Under the governmental resolution, Gelūnas should be appointed to the position in Paris as of 26 November, with the final decision to be made by President Dalia Grybauskaitė.
"The candidate's qualifications are unquestionable," Foreign Vice-Minister Evaldas Ignatavičius said in his presentation of the candidate during the government's meeting.
Lithuania has not had a representative at UNESCO since recall of Ambassador Ina Marčiulionytė in 2009.
Gelūnas is a graduate of Vilnius Academy of Arts, has acquired a PhD at Vytautas Magnus University. In 2001-2010, he did academic work in various divisions of the two universities and studied at Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music in 1995-1997. Gelūnas has been heading the Culture Ministry since 2010.
Established after World War II, UNESCO promotes educational, scientific, and cultural cooperation, works to preserve the world's main cultural objects. UNESCO has 195 members and eight associated members.