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Nobel peace prize recipient, ElBaradei in the spotlight in Egypt

ElBaradei, who is Muslim, sometimes cited his favourite Christian prayer when speaking of his role on the world stage. Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, it begins: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

Now Egypt’s democratic hope, ex-chief UN nuke inspector familiar with public spotlight, The Canadian Press, By George Jahn  1/2/2011, VIENNA — Thrust to the forefront as Egypt’s democratic hope, Mohamed ElBaradei is no stranger to high-octane public roles. As the chief U.N. nuclear inspector, he stood up to Washington by disputing claims Saddam Hussein was trying to make atomic arms and grappled vainly to end Iran’s and North Korea’s nuclear defiance……
Since his return to Egypt, ElBaradei has reinvigorated a youth movement that reached out to him as a leader for their calls for reform because they saw him as independent, untainted by state corruption and a figure who represents international success……
ElBaradei has reinvented himself before. The lawyer turned director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency moved out of the shadows of the IAEA as a midlevel official and into the corridors of U.N. power for a turbulent 12-year tenure that included winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005 for himself and his organization……..

There’s no question the former Egyptian diplomat has backbone, as demonstrated by his willingness to stand up to the United States over Iraq, when Washington argued that Saddam had a secret nuclear weapons program as a key rationale for its 2003 invasion. No such program was ever found.

His independence on Iran further irked Washington, which considered him soft on Iran — and led to attempts the Americans to have him removed from office.

The push was abandoned just before ElBaradei won the Nobel Peace Prize, but it left the IAEA chief even more critical of the U.S., at least until the change of White House leadership in 2008………

ElBaradei himself told The New York Times he viewed himself as a “secular pope” whose mission is to “make sure, frankly, that we do not end up killing each other.”

ElBaradei, who is Muslim, sometimes cited his favourite Christian prayer when speaking of his role on the world stage. Attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, it begins: “Lord, make me an instrument of your peace.”

In Egypt, he has also quoted India’s independence leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi, to emphasize his peaceful opposition to the government.

In the last months of his term, the U.S. and its Western allies publicly lined up in praise of the austere Egyptian former diplomat.

Glyn Davies, the chief U.S. delegate to the IAEA, described him back then as “often controversial, sometimes exasperating … (but) always, in all things, a committed man of peace.”

Typically, say those who attended, his parting comments to his staff were inspirational.

“Carry forward the torch!” ElBaradei told the gathering urging them to sustain their “100 per cent commitment” to preserving and expanding peace, freedom, justice, and human dignity.

The Canadian Press: Now Egypt’s democratic hope, ex-chief UN nuke inspector familiar with public spotlight

February 1, 2011 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | Egypt, politics