Ahmed Maher El Sayed

Ahmed Maher El Sayed (14 September 1935 – 27 September 2010) was an Egyptian diplomat. He served as the foreign minister of Egypt from 2001 to 2004.

Early life and education Maher was born in Cairo on 14 September 1935. He came from a family of diplomats and politicians. He was the brother of Ambassador Ali Maher and their grandfather, Ahmad Mahir Pasha, was one of the prime ministers of Egypt. He studied law at Cairo University and graduated in 1956. Next he was named as the head of the foreign minister's staff.from 1978 to 1980. In addition, he served as the ambassador in Washington for seven years from 7 July 1992 to 14 September 1999. He retired from office in 1999.

He was appointed foreign minister on 15 May 2001, being the 71st figure in the post. He succeeded Amr Moussa as foreign minister after Moussa was appointed head of the Arab League. During a visit to Israel as part of Egyptian efforts to relaunch the peace process, Maher was attacked by Palestinian activists in the Al-Aqsa mosque compound in east Jerusalem in December 2003. The Palestinians booed and hurled shoes at him in protest at Egypt's perceived policy of appeasement towards Israel.