Cairo– Arab foreign ministers on Sunday appointed veteran Egyptian diplomat Nabil Fahmy as head of the 22-member Arab League, at a time when the Middle East is mired in crisis. month long iran war There is no sign of it slowing down.
Fahmy, former Egyptian Foreign Minister, secured the support of Arab foreign ministers in a virtual meeting, according to the Egyptian Foreign Ministry.
Fahmy will begin a five-year term in July, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who had served as Arab League chief since 2016.
His appointment comes as Iran’s Arab neighbors grapple with attacks from Iran and its proxies in response to massive air strikes launched by the US and Israel since February 28.
Fahmy was the only nominee for the post, as it is a long-held protocol that Egypt, as host of the Arab League, traditionally nominates the head of the body since its establishment in 1945. The only time a non-Egyptian – Tunisian diplomat al-Shazly al-Qalibi – was appointed to the post was in 1979, when Egypt’s membership was suspended following the peace treaty with Israel.
Egypt rejoined in 1989, the Arab League’s headquarters returned to Cairo, and Egypt was appointed the new Secretary General in 1990.
Fahmy, 75, served as Egypt’s top diplomat between July 2013 and June 2014, when Egypt was in turmoil following a military coup. Overthrow an elected Islamic President Whose one year rule proved to be divisive. Fahmy was Egypt’s Ambassador to the United States between 1999 and 2008.
He also founded the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, and currently serves as Dean Emeritus of the school.
He is the son of Ismail Fahmy, who was Foreign Minister of Egypt from 1973 to 1977. The elder Fahmy had resigned in protest against President Anwar Sadat’s historic visit to Jerusalem, which paved the way for Egypt to become the first Arab country to establish diplomatic ties with Israel.
