Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth

Secretary-General of the United Nations The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Ghali was the acting

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

of Egypt between 1977 and 1979. He oversaw the United Nations over a period coinciding with several world crises, including the

breakup of Yugoslavia After a period of political and economic crisis in the 1980s, the constituent republics of the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia split apart in the early 1990s. Unresolved issues from the breakup caused a series of inter-ethnic Yugoslav ...

and the

Rwandan genocide The Rwandan genocide, also known as the genocide against the Tutsi, occurred from 7 April to 19 July 1994 during the Rwandan Civil War. Over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Gre ...

. Born to a Coptic Christian family in Cairo, Boutros-Ghali was an academic by training and taught international law and international relations at

Cairo University Cairo University () is Egypt's premier public university. Its main campus is in Giza, immediately across the Nile from Cairo. It was founded on 21 December 1908;"Brief history and development of Cairo University." Cairo University Faculty of En ...

from 1949 to 1979. His political career began during the presidency of

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...

, who appointed him acting foreign minister in 1977. In that capacity, he helped negotiate the Camp David Accords and the

Egypt–Israel peace treaty The Egypt–Israel peace treaty was signed in Washington, D.C., United States, on 26 March 1979, following the 1978 Camp David Accords. The Egypt–Israel treaty was signed by Anwar Sadat, President of Egypt, and Menachem Begin, Prime Minist ...

between Sadat and Israeli prime minister

Menachem Begin Menachem Begin ( ''Menaḥem Begin'', ; (Polish documents, 1931–1937); ; 16 August 1913 – 9 March 1992) was an Israeli politician, founder of both Herut and Likud and the prime minister of Israel. Before the creation of the state of Isra ...

. He was acting foreign minister until early 1991, when he served as deputy foreign minister for a few months. Boutros-Ghali was elected secretary-general by the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

in 1991 and began his term in 1992, succeeding Javier Pérez de Cuéllar. His tenure was marked by controversy and crises, which included the

Somali Civil War The Somali Civil War (; ) is an List of ongoing armed conflicts, ongoing civil war that is taking place in Somalia. It grew out of resistance to the military junta which was led by Siad Barre during the 1980s. From 1988 to 1990, the Somali Armed ...

, the

Rwandan Civil War The Rwandan Civil War was a large-scale civil war in Rwanda which was fought between the Rwandan Armed Forces, representing the country's government, and the rebel Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF) from 1October 1990 to 18 July 1994. The war arose ...

, the continuing

Angolan Civil War The Angolan Civil War () was a civil war in Angola, beginning in 1975 and continuing, with interludes, until 2002. The war began immediately after Angola became independent from Portugal in November 1975. It was a power struggle between two for ...

and the

Yugoslav Wars The Yugoslav Wars were a series of separate but related#Naimark, Naimark (2003), p. xvii. ethnic conflicts, wars of independence, and Insurgency, insurgencies that took place from 1991 to 2001 in what had been the Socialist Federal Republic of ...

. He received criticism over UN inaction in Angola and during the genocide in Rwanda, and the perceived ineffectiveness of the UN peacekeeping operation in Bosnia led to a NATO intervention. In 1996, Boutros-Ghali ran unopposed for a second term as secretary-general, but the United States, long dissatisfied with his leadership, denied his bid by exercising its Security Council veto. After leaving the UN, Boutros-Ghali served as the first Secretary-General of La Francophonie from 1997 to 2002. He then became chairman of the South Centre, an intergovernmental think tank for developing countries. He died in 2016, in Cairo at the age of 93.

Early life and education

Boutros Boutros-Ghali was born in

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

Egypt Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...

, on 14 November 1922 into a Coptic Orthodox Christian family. His father Yusuf Butros Ghali was the son of Boutros Ghali '' Bey'' then ''

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

'' (also his namesake), who was Prime Minister of Egypt from 1908 until he was assassinated in 1910. His mother, Safela Mikhail Sharubim, was daughter of Mikhail Sharubim (1861–1920), a prominent public servant and historian. The young boy was brought up by a Slovenian nanny, one of the so-called '; he was closer to Milena, "his invaluable friend and confidant", than to his own mother. Boutros-Ghali graduated from

in 1946. He received a PhD in

international law International law, also known as public international law and the law of nations, is the set of Rule of law, rules, norms, Customary law, legal customs and standards that State (polity), states and other actors feel an obligation to, and generall ...

from the

Faculty of Law of Paris The Faculty of Law of Paris (), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties of the University of Paris ("the S ...

