Background
Mahmoud Riad was born on January 8, 1917
(THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BY MAHMOUD RIA...)
THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BY MAHMOUD RIAD. hard cover, 365 pages, 1ST EDITION, 1981, BY QUARTET BOOKS, LONDON. ISBN: 0 7043 2297 8 DUST JACKET IN A VERY GOOD CONDITION AS THE BOOK ITSELF.
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1982
محمود رياض
Mahmoud Riad was born on January 8, 1917
Educated at the Military Academy, where he first met Nasser, and at the General Staff College where he took a doctorate in engineering.
His first experience of diplomacy was with the mixed armistice commission from 1948 to 1952. As one of the Free Officers’ Committee responsible for the July 23, 1952, revolution, he was made Director of Arab Affairs at the Foreign Ministry. From 1955 to 1958 he was Ambassador to Syria. Then came the turning point as presidential adviser on foreign affairs from 1958 to 1961. He went to the United Nations in 1961 and from 1962 to 1964 he was head of delegation.
In March 1964 he was appointed Foreign Minister and began a long close association with Nasser. It was he who persuaded Nasser to agree to a ceasefire in the June 1967 War with Israel. He was the key negotiator in August 1967 of a ceasefire in the Yemen which enabled 20,000 Egyptian troops to be withdrawn. His skill in complex negotiations was subsequently underlined in dealing with the UN mission of Dr Gunnar Jarring set up in November 1967.
Sworn in as Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs on November 18, 1970, after the death of Nasser, he had little liking for Sadat’s proposals on February 4, 1971, for an interim solution of the Arab-Israel crisis with troop withdrawals linked to the reopening of the Suez Canal. Sadat’s frustration with the “No peace, no war” situation forced threats of resumed fighting but Riad persisted in looking for a Middle East settlement. He was dropped from the government when Aziz Sidki formed his “confrontation government" on January 17, 1972. For a time he had an honorific post as presidential adviser, then left to run the Arab League affairs.
(THE STRUGGLE FOR PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST, BY MAHMOUD RIA...)
1982Meticulous in analysis, turn of phrase and the way he dresses, Riad symbolises the skill of the smooth diplomat, never seen to lose his temper nor miss the crucial moment for an intervention in debate. Cynical about Russian connections and American intentions, he remained a realist, willing to recognise that Israel exists “whether one likes it or not”.