Mohamed ElBaradei Director of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Country: Egypt

Biography of Mohamed ElBaradei

Mohamed ElBaradei was born in 1942 in Egypt, into a relatively wealthy family. He graduated from the Faculty of Law at Cairo University in 1962 and began his diplomatic career in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He served two terms in Egyptian missions at the United Nations and in Geneva.

In 1974, ElBaradei completed his legal education at one of the most prestigious law schools in the United States, the New York University School of Law. It appears that Egyptians have excelled in preparing and supplying the United Nations with excellent diplomatic personnel and officials. Prior to the current Secretary-General of the UN, Kofi Annan, the international community was successfully led by another Egyptian, Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who is also a close friend of ElBaradei.

Since December 1997, ElBaradei has been the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), a specialized agency of the UN that has gained international attention due to recent events surrounding Iraq and North Korea. It is ElBaradei and the head of the UN inspectors who "inspect" Iraqi facilities suspected of producing weapons of mass destruction.

ElBaradei is a specialist in international law related to the peaceful use of atomic energy and security matters. He joined the UN structure in 1980 and consistently moved up the ranks. He served as a legal advisor and later as the Assistant Director General of the IAEA for External Relations starting from 1993.

ElBaradei has a daughter named Leila, who followed in her father's footsteps and became a lawyer, and a son named Mustafa, who chose a scientific career and is involved in biotechnology.