Ahmed Aboul Gheit

Ahmed Aboul Gheit أحمد أبو الغيط
Secretary-General of the Arab League Elect
Taking office 1 July 2016
Succeeding	Nabil Elaraby
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office 11 July 2004 – 6 March 2011
Prime Minister	Ahmed Nazif Ahmed Shafik
Preceded by	Ahmad Maher
Succeeded by	Nabil Elaraby
Personal details
Born	12 June 1942 Cairo, Egypt
Alma mater	Ain Shams University

Ahmed Aboul-Gheit (Arabic: أحمد أبو الغيط‎, also: Abu al-Ghayt, Abu El Gheyt, etc.) (born 12 June 1942) is an Egyptian diplomat who was elected as Secretary-General of the Arab League in March 2016.^[1] Aboul-Gheit served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt from 11 July 2004 to 6 March 2011; previously he was Egypt's Permanent Representative to the United Nations.^[2] In December 2005, he began mediating the Chad-Sudan conflict. He was succeeded as Minister of Foreign Affairs by ICJ judge Nabil Elaraby in March 2011, following the overthrow of President Hosni Mubarak.^[3]

Early life and career

Born in Heliopolis in Cairo on 12 June 1942,^[4] Aboul Gheit was originally from the city of Port Said. He started his career as Third Secretary at the Embassy of Cyprus; subsequently he was First Secretary for Egypt's Ambassador to the United Nations, Political Consultant at the Egyptian Embassy in the Soviet Union in 1984, and Ambassador of Egypt to Italy, Macedonia and San Marino. In 1999 he was the head of Egypt's permanent delegation to the United Nations.^[5]

Regarding the Pope Benedict XVI Islam controversy in 2006, he said "this was a very unfortunate statement and it is a statement that shows that there is a lack of understanding of real Islam. And because of this we are hopeful that such statements and such positions would not be stated in order to not allow tension and distrust and recriminations to brew between the Muslim as well as the west."^[6]

On 26 December 2010, Aboul Gheit opened the first Egyptian consulate outside Baghdad in the northern city of Erbil in a one-day visit to Iraq, where he also held talks with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani.^[7]

Aboul Gheit was elected as Secretary-General of the Arab League in March 2016; however, his election was not without some League members' opposition due to his old age.^[8]

References

1. "Arab League names Egypt's Ahmed Aboul Gheit as new chief". Retrieved 10 March 2016.
2. "Envoy to UN Named Foreign Minister in New Egyptian Govt", Reuters (Arab News), 11 July 2004.
3. "Breaking News". Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
4. "Aboul Gheit, Ahmed". Rulers. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
5. "Not a popularity contest". Al Ahram Weekly (534). 17–23 May 2001. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
6. "In quotes: Muslim reaction to Pope", BBC News, 16 September 2006.
7. Hossam El Kady. "Egypt opens new consulate in Iraq". The Egyptian Gazette. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
8. "Snoozing while the region smoulders: What is the point of the Arab League?". The Economist. 29 April 2016. Retrieved 30 April 2016.