(

University of Paris The University of Paris (), known Metonymy, metonymically as the Sorbonne (), was the leading university in Paris, France, from 1150 to 1970, except for 1793–1806 during the French Revolution. Emerging around 1150 as a corporation associated wit ...

) and diploma in

international relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

from Sciences Po in 1949. During 1949–1979, he was appointed Professor of International Law and International Relations at Cairo University. He became President of the Centre of Political and Strategic Studies in 1975 and President of the African Society of Political Studies in 1980. He was a Fulbright Research Scholar at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

from 1954 to 1955, Director of the Centre of Research at The Hague Academy of International Law from 1963 to 1964, and Visiting Professor at the Faculty of Law of Paris from 1967 to 1968. In 1986, he received an

honorary doctorate An honorary degree is an academic degree for which a university (or other degree-awarding institution) has waived all of the usual requirements. It is also known by the Latin phrases ''honoris causa'' ("for the sake of the honour") or '' ad hon ...

from the Faculty of Law at

Uppsala University Uppsala University (UU) () is a public university, public research university in Uppsala, Sweden. Founded in 1477, it is the List of universities in Sweden, oldest university in Sweden and the Nordic countries still in operation. Initially fou ...

, Sweden. He was also the Honorary Rector of the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, a branch of Kyunghee University Seoul.

Political career

Boutros Boutros-Ghali et Moshe Dayan Strasbourg 10 octobre 1979

Boutros-Ghali's political career developed during the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

. He was a member of the Central Committee of the Arab Socialist Union from 1974 to 1977. He served as Egypt's Minister of State for Foreign Affairs from 1977 until early 1991. He then became Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs for several months before moving to the UN. As Minister of State, he played a part in the peace agreements between President Sadat and Israeli prime minister

. According to investigative journalist Linda Melvern, Boutros-Ghali approved a secret $26 million arms sale to the government of Rwanda in 1990, when he was foreign minister, the weapons stockpiled by the Hutu regime as part of the fairly public, long-term preparations for the subsequent

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

. He was serving as UN secretary-general when the killings occurred four years later.

United Nations Secretary-General

1991 selection

Boutros-Ghali ran for

in the 1991 selection. The top post in the UN was opening up as Javier Pérez de Cuéllar of Peru reached the end of his second term, and Africa was next in the rotation. Boutros-Ghali tied Bernard Chidzero of Zimbabwe in the first two rounds of polling, edged ahead by one vote in round 3, and fell behind by one vote in round 4. After several countries withdrew their support for Chidzero, fed by fears that the United States was trying to eliminate both of the leading candidates, Boutros-Ghali won a clear victory in round 5.

Tenure (1992–1996)

Boutros-Ghali's term in office remains controversial. In 1992, he submitted '' An Agenda for Peace'', a suggestion for how the UN could respond to violent conflict. He set three goals: for the UN to be more active in promoting democracy, for the UN to conduct preventative diplomacy to avert crises, and to expand the UN's role as peacekeeper. Although the goals were consistent with those of US president

George H. W. Bush George Herbert Walker BushBefore the outcome of the 2000 United States presidential election, he was usually referred to simply as "George Bush" but became more commonly known as "George H. W. Bush", "Bush Senior," "Bush 41," and even "Bush th ...

, he nevertheless repeatedly clashed with the United States, especially with his efforts to enlist the support of the US, to involve UN more deeply in the civil wars in Somalia (1992) and in Rwanda (1994). The United States refused to send peace enforcement units under UN leadership. Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad called on Boutros-Ghali to resign for failing to take any firm action to help resolve the conflict in Bosnia-Herzegovina. Boutros-Ghali was criticised for the UN's failure to act during the 1994 Rwandan genocide, during which over a half million people were killed. Boutros-Ghali also appeared unable to muster support in the UN for intervention in the continuing

. One of the hardest tasks during his term was dealing with the crisis of the

after the disintegration of the former

Yugoslavia , common_name = Yugoslavia , life_span = 1918–19921941–1945: World War II in Yugoslavia#Axis invasion and dismemberment of Yugoslavia, Axis occupation , p1 = Kingdom of SerbiaSerbia , flag_p ...

