Amr Moussa one of the main architect of the Arab policy against Israel

The Egyptian foreign minister Amr Moussa who was unanimously appointed by the Amman's summit on Wednesday as a secretary general of the Arab League in succession of Ismat Abdul Miguid is considered one of the main architects of the Arab policy towards Israel and the most popular minister in Egypt.

Moussa's popularity has surpassed Egypt's frontiers since a long time, as the expert for the difficult files in the Middle East.

Moussa who was born in Cairo on October 3, 1936 joined the foreign ministry after he had a BA in law from Cairo university in 1957.

He had taken the traditional way of diplomats as he had several gradual posts abroad until the year 1987 when he was appointed Egypt's ambassador to India and then in 1990 he moved to New York to be Egypt's permanent representative at the UN.

Less than one year after, in March 1991 Moussa was appointed as a foreign minister in succession to Abdul Miguid who was then appointed as the secretary general of the Arab League (AL) when the premises of the AL returned back to Cairo. The AL headquarters was moved to Tunisia in 1979 following the severing of relations between the Arab states and Egypt after signing the camp David agreement between Israel and Egypt.

Moussa found himself as a foreign minister after Egypt's reconciliation with the Arabs and just few months before the launching of the Madrid conference in October 1991. Since then, Moussa and the Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak contributed to drawing the Palestinian policy towards Israel through giving advise to Yasser Arafat, as Cairo is considered the first regional mediator in the peace process.

Moussa, who enjoyed a sharp vision hidden behind round eye- glasses is greatly talented in the language of rhetoric and the art of communicating, revealed in his statements which are ever characterized by smartness.

Among reasons behind Moussa's popularity is the campaign he launched between 1994-95 against the Israeli nuclear program and the " Hurry" of certain Arab states towards normalizing relations with Israel. Besides his balanced criticism against Israel.

Moussa's popularity reached the peak that a popular Egyptian singer Ahabaan Abdul Rahim sang a song for him saying " Ana Bakrah Israel, Bahib Amr Moussa " ( I hate Israel and love Amr Moussa) and this song was greatly welcomed in Egypt and several Arab and western media considered this song as an " embodiment of the impulse of the Egyptian street."

In january 1999 Mousa refused in Tel Aviv to shake hand with his Israeli counterpart then Ariel Sharon, once again at the request of photographers, noting that " he ( Moussa) heard that Sharon does not like shaking hands and that he had refused to shake hands with Arafat."

The news on Moussa's nomination for the AL was a surprise. Certain independent and opposition press said that the purpose is to alienate him from the Egyptian policy.

Arab diplomats expect Moussa to give in his new post a more dynamic role for the AL and to work for settling inter- Arab differences especially between Iraq and Kuwait or the Westeren Sahara problem between Morocco and Algeria.

Abdul Miguid terms of office as AL secretary expires on May 15.