Mohamed ElBaradei was born on June 17, 1942. He was raised in Egypt’s capital city by his attorney father, who was responsible for heading the Egyptian Bar Association. In 1962, Mohamed ElBaradei earned his law degree from the University of Cairo. Two years later, ElBaradei joined Egypt’s diplomatic service. In line with his duties as a diplomat, Mohamed ElBaradei was assigned to represent his country on United Nations missions in Geneva and New York and became in charge of legal and political matters.

Along with his UN missions and other political duties, Mohamed ElBaradei supplemented his law degree by studying at the New York University School of Law, where he received a doctorate in International Law. After which, he held the position of Special Assistant to Egypt’s Foreign Minister, a designation he kept until 1978.

In 1980, Mohamed ElBaradei left the Egyptian diplomatic service and chose to work directly for the United Nations. As a senior fellow, he became responsible for overseeing the UN Institute’s International Law Program for Training and Research. In 1984, he was assigned as a senior staff member of UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency Secretariat, as well as the agency’s legal adviser and later on, as the assistant director general for external relations. He also served as adjunct professor for New York University’s International Law program from 1981 to 1987.

During the 1991 Persian Gulf War, Mohamed ElBaradei is serving his third term as the IAEA director general. He is commissioned to help all member states of the UN to enjoy the benefits brought about by the progress made in science and technology. He is likewise tasked to implement strict safeguards in order to ensure peaceful utilization of nuclear energy.