. The UN peacekeeping force was ineffective in Bosnia and Herzegovina, leading to the intervention by NATO in December 1995. His reputation became entangled in the larger controversies over the effectiveness of the UN and the role of the United States in the UN. The US journalist Mark Bowden argues that he was responsible for an escalation of the Somalia crisis by undertaking a personal vendetta against Mohamed Farrah Aidid and his Habar Gidir clan, favouring their rivals, the

Darod The Darod (, ) is a Somali clan. The forefather of this clan is Sheikh Abdirahman bin Isma'il al-Jabarti, more commonly known as Darod. The clan primarily settles the apex of the Horn of Africa and its peripheries, the Somali hinterlands adjacent ...

, the clan of the former dictator

Siad Barre Mohammed Siad Barre (, Osmanya script: , ''Muhammad Ziād Barīy''; 6 October 1919 – 2 January 1995) was a Somali military officer, politician, and revolutionary who served as the third president of Somalia from 21 October 1969 to 26 Janu ...

. In Bowden's opinion, it was believed that he demanded the 12 July 1993 US helicopter attack on a meeting of Habar Gidir clan leaders, who were meeting to discuss a peace initiative put forward by the leader of the UN Mission in

Mogadishu Mogadishu, locally known as Xamar or Hamar, is the capital and List of cities in Somalia by population, most populous city of Somalia. The city has served as an important port connecting traders across the Indian Ocean for millennia and has ...

, retired US Admiral Jonathan Howe. Bowden further suggests that most of the clan elders were eager to arrange peace and rein in the subversive activities of their clan leader Aidid. Still, after this attack on a peaceful meeting, the clan was resolved to fight the Americans and the UN, leading to the Battle of Mogadishu on 3–4 October 1993.

United States blocks second term

Boutros-Ghali ran unopposed for the customary second term in 1996, despite efforts by the United States to unseat him. US ambassador

Madeleine Albright Madeleine Jana Korbel Albright (born Marie Jana Körbelová, later Korbelová; May 15, 1937 – March 23, 2022) was an American diplomat and political science, political scientist who served as the 64th United States Secretary of State, United S ...

denounced him as "disengaged" and "neglect ul of genocide in Rwanda.and demanded Boutros-Ghali resign. He refused and seemingly had the votes. He won 14 of the 15 votes in the Security Council, but the sole opposing vote was a US veto. After four deadlocked meetings of the Security Council, France offered a compromise in which Boutros-Ghali would be appointed to a short term of two years, but the United States rejected the French offer. Finally, Boutros-Ghali suspended his candidacy, becoming the second Secretary-General ever to be denied re-election by a veto, with Kurt Waldheim being the first.

Later life

From 1997 to 2002, Boutros-Ghali was Secretary-General of La Francophonie, an organisation of French-speaking nations. From 2002 to 2005, he served as the chairman of the board of the South Centre, an intergovernmental research organisation of developing countries. Boutros-Ghali played a "significant role" in creating Egypt's National Council for Human Rights and served as its president until 2012. Boutros-Ghali supported the Campaign for the Establishment of a United Nations Parliamentary Assembly and was one of the initial signatories of the Campaign's appeal in 2007. In a message to the Campaign, he stressed the necessity to establish democratic participation of citizens at the global level. From 2009 to 2015, he also participated as a jury member for the Conflict Prevention Prize, awarded every year by the Fondation Chirac.

Death

Boutros-Ghali died aged 93 in a Cairo hospital after being admitted for a broken pelvis or leg on 16 February 2016. A military funeral was held for him with prayers led by Pope Tawadros II of Alexandria. He is buried at Petrine Church in Abbassia, Cairo.

Personal life

Boutros-Ghali's wife, Leia Maria Nadler (1924–2024), was raised in an Egyptian Jewish family in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and converted to

Catholicism The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

as a young woman.

Honorary degrees

He received honorary degrees from Sciences Po,

Russian Academy of Sciences The Russian Academy of Sciences (RAS; ''Rossíyskaya akadémiya naúk'') consists of the national academy of Russia; a network of scientific research institutes from across the Russian Federation; and additional scientific and social units such ...

