On September 22nd, the 58 members of the Executive Board of UNESCO chose Irina Bokova (Bulgaria) as candidate for the post of Director General. On October 15th, the nomination will be formally proposed for approval by the General Conference, which consists of representatives from 193 Member States. Upon approval, Ms. Bokova will be the first woman to the post of UNESCO Director-General since the creation of the organization.
At the end of the fifth round of voting, the Chairman of the Executive Board announced the outcome of the vote, namely that Irina Bokova, candidate representative of Bulgaria, was selected by the Executive Board by majority vote. Her nomination was supported by 31 members of the 58-membered Executive Board.

The Executive Board of UNESCO chose from among the 9 candidates for the position Director General, of which representatives from Lithuania, Algeria, Bulgaria, Tanzania, Russia, Egypt, Ecuador, Austria and Benin.

Irina Bokova was born in Sofia in 1952 and until now has served as Ambassador of Bulgaria to France and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO. Career diplomat, she graduated from Moscow State University for International Relations and University of Maryland (USA). She occupied the post of Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria (1995-1997) and Minister of Foreign Affairs (1996-1997). She was a major advocate for the admission of Bulgaria into NATO and the European Union.
 

Source:  portal.unesco.org