PARIS—American and British officials say that the selection of Spanish biochemist Federico Mayor Zaragoza as director-general of UNESCO is not enough to secure their return to the scientific and cultural agency they abandoned. But Mayor’s nomination October 18 by the 50-member executive board is being seen as an opportunity to correct some of the problems in spending and organization that have grown up during the 13-year reign of Senegal’s Amadou Mahear M’Bow.
The 53-year-old Mayor (see THE SCIENTIST, September 21, p. 7) emerged as the top candidate on the last of the five ballots cast during a grueling 11-day battle. M'Bow had led each of the first four rounds, backed by African and Arab nations, but failed to capture a majority. A professor of biochemistry at the University of Madrid and former deputy director under M’Bow, Mayor moved to the top of the list after gaining the support of...
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