22. Mohammed el Baradei

Mohamed ElBaradei (1942, Egypt) is the Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), an inter-governmental organization under the auspices of the United Nations. ElBaradei and the IAEA were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2005.

On October 7, 2005, ElBaradei and the IAEA itself were announced as joint recipients of the prestigious Nobel Peace Prize for their "efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way," implicitly disavowing criticism of them since the second Allied-Iraqi Gulf war, and especially the failed U.S.-led attempt not to prolong his term in office. ElBaradei donated all his winnings to building orphanages in his home city of Cairo. The IAEA's winnings will be spent on removing landmines from developing countries.

ElBaradei earned a Bachelor's degree in Law from the University of Cairo in 1962 and a Doctorate in International Law at the New York University School of Law in 1974. His diplomatic career began in 1964 in the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign affairs, where he served on two occasions in the Permanent Missions of Egypt to the United Nations in New York and in Geneva. In 1980, he became a senior fellow in charge of the International Law Program at the United Nations Institute for Training and Research.

Since 1984, ElBaradei has been a senior member of the IAEA Secretariat, holding a number of high-level positions. Before his current position of Director General, he has been the agency's legal adviser (1984 to 1993) and Assistant Director General for External Relations (1993 to 1997).

ElBaradei is also a member of the International Law Association and the American Society of International Law.