PIR Center Advisory Board member (since 2023). Dean Emeritus of School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, Egypt. He is a career diplomat (1976-2011). In 2013-2014, he was Foreign Minister of Egypt. He also served as Ambassador to the United States (1999-2008) and Japan (1997-1999) as well as held numerous government and international positions. His work focused on international and regional security, disarmament and nonproliferation, conflict resolution, and Arab-Israeli diplomacy. He was also the Chairman of the United Nations Advisory Board on disarmament matters, and the Vice-Chairman of the United Nations General Assembly’s First Committee dealing with disarmament and international security. Founded the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo in 2009. In 2020, he published his book Egypt’s Diplomacy in War, Peace, and Transition, which seeks to inform future generations about the challenges of statecraft he and his compatriots faced over the past 50 years. He has also published an updated Arabic bookin January 2022 entitled From the Heart of Events. He has a number of syndicated monthly articles on areas of interest and current affairs.
