dr. Amre Moussa

About Amre Moussa

Amre Mahmoud Moussa was the 6th Secretary- General of the Arab League from 2001 to 2011. Before that he was the 52nd Egyptian Foreign Minister holding the position from 1991 until 2001. After leaving his post, he was elected as Secretary General of the Arab League. He held this position from 2001 till 2011, he then ran for president of Egypt in the first democratic elections following the Arab Revolutions for change as an independent candidate with a vision to reform Egypt's ailing bureaucratic and economic infrastructure. Afterwards, Moussa was elected as a member of the Egyptian Constitutional assembly assigned to write the country's new constitution.

Mr. Moussa was born in Cairo on October 3rd, 1936. He graduated from the faculty of law, Cairo University in 1957, and first joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Egypt in 1958. Between 1958 and 1972 he worked in several Egyptian missions including Egypt's embassy in Switzerland and the Egyptian mission to the United Nations.

From 1974 to 1977 he became one of the assistants and advisors to the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt. He served as the director of the department of international organizations in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for two terms from (1977-1981) and from (1986-1989). He served as Deputy Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations in New York from 1981 to 1983; Egyptian Ambassador to India from 1983 to 1986; Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations from 1990-1991. He was then sworn in as Egypt's Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1991 and continued to hold this position till 2001 when he was unanimously voted as the Secretary General of the League of Arab States where he served two terms till 2011. In 2003 he was chosen as a member of the United Nation's High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change for international peace and security. Mr. Moussa decided to run for presidency in Egypt's first democratic elections in 2011 with a strong economic and administrative reform program. The Muslim brotherhood's candidate was elected president but Moussa emerged as a liberal national leader with strong popularity and was elected in 2012 as a member of the Egyptian Constitutional Assembly drafting the country's new constitution.

Secretary General Moussa was honored and awarded many decorations by several countries and organizations. Among the awards he has received are the Grand Cordon of the Nile from Egypt (May 2001), First Class Order of the Two Niles from Sudan (2001), Honorary Doctorate Degree of Humane Letters, the Lebanese American University of Beirut (2010). He also received awards and decorations from Ecuador, Brazil, Qatar, Jordan, Argentina and the German Federation.

In 2009, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the Holy See and met with Pope Benedict XVI in order to strengthen joint projects and to promote peace and dialogue on a cultural and political level. On June 13th 2010, Moussa visited Gaza in a move to pressure Israel to lift its economic blockade over Hamas-Ruled Gaza and declared that the Arab League would go to the UN Security Council to demand the blockade be lifted. In 2011 Moussa signed Al-Azhar Declaration together with the Sheikh of Al- Azhar Mosque and Pope Shenuda III of Egypt and several other Egyptian personalities guaranteeing basic freedoms and rights of Egyptians to be the basis of the new Constitution.Amre Moussa is an international diplomats and political figure, especially toward the Arab world. Between 1958 and 1972 he worked in several missions, including Egypt’s Embassy in Switzerland and the Egyptian mission to the United Nations. From 1974 to 1977 he was an advisor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs. From 1977 to 1981 and again from 1983 to 1990, he was the Director of the Department of International Organizations at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. From 1981 to 1983, Amre Moussa was the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, then from 1983 to 1986 Ambassador to India.

In 1990, he was promoted Permanent Representative of Egypt to the United Nations. He was named Minister of Foreign Affairs by Prime Minister Atef Sedki on 20 May 1991. He was minister until 15 May 2001 when he was elected as Secretary General of the Arab League.

On 2003, he became a member of the United Nations High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change for International Peace and Security. On 2009, he signed a memorandum of understanding with the Holy See and met with Pope Benedict XVI in order to strengthen joint projects and to promote peace and dialogue on a cultural and political level.