CAIRO(RAHNUMA): The Council of the League of Arab States has approved the appointment of former Egyptian Foreign Minister Nabil Fahmy as the next secretary-general of the organization, in a move that now awaits formal endorsement at an upcoming Arab Summit in Saudi Arabia.
The decision was taken during the 165th ministerial session of the Arab League, held via video conference on Sunday under the chairmanship of Bahrain, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
Fahmy, Egypt’s nominee for the post, will serve a five-year term beginning July 1, 2026, succeeding Ahmed Aboul Gheit, whose second term ends on June 30 this year.
The nomination was formally submitted by Egypt’s Permanent Mission to the Arab League and presented to the ministerial meeting.
The appointment reflects long-standing protocol within the 22-member organization, under which Egypt, as host of the Arab League’s headquarters in Cairo since its establishment in 1945, traditionally nominates the secretary-general.
Fahmy, 75, was the sole candidate for the position. He is widely regarded as one of Egypt’s most prominent diplomats, with a career spanning decades in foreign policy and academia, the SPA report said.
He previously served as Egypt’s ambassador to the US from 1999 to 2008 and was appointed foreign minister in July 2013, holding the post until June 2014.
Beyond his diplomatic career, Fahmy has played a significant role in higher education.
He founded the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at the American University in Cairo, where he currently serves as dean emeritus, and has contributed extensively to international relations scholarship.
He also comes from a diplomatic family, as the son of Ismail Fahmy, who served as Egypt’s foreign minister from 1973 to 1977.