, Catholic University of Leuven, ,

Université de Moncton The Université de Moncton is a Canadian French-language university in New Brunswick. It includes campuses in Edmundston, Moncton, and Shippagan. The university was founded in 1963 following the recommendations of the royal commission on hig ...

Carleton University Carleton University is an English-language public university, public research university in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1942 as Carleton College, the institution originally operated as a private, non-denominational evening college to se ...

, Université du Québec à Chicoutimi,

Charles III University of Madrid University Charles III of Madrid () (UC3M) is a public university in the Community of Madrid, Spain. Established in 1989, UC3M is an institution with a distinctly international profile. It offers a broad range of master's and bachelor's degree p ...

University of Bucharest The University of Bucharest (UB) () is a public university, public research university in Bucharest, Romania. It was founded in its current form on by a decree of Prince Alexandru Ioan Cuza to convert the former Princely Academy of Bucharest, P ...

, Baku State University,

Yerevan State University Yerevan State University (YSU; , , ), also simply University of Yerevan, is the oldest continuously operating public university in Armenia. Founded in 1919, it is the largest university in the country. It is thus informally known as Armenia's ...

University of Haifa The University of Haifa (, ) is a public research university located on Mount Carmel in Haifa, Israel. Founded in 1963 as a branch of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, the University of Haifa received full academic accreditation as an inde ...

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

University of Melbourne The University of Melbourne (colloquially known as Melbourne University) is a public university, public research university located in Melbourne, Australia. Founded in 1853, it is Australia's second oldest university and the oldest in the state ...

Seoul National University Seoul National University (SNU; ) is a public university, public research university in Seoul, South Korea. It is one of the SKY (universities), SKY universities and a part of the Flagship Korean National Universities. The university's main c ...

Waseda University Waseda University (Japanese: ), abbreviated as or , is a private university, private research university in Shinjuku, Tokyo. Founded in 1882 as the Tōkyō Professional School by Ōkuma Shigenobu, the fifth Prime Minister of Japan, prime ministe ...

, University of Bordeaux, and Uppsala University.

Awards and recognition

* The World Affairs Council Christian A. Herter memorial award, Boston (March 1993) * The Arthur A. Houghton Jr. Star Crystal Award for Excellence de l'Institut afro- américain, New York (November 1993) * Member of the

Académie des Sciences Morales et Politiques An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

* Honorary membership of the

Order of Canada The Order of Canada () is a Canadian state order, national order and the second-highest Award, honour for merit in the system of orders, decorations, and medals of Canada, after the Order of Merit. To coincide with the Canadian Centennial, ce ...

* Honorary membership of the

Russian Academy of Natural Sciences The Russian Academy of Natural Sciences (Russian language, Russian: Российская академия естественных наук) is a Russian non-governmental organization founded on August 31 1990 in Moscow in the former Soviet Uni ...

, Moscow (April 1994) * Honorary foreign membership of the

, Moscow (April 1994) * Honorary foreign membership of the Academy of Sciences of Belarus, Minsk (April 1994) * Fellow of

Berkeley College Berkeley College is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York City, New Jersey, and online. It was founded in 1931 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. Berkeley College is accredited by the Mi ...

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

(March 1995) * The recipient of the Onassis Award for International Understanding and Social Achievement (July 1995)

Honours

National honours

Foreign honours

Published works

As Secretary-General, Boutros-Ghali wrote ''An Agenda for Peace''. He also published other memoirs:

In English

* ''The Arab League, 1945–1955: Ten Years of Struggle'', ed. Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, New York, 1954 * ''New Dimensions of Arms Regulations and Disarmament in the Post Cold War'', ed. United Nations, New York, 1992 * ''An Agenda for Development'', ed. United Nations, New York, 1995 * ''Confronting New Challenges'', ed. United Nations, New York, 1995 * ''Fifty Years of the United Nations'', ed. William Morrow, New York, 1995 * ''The 50th Anniversary: Annual Report on the Work of the Organization'', ed. United Nations, New York, 1996 * ''An Agenda for Democratization'', ed. United Nations, New York, 1997 * ''Egypt's Road to Jerusalem: A Diplomat's Story of the Struggle for Peace in the Middle East'', ed. Random House, New York, 1998 * ''Essays on Leadership'' (with

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (October 1, 1924December 29, 2024) was an American politician and humanitarian who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party ...

