The race for the leadership of Unesco, the UN's cultural arm, has begun in Paris with controversy surrounding one of the front-running candidates, BBC reported.
Farouk Hosny, Egypt's culture minister, made a pledge in 2008 to burn Israeli books in Egyptian libraries.
He has since expressed "solemn regret" but has been criticised by Jewish European groups and US commentators.
The Executive Board's 58 members will interview each of the nine candidates and then vote in a secret ballot.
Mr Hosny has been Egypt's culture minister for the past 22 years and says on his website that he is a man of peace.
"I have been serving as minister of culture in a state that made peace with Israel and is persistently endeavouring to give precedence to dialogue over violence," he says.