Mustafa Khalil ( ar, مصطفى خليل, ) (18 November 1920 – 7 June 2008) was an Egyptian politician and

Prime Minister of Egypt The prime minister of Egypt () is the head of the Egyptian government. A direct translation of the Arabic-language title is "Minister-President of Egypt" and "President of the Government". The Arabic title can also be translated as "President of ...

from October 2, 1978 to May 15, 1980. Khalil also served as the Egyptian Foreign Minister from February 17, 1979 until May 15, 1980 upon the resignation of the position's incumbent over objections on peace talks between Egypt and Israel. Khalil was best known for his integral role in the negotiations that led to the 1979 Camp David Accord

peace treaty A peace treaty is an agreement between two or more hostile parties, usually countries or governments, which formally ends a state of war between the parties. It is different from an armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring ...

between

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

. Mustafa Khalil accompanied Egyptian President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-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 his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

on his historic first visit to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

, in November 1977 to meet with the

Prime Minister of Israel The prime minister of Israel ( he, רֹאשׁ הַמֶּמְשָׁלָה, Rosh HaMemshala, Head of the Government, Hebrew acronym: he2, רה״מ; ar, رئيس الحكومة, ''Ra'īs al-Ḥukūma'') is the head of government and chief exec ...

Menachem Begin. Khalil was also the

secretary general Secretary is a title often used in organizations to indicate a person having a certain amount of authority, power, or importance in the organization. Secretaries announce important events and communicate to the organization. The term is derived ...

of the Arab Socialist Union at the time. The visit by Sadat and Khalil paved the way for negotiations by

United States President The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

, which ultimately led to the Camp David Accords. Former

United Nations Secretary General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or SG) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. The role of the secretary-g ...

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (; , ar, بطرس بطرس غالي ', ; 14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) from 1992 to 1996. An academic ...

, who served as the deputy prime

minister for foreign affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

under Khalil and also travelled with Khalil and Sadat to Israel in 1977, has talked about the important role which Khalil played in the peace negotiations, "Khalil contributed in serving the country for over 50 years and took part in making peace and building the basis of development...We continued negotiations together that ended in the Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty that launched the

peace process A peace process is the set of sociopolitical negotiations, agreements and actions that aim to solve a specific armed conflict. Definitions Prior to an armed conflict occurring, peace processes can include the prevention of an intra-state or in ...

in the region." Khalil served as the

from 1978 until 1980. In recent years, Khalil served as the deputy chairman of the National Democratic Party, which was the governing party of Egypt. He stepped down from that position in November 2007. He was born in the

Al Qalyubiyah Governorate Qalyubia Governorate ( ar, محافظة القليوبية ' ) is one of the governorates of Egypt. Located in Lower Egypt. It is situated north of Cairo in the Nile Delta region. Its capital is Banha. Name Name of Qalubiyya governorate is dr ...

. Khalil attended the

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Univ ...

where he received a master's degree and doctorate in 1948 and 1951. Mustafa Khalil died on June 7, 2008, at the age of 88 at a hospital in Cairo, Egypt. According to

MENA MENA, an acronym in the English language, refers to a grouping of countries situated in and around the Middle East and North Africa. It is also known as WANA, SWANA, or NAWA, which alternatively refers to the Middle East as Western Asia (or a ...

, Egypt's state-run

news agency A news agency is an organization that gathers news reports and sells them to subscribing news organizations, such as newspapers, magazines and radio and television broadcasters. A news agency may also be referred to as a wire service, newswir ...

, Khalil was being treated at the hospital of an unspecified illness at the time. He was survived by his wife, Nehal, his son Egyptian businessman and former parliamentarian Hisham Mustafa Khalil and daughter Zeinab Khalil. His state funeral June 9, 2008 was a big affair attended by

Egyptian President The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egy ...

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in ...

and dignitaries from Egypt and abroad.

References

1920 births 2008 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Egypt Prime Ministers of Egypt Foreign ministers of Egypt Petroleum ministers of Egypt Arab Socialist Union (Egypt) politicians National Democratic Party (Egypt) politicians Transport ministers of Egypt {{Egypt-politician-stub