Khaled al-Anani ( ar, خالد العناني; born 14 March 1971 in
Giza) is an Egyptian Egyptologist and was the Egyptian
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.
Career
Al-Anani studied
Egyptology
Egyptology (from ''Egypt'' and Greek , ''-logia''; ar, علم المصريات) is the study of ancient Egyptian history, language, literature, religion, architecture and art from the 5th millennium BC until the end of its native religious p ...
at the
Helwan University with the aim of becoming a
tourist guide
A tour guide (U.S.) or a tourist guide (European) is a person who provides assistance, information on cultural, historical and contemporary heritage to people on organized sightseeing and individual clients at educational establishments, religio ...
. He later obtained a
MAS and PhD at the
Paul Valéry University Montpellier in 2001.
He then became a professor of Egyptology at the University of Helwan, Department of Tourist Guides, then in the Faculty of Tourism and Hotel Management in 2011. He also teaches the
Ancient Egyptian language
The Egyptian language or Ancient Egyptian ( ) is a dead Afro-Asiatic language that was spoken in ancient Egypt. It is known today from a large corpus of surviving texts which were made accessible to the modern world following the deciphe ...
at several universities around the world, including the
University of Palermo
The University of Palermo ( it, Università degli Studi di Palermo) is a university located in Palermo, Italy, and founded in 1806. It is organized in 12 Faculties.
History
The University of Palermo was officially founded in 1806, although its ...
, Paul-Valéry-Montpellier University and the
Brandenburg University of Technology
The Brandenburg University of Technology Cottbus–Senftenberg (german: link=no, Brandenburgische Technische Universität, BTU) was founded in 1991 and is a technical university in Brandenburg, Germany with campuses in Cottbus and Senftenberg. ...
. In addition, he became a member of several scientific institutions, notably being a corresponding member of the
German Archaeological Institute
The German Archaeological Institute (german: Deutsches Archäologisches Institut, ''DAI'') is a research institute in the field of archaeology (and other related fields). The DAI is a "federal agency" under the Federal Foreign Office of Germany ...
in Berlin, as well as an associate researcher and member of the board of directors of the
French Institute of Oriental Archeology (IFAO). In October 2014, he became the 18th director-general of the
National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation
The National Museum of Egyptian Civilization (NMEC) is a large museum ( ) in the ancient city of Fustat, now part of Cairo, Egypt. The museum partially opened in February 2017 and will display a collection of 50,000 artefacts, presenting Egyptian ...
(NMEC).
On 23 March 2016, al-Anani became the Minister of Antiquities in the government of
Sherif Ismail
Sherif Ismail ( ar, شريف إسماعيل ; born 6 July 1955) is an Egyptian engineer who served as prime minister between 2015 and 2018. He was minister of petroleum and mineral resources from 2013 to 2015.
Career
Ismail studied mechan ...
.
During his tenure, he managed to secure funds to build the
Grand Egyptian Museum
The Grand Egyptian Museum (GEM; ''al-Matḥaf al-Maṣriyy al-Kabīr''), also known as the Giza Museum, is an archaeological museum under construction in Giza, Egypt. It will house artifacts of ancient Egypt, including the complete Tutankhamun ...
, and renovate other historical buildings such as the
Baron Empain Palace,
Graeco-Roman Museum
The Graeco-Roman Museum is an archaeological museum located in Alexandria, Egypt.
History
Erected in 1892, it was first built in a five-room apartment, inside one small building on Rosetta Street (later Avenue Canope and now Horriya). In 1895, ...
and
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue
Eliyahu Hanavi Synagogue is a synagogue in Alexandria, Egypt built in the Neo-Gothic style. It is located in Nabi Daniel street. An earlier synagogue was built on the site in 1354, but was bombed and destroyed by the French during their invasion ...
.
He also organizes press conferences following archaeological discoveries to promote tourism. In addition, he aims to combat
extremism
Extremism is "the quality or state of being extreme" or "the advocacy of extreme measures or views". The term is primarily used in a political or religious sense to refer to an ideology that is considered (by the speaker or by some implied shar ...
by encouraging the Egyptian population to take a greater interest in the
ancient Egypt history.
When the government of
Mostafa Madbouly was appointed in 2018, he retained his post. The field of
Tourism
Tourism is travel for pleasure or business; also the theory and practice of touring, the business of attracting, accommodating, and entertaining tourists, and the business of operating tours. The World Tourism Organization defines tourism mor ...
was added to his portfolio during the reshuffle of December 22, 2019, to become the
Minister of Tourism and Antiquities.
Honours
*
Knight of the
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2015)
*
Silver
Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis
A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...
(2020)
References
1971 births
Living people
People from Giza
Helwan University alumni
University of Montpellier alumni
Helwan University faculty
Egyptian Egyptologists
Antiquities ministers of egypt
Chevaliers of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres
Recipients of the Silver Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis
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