28 Facts About Amr Moussa

Amr Moussa was born on 3 October 1936 in Cairo, Egypt, the son of former parliamentarian Muhammad Moussa.

Amr Moussa's father had a son named Pierre during his studies in France in the 1920s.

Amr Moussa finished his education after earning a degree in law from Cairo University in 1957.

Amr Moussa then began his diplomatic career between 1958 and 1972 he worked in several missions, including Egypt's Embassy in Switzerland and the Egyptian mission to the United Nations.

From 1981 to 1983, Amr Moussa was the Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, then from 1983 to 1986 Ambassador to India.

Amr Moussa was named Minister of Foreign Affairs by Prime Minister Atef Sedki on 20 May 1991.

Amr Moussa was minister until 15 May 2001 when he was elected as Secretary-General of the Arab League.

Amr Moussa has been heavily involved with Egypt's foreign policy since 1958.

Amr Moussa was Egypt's ambassador to the United Nations, India, and Switzerland for a total of 21 years.

Amr Moussa was among the many Arab and international diplomats who tried to resolve the Lebanese Civil War.

Amr Moussa has been an extremely popular political figure in Egypt due to his criticism of Israeli policies towards Gaza and the West Bank.

At the Forum for new diplomacy in February 2010, Amr Moussa gave a speech in which he criticized the US government's double standard supporting Israel's nuclear weapons policy but not allowing Iran to pursue nuclear energy.

Amr Moussa criticized Western countries, including the US, for not recognizing the results of the 2006 Palestinian election that brought Hamas into power.

On 15 May 2001, Amr Moussa was selected as Secretary-General of the League of Arab States and took office on 1 June 2001.

On 13 June 2010, Amr Moussa visited Gaza in a move to pressure Israel to lift its economic blockade over Hamas-ruled Gaza.

The visit by Amr Moussa was the first by an official of the Arab League since the election of Hamas in 2007.

Immediately after the Gaza flotilla raid, Amr Moussa said the Arab League would go to the UN Security Council to demand the blockade be lifted.

In 2004, an online community gathered tens of thousands of signatures petitioning for Amr Moussa to run in the 2005 elections, but there was no response.

Amr Moussa merely replied that he hoped to continue the recent run of successes that have occurred under his leadership at the Arab League until the end of his term.

Amr Moussa argued that "It's the right of every citizen that has the capacity and efficiency to aspire to any political office that would allow him to contribute to the service of his nation".

Amr Moussa further stated to the press that the qualities required to be the President of Egypt apply to Gamal Mubarak, son of Hosni Mubarak.

Amr Moussa expressed appreciation "for the confidence expressed by many people when they talk about his candidacy for the presidency and that the message reached him".

Amr Moussa held talks with Mohamed El-Baradei after his return to Egypt.

On 26 January 2011, at the Annual Horasis meeting in Zurich, Amr Moussa shared strong views on the need for economic and political reforms in Egypt, and made it clear that he was considering a run.

On 1 February 2011, following the announcement by President Hosni Mubarak that he would not stand in the upcoming presidential elections, Amr Moussa told CNN that he would seriously think about standing himself as a candidate in the next few weeks.

On 12 February 2011, the Egyptian daily newspaper Alwafd reported that a group of Egyptian youth met with Amr Moussa to discuss a possible nomination for the presidential election.

Amr Moussa reportedly agreed to the nomination, but stated that he would await the currently proposed constitutional reforms.

Amr Moussa announced that he would be running as a presidential candidate on 1 March 2011.