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Eleonora Mitrofanova (Russian Federation) elected Chairperson of UNESCO’s Executive Board

Paris, 25 November

Eleonora Mitrofanova (Russian Federation) elected Chairperson of UNESCO’s Executive Board
  • © UNESCO/M. Ravassard
  • Eleonora Mitrofanova

Eleonora Mitrofanova, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate of the Russian Federation to UNESCO, was elected on 23 November to a two-year term as Chairperson of the Organization’s Executive Board.

Ms Mitrofanova was elected in the first round of voting. She takes over from Olabiyi Babalola Joseph Yaï (Benin), Chairman of the Executive Board since October 2007.

Taking the floor after her election, Ms Mitrofanova spoke of the current crisis, “a crisis of confidence, a crisis in the morals and ethics of socio-economic relations.” As she underlined, “In this complex period the world is right to expect of us judicious and duly pondered decisions within UNESCO’s fields of competence that make for the building of trust, tolerance and mutual understanding.” She added that “Among the many problems demanding UNESCO decisions and steady attention…I should like to pick out tolerance as the key factor in averting regional and global conflicts and in heightening the degree of mutual trust.”

The Director-General of UNESCO, Irina Bokova, welcomed the Executive Board’s decision to elect a Chairperson “who is familiar with the workings of the Organization and willing to establish the closest possible relationship between the Executive Board and the Secretariat, based on dialogue and trust.” She added that she intends to reinforce cooperation between the three governing bodies of UNESCO.

Ms Mitrofanova, who holds a PhD in international relations, was elected a Deputy of the State Duma of the Federal Assembly of Russia and has also worked as an auditor of the Russian Audit Chamber. In 2001-2003, she was UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Administration, before being appointed First Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, responsible for Russians abroad and cultural action. She has served as her country’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO since January 2009.

The 58 members of the Executive Board, appointed by the General Conference, meet twice a year. The Board is responsible for reviewing the implementation of the programmes adopted by the General Conference, UNESCO’s ruling body.

  • Author(s):UNESCOPRESS
  • Source:Press release No. 2009-140
  • 25-11-2009
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