Her Excellency Dr. Nadia Makram Ebeid was the first Minister of the Environment in Egypt (1997-2002), and the first woman Minister to hold this position in the Arab region. Among her many notable achievements was the River Nile Pollution Prevention Programme, which resulted in declaring the River Nile free from polluted industrial wastewater discharge for the first time in fifty years. Ebeid’s unwavering commitment to human empowerment, citizen participation and cutting-edge innovation and technology led to mainstreaming environmental considerations into Egypt’s national development policies and action plans.

During her tenure as Minister of the Environment, Ebeid also served as Vice-Chairperson of the Executive Bureau of the Council of Arab Ministers Responsible for the Environment (CAMRE) as well as Vice-Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Centre for Environment and Development for the Arab Region and Europe (CEDARE). She presided over the Eighth Session of the African Ministerial Conference on the Environment (AMCEN) and led several official Egyptian delegations in regional and international forums. Subsequently, she was appointed as the first Special Peace Envoy of the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.

Ebeid currently holds an international diplomatic post as Executive Director of CEDARE. She is likewise a member of the Board of Directors of the Commercial International Bank (CIB), one of the leading banking institutions in Egypt, besides other Boards of Directors/Trustees at the national and international level. She also has extensive experience with the United Nations in international development cooperation. Her academic pursuits include serving as a visiting professor at George Washington University, USA. Ebeid is the holder of more than 50 prestigious awards.