Firmin Edouard Matoko

Firmin Edouard Matoko (born (1956-02-17) February 17, 1956 (age 69) in Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo) is a Congolese diplomat, development economist, and international relations specialist. He served as the Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations at UNESCO from 2017 to 2025. Since March 2025, he is an official candidate for the post of Director-General of UNESCO.^[1][2]

Firmin Edouard Matoko
UNESCO Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations
In office 2017–2025
Personal details
Born	(1956-02-17) February 17, 1956 (age 69) Brazzaville, Republic of the Congo
Nationality	Congolese
Alma mater	Sapienza University of Rome Cesare Alfieri Institute, Florence Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies, Paris
Occupation	Diplomat Economist International relations specialist

Biography

Early life and education

Matoko completed primary and secondary education in Brazzaville and earned his high school diploma in 1974. He holds a Bachelor's in Economics and Commerce (1981) from Sapienza University of Rome, a specialisation diploma in International political studies from the Cesare Alfieri Institute in Florence (1983), and a specialisation diploma in international relations and affairs from the Center for Diplomatic and Strategic Studies in Paris (1996).^[3]

He also pursued further training in political science, diplomacy, management, and education policy. Matoko is multilingual: he speaks fluent French, Italian, English, and Spanish; has intermediate proficiency in Portuguese; and is learning Lingala and Swahili.^[4]

Career at UNESCO

Matoko began working with UNESCO in 1985 as an education expert at the BREDA office in Dakar, Senegal. He later served as an international education consultant in Paris (1987–1990), and became program specialist and head of national programs for a culture of peace (1994–2000). He was promoted to Division Chief for Quality Education Promotion (2000–2003).^[5]

He then held various representative positions: UNESCO Representative in Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger (2003–2007), Head of the Quito office and Representative in Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia, and Venezuela (2007–2011) then Head of the Addis Ababa office, Representative to Ethiopia, the African Union, and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (2011–2015).^[3][5][6]

He became Director of the Africa Department (2014–2015), Assistant Director-General of that department (2016–2017), and finally, Assistant Director-General for Priority Africa and External Relations (2017–2025).^[7][3]

In 2023, He participated in the 25th L'Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Awards International Award ceremony, where medals of honor were awarded to three exiled women researchers for their scientific work and resilience.^[8]

Candidacy for Director-General of UNESCO

In March 2025, the Republic of the Congo officially nominated Matoko for the position of UNESCO Director-General. He is running against Egypt's Khaled al-Anani and Mexico's Gabriela Ramos.^[1][9][10]

He resigned from his position at UNESCO to focus on his campaign.^[4]

Publication

Matoko has contributed to debates on traditional conflict prevention mechanisms in Africa. His works focus on development and peace in Africa, Asia, and Latin America. His 1996 book ((Africa by Africans. Utopia or Revolution, Ed. L'Harmattan) received honorable mention from the International Literature Prize of the Association of French-Language Writers (ADELF).^[3]