calling it corrupt and anti-Western.
Suspicions of fraud rose as the intense race unfolded this week. A UNESCO delegate told AP that at least one person was ejected from the agency's building by UNESCO security staff for trying to bribe delegates on Monday. The delegate said several UNESCO member states had complained to the director general about the bribery attempts.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue.
A UNESCO spokeswoman denied there was hard evidence of bribery.
"There have been rumors to that effect," but no formal complaint has surfaced, said spokeswoman Sue Williams.
She said reports that someone was ejected Monday for unethical behavior had been investigated and found to be untrue. The agency disclosed no further details and UNESCO security service refused to discuss the issue.
The outcry against Hosny focused on his threat in the Egyptian parliament last year to personally burn any Israeli book he found in Egypt's famed Library of Alexandria. Hosny, a painter who has been Egypt's culture minister for more than two decades, made the comment in an attempt to defend himself against charges by Egyptian lawmakers of being soft on Israel.
He later apologized for the remark, saying it was spontaneous and a manifestation of his anger at Palestinian suffering.
Bokova's win must be validated at the UNESCO general conference planned for Oct. 15, the organization's press office said. She is to replace Matsuura on Nov. 15.
___
Associated Press writers Angela Doland and Hadeel al-Shalchi contributed to this report.
Loading comments… 
ALFRED de MONTESQUIOU 09/22/09 07:09 PM ET Associated Press