
Ahmed Aboul Gheit Gheit
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Date of Birth: 12/06/1942
Place of Birth: Heliopolis, Cairo, Egypt
Born in 1942 in Cairo Mr.Ahmed Aboul Gheit, studied commerce at Ain Shams University, earning a bachelor degree in 1964. He joined the Ministry of Foreign Affaires the following year. Mr. Gheit made all his carrer in the egyptian diplomacy since 1965. In 1977-1979 has been First Secretary for the Minister's Cabinet. 1987-1989 has been Deputy Permanent Representative of Egypt to the UN. From 1992 to 1996 he was serving as Egypt's Ambassador to Italy, Macedonia, San Marino and representative to Food and Agricolture Organization in Rome. He was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs in 2004.
Cairo's chief diplomat Ahmed Aboul Gheit assured the smooth
functioning of the fourth Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC
IV) held in Sharm El-Sheik on 8-9 November (see Feature). Egypt
promised to use its position at the crossroads of Africa and the
Middle East to support expanded Chinese activities. Before
the summit, Gheit assured his Asian counterparts that the disagreements
which threatened other regional summits would be absent from FOCAC
IV.
In October, Gheit caused the postponement of a summit of the Mediterranean
Union - a French-led group of European, North African and
Middle Eastern countries. The Istanbul conference, to be held
27 November, was called off when Gheit refused to meet Israel's
Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman. Gheit, who claims to
have the Arab League's full backing for the snub, is defending
the honour of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, whom Lieberman
last year told to 'go to hell' in a speech to the Knesset, Israel's
legislature.
Another summit promises controversy. Ahead of February's Franco-African
summit, also to be held in Sharm El-Sheik, French Interior Minister
Brice Hortefeux suggested to the hosts that Sudanese
President and International Criminal Court indictee Omer Hassan
el Beshir be excluded from the talks. Egypt is not pleased.Beshir
was one of several presidents who attended the ministerial FOCAC
IV.
Born 1942 in Cairo, Gheit studied commerce at AinShams University,
earning a bachelor's degree in 1964. He joined the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs the following year. His first overseas assignment
was as attaché to the embassy in Cyprus from 1968
to 1972. Others included the Soviet Union (1979-1982) and
Italy (1992-1996).
The diplomat has been closely involved in his country's relations
with the United Nations, with frequent participation in Egypt's
mission there. He was Egypt's representative to the UN from 1999
to 2004. After leaving the UN he was made Minister of Foreign
Affairs by then-Prime Minister Ahmed Nazif.

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