From Surf Wiki (app.surf) — the open knowledge base

Ismail Fahmi

Egyptian diplomat and politician (1922–1997)

Summary

Egyptian diplomat and politician (1922–1997)

Field	Value
name	Ismail Fahmy
اسماعيل فهمى
image	Ismail Fahmy.jpg
birth_date
birth_place	Cairo, Kingdom of Egypt
death_date
death_place	Cairo, Egypt
nationality	Egyptian
otherparty
profession	Diplomat

اسماعيل فهمى Ismail Fahmy () (2 October 1922 – 21 November 1997) was an Egyptian diplomat and politician. He served as ambassador to Austria (1968–1971), tourism minister (1973), foreign minister (1973–1977) and deputy prime minister (1975–1977). He was awarded a professorship. He resigned from the government in 1977 to protest Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem. Although he was a supporter and confidant of Sadat, later he became sharply critical of his policies and decision making.

Early life and education

Fahmy was born on 2 October 1922. His father was a public prosecutor in Cairo.

He held a degree in political science from Cairo University in 1945.

Early career

Fahmy joined ministry of foreign affairs in 1946. Then he served in the Egypt's delegation on the International Atomic Energy Agency until 1959.

He returned to Egypt and worked at the foreign office. He was appointed ambassador to Austria in 1968. From 1969 to 1970 he served as the ambassador of Egypt to France. His next post was deputy foreign minister which he held from 1971 to November 1973.

Fahmy came to attention of Sadat at a symposium in Egypt. His arguments about the Egyptian military action against Israel, re-evolution and reshaping of Egyptian- Soviet relationships, closer contact with the US and the involvement with both Moscow and Washington in solving the Middle East conflict impressed Sadat, who appointed Fahmy foreign minister after 1973 October War.

Foreign Minister of Egypt, 1973–1977

On 31 October 1973, Egyptian foreign minister Ismail Fahmy meets with [[Richard Nixon]] and Henry Kissinger, about a week after the end of fighting in the [[Yom Kippur War]].

From left: Fahmi, [[Omar Saqqaf]], [[Richard Nixon]], [[Henry Kissinger]], and [[Brent Scowcroft]] on 19 February 1974

Fahmy served as foreign minister from 31 October 1973 to 17 November 1977. Fahmy stated that “Zbigniew Brzezinski was professor at heart inclined to lecture experienced diplomat”.

Furthermore he argued Sadat could not provide any proof that the Israelis would respond to his move with comparable good will.

Later career

Following he resignation, Fahmy kept supporting the convocation of the Geneva Conference as the only way to achieve peace. Following that incident, he continued to write books and articles about the peacemaking activities in the Middle East. His best known book was Negotiating for Peace in the Middle East: An Arab View. For many years he worked as an academic in Egypt. In 1984, he unsuccessfully ran for office in the general elections as a candidate of the New Wafd Party.

Personal life and death

Fahmy died on 21 November 1997 at the age of 75. His son, Nabil, was appointed foreign minister to the interim government of Egypt led by Hazem Al Beblawi in July 2013.

References

"Recruitment and Composition of the Elite". Country Studies.
Arthur Goldschmidt Jr.. (1999). "Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt". L. Reinner.
(2011). "Who's Who in the Arab World 2007-2008". Walter de Gruyter.
(1977). "Rulers and Governments of the World". Bowker.
He served as a diplomat being part of the Egypt's delegation to the [[United Nations]] from 1949 to 1957. He was an activist and a tough negotiator.[Joseph Sisco. An Egyptian Foreign Minister’s Memoirs. ''The New York Times'', 19 June 1983]
Sisco, Joseph. (19 June 1983). "An Egyptian Foreign Minister's Memoirs". The New York Times.
[https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=25044&dt=2694&dl=2009 US diplomatic cable on Fahmi's conversation with US Ambassador]
Eric Pace. (24 November 1997). "Ismail Fahmy; Minister, 75, Quit Sadat". The New York Times.
Dune, Michale Collins. (15 July 2013). "Nabil Fahmy accepts the Egyptian foreign ministry". Middle East Institute.

Wikipedia Source

This article was imported from Wikipedia and is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Content has been adapted to SurfDoc format. Original contributors can be found on the article history page.

20th-century-egyptian-politicians 1922-births 1997-deaths diplomats-from-cairo cairo-university-alumni ambassadors-of-egypt-to-austria ambassadors-of-egypt-to-france ministers-of-foreign-affairs-of-egypt new-wafd-party-politicians

Want to explore this topic further?

Ask Mako anything about Ismail Fahmi — get instant answers, deeper analysis, and related topics.

Research with Mako

Free with your Surf account

Content sourced from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

This content may have been generated or modified by AI. CloudSurf Software LLC is not responsible for the accuracy, completeness, or reliability of AI-generated content. Always verify important information from primary sources.

Report