UNESCO members approve nomination of France’s ex-culture minister Azoulay as new head

UNESCO member states on Friday overwhelmingly approved the nomination of France’s former Culture Minister Audrey Azoulay to head the embattled cultural agency, AFP reports. They confirmed the nomination by the agency’s board last month of Azoulay, 45. She becomes UNESCO’s second female director-general after narrowly defeating Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al-Kawari of Qatar, also a former culture minister, in last month’s politically-charged election. Azoulay, who served under former President Francois Hollande, succeeds Irina Bokova, whose second term expires this month.