Mikhail Gorbachev Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev (2 March 1931 – 30 August 2022) was a Soviet and Russian politician who served as the last leader of the Soviet Union from 1985 to dissolution of the Soviet Union, the country's dissolution in 1991. He served a ...

, and Desmond Tutu), ed. Carnegie Commission on Preventing Deadly Conflict, Washington, 1998 * ''Unvanquished: A US-UN Saga'', ed. I. B. Tauris, New York, 1999 * ''The Papers of United Nations Secretary'' (with Charles Hill), ed. Yale University Press, New York, 2003 * ''The Arab League, 1945–1955: International Conciliation'', ed. Literary Licensing Publisher, London, 2013

In French

* ''Contribution à l'étude des ententes régionales'', ed. Pedone, Paris, 1949 * ''Cours de Diplomatie et de Droit Diplomatique et consulaire'', ed. Librairie Anglo-égyptienne, Cairo, 1951 * ''Le problème du canal de Suez'', ed. Société égyptienne du droit international, Cairo, 1957 * ''Le principe d'égalité des États et des organisations internationales'', ed. Académie de droit international, Leiden, 1961 * ''Contribution à une théorie générale des alliances'', ed. Pedone, Paris, 1963 * ''Le Mouvement afro-asiatique'', ed. Presses universitaires de France, Paris, 1969 * ''L'organisation de l'Unité africaine'', ed. Armand Colin, Paris, 1969 * ''Les difficultés institutionnelles du panafricanisme'', ed. Institut Universitaire des Hautes études Internationales, Geneva, 1971 * ''Les conflits des frontières en Afrique'', ed. Techniques et Économiques, Paris, 1972 * ''Contribution à une théorie générale des alliances'', ed. Pedone, Paris, 1991 * ''L'interaction démocratie et développement'' ds. ed. Unesco, Paris, 2002 * ''Démocratiser la mondialisation'', ed. Rocher, Paris, 2002 * ''Émanciper la Francophonie'', ed. L'Harmattan, Paris, 2003 * ''60 Ans de conflit israélo-arabe : Témoignages pour l'Histoire'' (with

Shimon Peres Shimon Peres ( ; ; born Szymon Perski, ; 2 August 1923 – 28 September 2016) was an Israeli politician and statesman who served as the prime minister of Israel from 1984 to 1986 and from 1995 to 1996 and as the president of Israel from 2007 t ...

), ed. Complexes, Paris, 2006

Notes

References

Bibliography

* * Fasulo, Linda. "CHAPTER 14. The Coup Against Boutros-Ghali" in Fasulo, ''An Insider’s Guide to the UN'' (Yale University Press, 2008), pp. 134–138. https://doi.org/10.12987/9780300133516-017 * * * *

External links

*
Boutros Boutros-Ghali
papers at the United Nations Archives * , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Boutros-Ghali, Boutros 1922 births 2016 deaths 20th-century Egyptian diplomats 21st-century Egyptian diplomats Cairo University alumni Coptic politicians Academic staff of Cairo University Members of the Institut de Droit International Foreign members of the Russian Academy of Sciences Deputy prime ministers of Egypt Ministers of foreign affairs of Egypt People from Cairo The Hague Academy of International Law people Recipients of the Order of Merit (Egypt) Grand Cross of the Legion of Honour Honorary companions of the Order of Canada Knights Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian Republic Grand Crosses of the Order of Prince Henry Officers of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg Grand Crosses of the Order of the Star of Romania Grand Crosses of the Order of the Liberator General San Martin Grand Crosses of the Order of the Sun of Peru Knights of the Order of Pope Pius IX Order of Leopold (Belgium) Grand Crosses of the National Order of Mali Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Ivory Coast Recipients of orders, decorations, and medals of Senegal Members of the Académie des sciences morales et politiques People of the Rwandan genocide Columbia University faculty Sciences Po alumni Secretaries-general of the Organisation internationale de la Francophonie Secretaries-general of the United Nations Accidental deaths from falls Egyptian officials of the United Nations Boutros Ghali family Accidental deaths in Egypt