Born September 14, 1935, graduated from the Faculty of Law, Cairo University in 1956. He joined the Foreign Ministry in 1957 and served in Zurich, Kinshasa and Paris. Moreover, he served in the departments of Arab Affairs, Consular Affairs and European Department. He served in the Office of the President’s National Security Advisor from 1972-1974, as Chief of Cabinet of Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1974-1980, as a member of the Egyptian delegation at the Camp David negotiations in 1978 and as a member of the Taba arbitration team.

Mr. El Sayed held the following positions:
Ambassador to Portugal (1980-1982), Ambassador to Belgium and to the European Community (1983-1984), Head of Policy Planning Department (1984-1986), Head of Legal Department (1987-1988), participated in negotiations about Taba and arbitration procedures, Ambassador to the USSR and then Russia (1988-1992), Ambassador to the USA (1992-1999), Head of the Arab League Fund for Africa (2000-2001), and Minister of Foreign Affairs (2001-2004). He also publishes weekly articles in the leading newspaper “Al Sharq Al Awsat”