Mahmoud Fawzi

Mahmoud Fawzi was a prominent Egyptian diplomat and politician who served in various posts in the Egyptian government and abroad. He was born in a village near Quwaysina, Monufia Governorate, in 1900. He studied law at the University of Cairo and did his postgraduate studies at the Universities of Liverpool, Columbia, and Rome. He received a PhD in criminal law in 1926. He joined the diplomatic service and served as consul in Kobe, Japan, consul-general in Jerusalem, representative to the United Nations, and ambassador to the United Kingdom. After the 1952 revolution that overthrew King Farouk I, he was appointed foreign minister of Egypt by President Gamal Abdel Nasser. He played a key role in the Suez Crisis of 1956, the formation and dissolution of the United Arab Republic with Syria, and the Non-Aligned Movement. He remained foreign minister until 1964 and then became a close advisor to Nasser on foreign affairs. After Nasser’s death in 1970, he was appointed prime minister by President Anwar Sadat, as a compromise civilian candidate. He served as prime minister until 1972 and then as vice president until 1974. He retired from public life and wrote a book about the Suez War, which was published after his death in 1981. He died of natural causes in Cairo at the age of 80. He was widely respected for his diplomatic skills and his loyalty to the Egyptian republic.