17 - 23 May 2001
Issue No.534
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Al-Ahram Weekly On-line 17 - 23 May 2001 Issue No.534 |
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Sunny ceremony
In the first ceremony of its kind to be held in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh, veteran diplomat Ahmed Maher raised his hand on Tuesday to take the oath to serve his country as Egypt's 71st foreign minister. With the sun bright and sunny outside, Maher stood at ceremonial attention before President Hosni Mubarak and Prime Minister Atef Ebeid.
Following weeks of endless rumours, the career diplomat was soon to walk into his second-floor offices at the impressive foreign ministry building on Cairo's corniche. Maher, 65, takes the helm from Amr Moussa, who left Egypt's top diplomatic post to head the 22-nation Arab League as secretary-general. Rumoured candidates for the job had included Chief of Intelligence Omar Suleiman, Egypt's ambassador to Washington Nabil Fahmy, head of Egypt's mission to the UN Ahmed Abul-Gheit, Maher's younger brother Ali, currently serving as Egypt's ambassador to Paris, and former head of Egypt's mission to the UN Nabil El-Arabi.
Having the younger Maher on the short-list caused some confusion about the identity of the new minister, when state television mistakenly announced Ali Maher's appointment to the coveted post. During the early Good Morning Egypt programme, news anchors -- who were misinformed of the new minister's first name -- hurriedly made the announcement, eagerly reading out Ali Maher's biography. Within the hour the mistake was corrected and by the noon news bulletin, television audiences watched the elder Maher, sporting a crisp navy-blue suit, at his swearing-in ceremony.
Incoming Foreign Minister Ahmed Maher takes the oath of allegiance in front of President Hosni Mubarak, as, from left, Prime Minister Atef Ebeid, chief of the president's cabinet Zakaria Azmi, and chief presidential protocol officer Ashraf Bakir, look on; outgoing Foreign Minister Amr Moussa chats with his successor at Foreign Ministry headquarters; Palestinian President Yasser Arafat congratulates Amr Moussa on his first day as secretary-general of the Arab League
Maher's last two overseas posts were as Egyptian ambassador to Washington (1992-1999) and to Moscow (1988-1992). After the Sharm El-Sheikh ceremony, Maher slipped smoothly into his new role as foreign minister and headed into a meeting with Mubarak and Ebeid to discuss an overview of Egypt's foreign policy. Within minutes, Maher's first assignment was attending talks between Mubarak and Palestinian President Yasser Arafat -- a meeting which is certain to repeat itself frequently as the Arab-Israeli conflict rages on.
Meeting the press for the first time as foreign minister, Maher expressed gratitude for Mubarak's "cherished confidence" in his ability to manage Egypt's foreign policy "during this critical period in Egyptian and Middle East politics." His next statements, asserted Cairo's current regional policy posture by lambasted Israel's aggressive actions against the Palestinians and its intransigence in the peace process. He reiterated Egypt's commitment to help bring peace to the region.
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