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 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 ...

's visit to

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

. 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 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 ...

. He held a degree in political science from

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 ...

in 1945.

Early career

Fahmy joined

ministry 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 relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1946. He served as a diplomat being part of the Egypt's delegation to the

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...

from 1949 to 1957. He was an activist and a tough negotiator. oseph Sisco. An Egyptian Foreign Minister’s Memoirs. ''The New York Times'', 19 June 1983/ref> Then he served in the Egypt's delegation on the

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology, nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was ...

until 1959. He returned to Egypt and worked at the foreign office. He was appointed ambassador to

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

in 1968. From 1969 to 1970 he served as the ambassador of Egypt to

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. 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

Fahmy served as foreign minister from 31 October 1973 to 17 November 1977. He decided to keep lines of communication open between Egypt and Soviet Union. However Fahmy recounts certain events in which he was directly involved: his first encounters with Henry Kissinger and Richard Nixon; his participation in talks leading to the Egyptian-Israeli disengagement agreements of 1974 and 1975. He reluctantly supported the first agreement and opposed to the second. He met with both US and Soviet foreign ministers. According to Fahmy, “Kissinger is highly intelligent but he has tendency to manipulate people”. Biography - (1922-1997): An article from: Contemporary Authors Online TML">Biography - (1922-1997): An article from: Contemporary Authors Online [HTML(Digital)/ref> Fahmy stated that “Zbigniew Brzezinski was professor at heart inclined to lecture experienced diplomat”. When Sadat decided to visit Jerusalem, he reacted to the decision by saying "I believed it would harm Egypt’s national security, damage our relations with the other Arab countries, and destroy our leadership of the Arab world." Furthermore he argued Sadat could not provide any proof that the Israelis would respond to his move with comparable good will. After Sadat's visit, he resigned from his post and was replaced by Muhammad Ibrahim Kamel">Mohamed Ibrahim Kamel.

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

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fahmy, Ismail 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