Ashraf Ghorbal (Alexandria, Egypt May 1925 – 29 November 2005) was an Egyptian diplomat.

Career

Ghorbal began his career in 1949 when he entered the Egyptian diplomatic service as a member of its delegation to the United Nations. In January 1968, following the severance of diplomatic relations between the US and the Egyptian government, Ghorbal was appointed head of the Egyptian interests section that operated within the Indian Embassy. Espionage den05 1

Ghorbal held that position until February 1973, when he was appointed as media adviser to Egyptian President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

. In November 1973 the Egyptian and the US governments decided to reestablish diplomatic relations, and Ghorbal was designated as the new Ambassador, a position he held until 1984. He served as Egypt's ambassador to Washington during the signing of the Camp David Accords between Sadat and U.S. President

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as the 76th governor of Georgia from 1 ...

."Ashraf Ghorbal, 80, Is Dead; Egypt's Envoy to U.S. and in '78 Pact With Israel." ''New York Times'', 30 December 2005.(https://www.nytimes.com/2005/12/03/obituaries/03ghorbal.html?_r=0) He played a significant role in the diffusion of the hostage situation during the 1977 Washington, D.C. attack and hostage taking.

Personal life

Ghorbal studied political science at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, earning his Ph.D. in 1949. He was married to Amal (born 1936) and they had two children.

References

External links

Judith Weinraub, "Sadat's Jerusalem Visit Ends a Historic Silence on Washington's Embassy Row" ''People Magazine'', March 6, 1978

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20120314151802/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2006/780/sc131.htm El-Ahram obituary {{DEFAULTSORT:Ghorbal, Ashraf Egyptian diplomats Ambassadors of Egypt to the United States Harvard Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni 1925 births 2005 deaths