Diplomat’s Lecture Second in 'Reinventing Diplomacy' Series

AUSTIN, Texas, April 2, 2012 – Ambassador at Large at the Egyptian Foreign Ministry and former Egyptian Ambassador to the United States Nabil Fahmy will share his unique insights into the global implications of the Arab Spring in a talk titled “The Arab Revolutions” on Monday, April 9, at 5:30 p.m. at the Lyndon Baines Johnson Library and Museum. Fahmy will cover many aspects of the various uprisings that have taken place in the Middle East and Northern Africa over the last year, focusing on the upcoming presidential elections in Egypt, prospects for a cease-fire in Syria, and signs that the Syrian revolution could be spilling over into neighboring Lebanon.

Hosted by the LBJ School of Public Affairs at The University of Texas at Austin, Fahmy’s lecture will mark the second in a series of talks that are part of the newly-launched “Reinventing Diplomacy” initiative, aimed at training the next generation of diplomatic leaders and scholars. The LBJ School is spearheading the new program.

“We are delighted to have Nabil Fahmy, one of Egypt’s most senior and respected diplomats, with us to reflect on the epochal changes affecting his own country and the wider region,” said Robert Hutchings, dean of the LBJ School of Public Affairs. “As one of the key negotiators in the Middle East Peace Process and in UN-led disarmament efforts, Ambassador Fahmy is particularly well-placed to help us launch our new ‘Reinventing Diplomacy’ initiative.”

This event is free and open to the public but registration is required. To register, please visit: https://www.utexas.edu/lbj/news/event/fahmy/registration

Fahmy is the founding Dean of the School of Public Affairs at the American University in Cairo. He is the Chair of the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies’ Middle East Project. He served as Ambassador of Egypt to the United States from 1999-2008. He also served as Egypt’s Ambassador to Japan from September 1997-September 1999 and before that as the Political Advisor to Egypt's Foreign Minister from 1992-97. Dr. Fahmy has held numerous posts in the Egyptian Government since 1974.

He headed the Egyptian delegation to the Middle East Peace Process Steering Committee in 1993 and the Egyptian delegation to the Multilateral Working Group on Regional Security and Arms Control emanating from the Madrid Peace Conference from December 1991. Over the years, Ambassador Fahmy has been a member of the Egyptian Missions to the United Nations (Disarmament and Political Affairs) in Geneva and New York. He was elected Vice Chairman of the First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Affairs of the 44th Session of the UN General Assembly in 1986. From 1999 until 2003, he was also a member of the UN Secretary General’s Advisory Board of Disarmament Matters, and he served as the board chairman in 2001.

The Reinventing Diplomacy program is a multidisciplinary initiative with the goal of making the study of diplomacy more comprehensive, modern, and global in outlook through innovations in teaching, research and public outreach. University partners include: The LBJ School of Public Affairs, the College of Liberal Arts at UT Austin, the Institute for Historical Studies, the Center for European Studies, the EU Center for Excellence, the Robert S. Strauss Center for International Security and Law, the Departments of Government and History, and the Program in British Studies.

Related:

Dean Nabil Fahmy Shares His Thoughts Across Egyptian News Sources – News@AUC, Oct. 3, 2011

Ambassador Nabil Fahmy Discusses Egypt’s Foreign Relations in Post Mubarak Era in Cairo Review of Global Affairs – News@AUC, April 12, 2011

The Egyptian Revolution and the Future of WMD in the Middle East: Q&A with Nabil Fahmy – James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies, March 1, 2011