Mohamed Kamel Amr
Mohamed Kamel Amr | |
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Nabil Fahmy | |
Personal details | |
Born | Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt | 1 December 1942
Mohamed Kamel Amr (
Early life
Amr was born on 1 December 1942 in Shobrareis,
After passing the foreign service exam, Amr joined the Egyptian foreign service in late 1967. Then, he spent two years training at the Foreign Ministry’s Diplomatic Institute in Cairo, Egypt.
Career
Upon completing his foreign service training, Amr was assigned to the Office of the Egyptian Foreign Minister, Mahmoud Riad, as a diplomatic attache.
After three years with the Office of the Foreign Minister, Amr was posted to the Egyptian Embassy in
Upon completion of his assignment in London, Amr returned to Cairo in 1976 as First Secretary working as an advisor to Mohamed Riad, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.
Amr’s next assignment was to the Egyptian Embassy in Beijing, China as First Secretary in late 1977. His period in China coincided with the beginning of the transformation of the Chinese economy after the death of Mao Zedong and the rise of Deng Xiaoping. This assignment left a considerable impact on Amr as an example of a third world country’s ability to transform and modernize itself, eventually becoming the second largest economy in the world. From China, Amr was transferred to the Egyptian Embassy in Canberra, Australia, where he spent two years.
Returning to Cairo in late 1980, Amr was assigned as an advisor to Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, then Minister of State for Foreign Affairs. Working closely with Dr. Ghali, Amr worked on various issues including Egyptian-American relations.
In 1982, Amr was assigned as a Counselor to the Egyptian Permanent Mission to the
In 1983 while Amr was serving in New York, Egypt was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, representing the North African countries. During this period, the United Nations Security Council established a select committee to investigate the attacks carried out by South Africa against Angola. Amr was chosen to head this committee and amongst his responsibilities was visiting Angola and reporting to the Security Council on the extent of damage sustained by these attacks. Based on his report, the Security Council adopted United Nations Security Council Resolution 567 (1985), condemning South Africa for its attacks on Angola and demanding South Africa’s unconditional withdrawal of its occupation forces from the territory of Angola and the immediate cessation of all acts of aggression against Angola.
Returning to Cairo in 1987, Amr was appointed as advisor to Dr. Ahmed Asmat Abdel-Meguid, who at the time was the Egyptian deputy prime minister and minister of foreign affairs. After two years in this capacity, Amr was appointed to the Egyptian embassy in Washington, D.C., as the political minister.
During his tenure in Washington, D.C., Amr was responsible for Egyptian-US relations, including US assistance to Egypt, relations with the US Senate, relations with US based think tanks, Jewish special interest groups and the US academic community. Amr was involved in the efforts that resulted in the forgiveness of United States military debt to Egypt.
In 1993, Amr returned to Cairo as assistant deputy foreign minister for African organizations. This period in time coincided with the end of the apartheid regime in South Africa and the release of Mr. Nelson Mandela from imprisonment. In his capacity as Assistant Deputy Foreign Minister for African Affairs, Amr was involved in the process of re-establishing relations between Egypt and the new regime South Africa.
In 1995, Amr was appointed as the Egyptian ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Amr was instrumental in working to strengthen relations between the two countries.
In 1997, Amr was chosen by the Egyptian Government to represent the Egypt and other Arab countries as a member of the Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank in Washington, D.C., where he remained in this capacity for 11 years.
Amr returned to Cairo in early 2009 assuming the position of executive director of the Center for Strategic Documentation of the Economic and Social transformation process in Egypt. Amr occupied this post until July 2010.
Ministerial activities and views
After the January 2011 revolution, Amr was appointed as the foreign minister of Egypt in July 2011. Amr’s two-year tenure as Foreign Minister of Egypt was widely seen as one of the most complex and tumultuous periods in Egyptian history. For the first year, Amr served under the Supreme Council of the Armed Services (SCAF) headed by Field Marshal
Amr was credited by many as being able to maintain the independence and integrity of the foreign ministry as an institution and apolitical body, impervious to any ideological influences. Amr sought to regain balance in Egypt's foreign relations through strengthening and renewing relationships with its historical partners.
Amr resigned his post as foreign minister in late June 2013 due to the ongoing civil and political strife gripping the country. Amr continued in his post in a caretaker capacity until the formation of the new government on July 18, 2013, at which time he announced his retirement from government service.
Personal life
In his spare time, Amr enjoys reading, particularly about technology advancements, world history and the history of naval advancement since the era of sails to the current time and technology. He is also a fan of British novelist
Amr has been married to Hayam Hussein since 1969. Together they have two sons and two grandsons.
References
- ^ "Egypt's foreign minister tenders resignation — state news agency". Trust. Retrieved 2 July 2013.
- ^ "Biography". Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.