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

Ordre des Arts et des Lettres Chevalier ribbon

Knight of the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (2015) * POL_Srebrny_Medal_Zasłużony_Kulturze_Gloria_Artis_BAR

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 {{Egypt-politician-stub