CAIRO — The Arab League on Monday appointed former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy as the group’s new secretary-general.
The appointment came during the 165th ordinary session of the pan-Arab body held in the Jordanian capital Amman.
Fahmy, 75, will take office as the new league chief for a five-year term on July 1, replacing outgoing Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit, who served two consecutive terms as head of the regional body.
The veteran diplomat, who led Egypt’s foreign ministry from June 2013 to July 2014, was unanimously nominated to become the head of the 22-member regional bloc in March.
“The selection reflects appreciation for the diplomatic experience that Mr. Nabil Fahmy possesses and his long professional career, through which he contributed to supporting Arab action on the regional and international arenas,” the Egyptian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
The ministry expressed wishes of success for the new league chief in performing his duties, as well as “strengthening joint Arab action, and achieving the aspirations of Arab peoples towards stability and prosperity.”
With his appointment, Fahmy becomes the ninth secretary-general of the Arab League since its establishment in 1945, and the eighth Egyptian to hold the post.
The Cairo-based bloc has had only one non-Egyptian secretary-general, Tunisian Chedli Klibi, in the 1980s when Egypt was suspended for signing a peace deal with Israel.
Source: Saudi Gazette