Ismail Serageldin

Ismail Serageldin
Ismail Sergeldin speaking at the inauguration of the Sadat Museum.
Born	1944 Giza, Egypt

Ismail Serageldin (born 1944 in Giza, Egypt) is the director of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina. He also chairs the Boards of Directors for each of the BA's affiliated research institutes and museums and was a Distinguished Professor at Wageningen University in the Netherlands. He was a member of the Senate in Egypt (Majlis Al-Shura).

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering from Cairo University and Masters' degree and a Ph.D. from Harvard University and has received 29 honorary doctorates. He has published over 60 books and monographs and over 200 papers on a variety of topics including biotechnology, rural development, sustainability, and the value of science to society. He is sometimes referred to as the "most intelligent man in Egypt". Serageldin received the Public Welfare Medal from the National Academy of Sciences on May 1, 2011.

He speaks Arabic, French and English. He is married and has one son.

Education

1964 B.Sc. (First Class Honors) Cairo University
1968 M.R.P. (With Distinction) Harvard University
1972 Ph.D. Harvard University

Honorary degrees

1996 Doctor of Sociology, University of Bucharest, Romania
1996 Doctor of Agricultural Science, University of Melbourne, Australia
1997 Doctor of Science, Indian Agricultural Research Institute, India
1998 Doctor of International Affairs, American University, Washington, D.C., USA
1998 Doctor of Science, Punjab Agricultural University, India
1998 Doctor of Science, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, India
1998 Doctor of Natural resource management, Ohio State University, USA
1999 Doctor of Science, Tamil Nadu Agricultural University, Coimbatore, India
1999 Doctor of Science, Acharya N. G. Ranga Agricultural University, Hyderabad, India
1999 Doctor of Economics and Management, CNAM, Paris, France
1999 Doctor of Science, Egerton University, Kenya
1999 Doctor of Agricultural Science, University of Tuscia, Italy
2000 Doctor of Humane Letters, American University in Cairo, Egypt
2002 Doctor of Science, SNHU, Manchester, New Hampshire, USA
2003 Doctor of Science, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
2004 Doctor of Letters, University of Technology, Sydney, Australia
2004 Doctor of Letters, Paul Sabatier University, Toulouse, France
2005 Doctor of Laws, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA
2006 Doctor of Letters, Université de Nantes, Nantes, France
2007 Doctor of Science, Azerbaijan State Economic University, Baku, Azerbaijan
2007 Doctor of Society Development, Khazar University, Baku, Azerbaijan
2008 Doctor of Letters, Laval University, Quebec City, Canada
2009 Doctor of Arts, Beirut Arab University, Beirut, Lebanon
2009 Doctor Diploma, Azerbaijan Cooperation University, Baku, Azerbaijan
2009 Doctor Diploma, National Academy of Sciences, Institute of History, Baku Azerbaijan
2009 Doctor of Letters, University of Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
2010 Doctor Degree, ANAS Institute of Oriental Studies, Baku, Azerbaijan
2010 Doctor Degree, Georgian American University, Tbilisi, Georgia
2010 Doctor Degree, Free University of Tbilisi, Georgia

Currently

Serageldin is currently the director of the Library of Alexandria, and chairman of the board of the seven affiliated research institutes and the three affiliated museums.

He serves as Chair and Member of a number of advisory committees for academic, research, scientific and international institutions and civil society efforts which includes the Institut d'Egypte (Egyptian Academy of Science), US National Academy of Sciences (Public Welfare Medalist), the American Philosophical Society, TWAS (Third World Academy of Sciences), the Indian National Academy of Agricultural Sciences, the Brookings Doha Center and the European Academy of Sciences and Arts. He is Co-Chair of the African Biotechnology Panel (with Calestous Juma). He is a foreign fellow of Bangladesh Academy of Sciences

Previous appointments

He worked in a number of capacities at the World Bank since joining in 1972. Economist in education and human resources (1972–76); Division Chief for Technical Assistance and Special Studies (1977–80), and for Urban Projects in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa (1980–83); Director for Programs in West Africa (1984–87), Country Director for Central and Occidental Africa (1987–89), Technical Director for all Sub-Saharan Africa (1990–92), and Vice-President for Environmentally and Socially Sustainable Development (1993–98). In addition, he was active in promoting NGO-Bank relations, and served as Co-Chairman of the NGO-Bank Committee (1997–99). Prior to joining the World Bank, he worked as a consultant in city and regional planning, and taught at Cairo University and Harvard University.

He is former Chairman of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR, 1994–2000), founder and former Chairman of the Global Water Partnership (1996–2000) and the Consultative Group to Assist the Poorest, a microfinance program (1995–2000). He was Chairman of the World Commission for Water in the 21st Century (August 1998-March 2000). He was Professor of the International Chair Savoirs contre pauvreté (Knowledge Against Poverty), at Collège de France, Paris, for the academic year 2010/2011.

Publications and speeches

Over 60 books and monographs (edited or authored) and 200 articles, book chapters, and technical papers on various topics, including: Nurturing Development (1995), Sustainability and the Wealth of Nations (1996), Architecture of Empowerment (1997), Rural Well-Being: From Vision to Action (1997, with David Steeds), The Modernity of Shakespeare (1998), Biotechnology and Biosafety (1999, with Wanda Collins), Very Special Places (1999) and Promethean Science (2000, with G. Persley).

• Making Development Sustainable: From Concepts to Action (1994) ISBN 978-0821330425
• Nurturing Development (1995)
• Sustainability and the Wealth of Nations (1996)
• Architecture of Empowerment (1997)
• Rural Well-Being: From Vision to Action (1997)
• The Modernity of Shakespeare (1998)
• Biotechnology and Biosafety (1999)
• Very Special Places (1999)
• Promethean Science (2000)
• Social Capital: A Multifaceted Perspective (2001) ISBN 978-0821350041
• Historic Cities and Sacred Sites: Cultural Roots for Urban Futures (2001) ISBN 978-0821349045

External links

• Dr. Serageldin's Official page