Editing Mohamed ElBaradei (section)

== Public career as IAEA Director General (1997–2009) ==
ElBaradei's tenure has been marked by high-profile, [[Nuclear proliferation|non-proliferation]] issues, which include the [[Nuclear proliferation#Scope of safeguards|inspections]] in [[Iraq]] preceding the [[2003 invasion of Iraq|March 2003 invasion]], and tensions over the [[nuclear program of Iran]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6700460|title=U.S. eyes ouster of U.N. nuclear chief|work=NBC News|quote="The Bush administration has dozens of intercepts of Mohamed ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and is scrutinizing them in search of ammunition to oust him as director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to three U.S. government officials."}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2004/dec/13/usa.iran|title=US tapped ElBaradei calls, claim officials|work=The Guardian}}</ref>

ElBaradei began to serve as Director General of the [[IAEA]], which is based in [[Vienna]], on 1 December 1997, succeeding [[Hans Blix]] of Sweden.<ref name=BarReapp>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2005/dg_reappointment.html|title=IAEA Board Reappoints Director General Mohamed ElBaradei|publisher=IAEA|date=13 June 2005|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/News/2009/dgappointment.html|title=Board Meeting on Director General Appointment|publisher=IAEA|date=26 March 2009|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> The agency gradually came to take an active role in attempts to prevent nuclear proliferation, with its focus first centred on Iraq and Sudan, in which cases the agency claimed success, and later also on North Korea and Iran.<ref name="britannica.com"/> ElBaradei was re-elected for two more four-year terms in 2001 and, despite opposition from the United States, to a third term in 2005.<ref name="britannica.com"/>  

In late August 2007, ElBaradei finalized a secret "divisive and risky" nuclear agreement with Iran. Diplomats from the U.S., France, Britain, and Germany filed a formal protest.<ref>{{cite web|title=An Indispensable Irritant to Iran and Its Foes|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/17/world/middleeast/17elbaradei.html|website=The New York Times|date=17 September 2007 |access-date=25 November 2024 |last1=Sciolino |first1=Elaine |last2=Broad |first2=William J. }}</ref>

In 2009 ElBaradei stated that Iran's nuclear threat had been exaggerated and there was no evidence the country was close to building a nuclear weapon.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/elbaradei-calls-iran-nuclear-threat-hyped-1.838130|title=ElBaradei calls Iran nuclear threat 'hyped'|work=CBC}}</ref> He also rejected accusations that he had concealed Iran's nuclear ambitions.<ref>{{cite web|title=Iran's nuclear threat 'hyped', atomic watchdog Mohamed ElBaradei says|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/irans-nuclear-threat-hyped-atomic-watchdog-mohamed-elbaradei-says-qbjks9qkfwx|website=The Times|date=2 September 2009 |access-date=25 November 2024}}</ref> His third and last term ended in November 2009. ElBaradei faced criticism from Washington, Israel, London, Berlin, and Paris, where officials saw his actions as attempts to block their efforts to intensify pressure on Iran regarding its nuclear program.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/world/uk/special-report-has-mohamed-elbaradei-s-time-arrived-idUSTRE71E4T1/|title=Special report - Has Mohamed ElBaradei's time arrived?|work=Reuters|quote=""ElBaradei also has critics in Washington, Israel, London, Berlin and Paris who have not forgotten their frustration at what they describe as his attempts to undermine their drive to ratchet up the pressure on Iran over a nuclear program they fear is intended to develop weapons capability but Tehran says is for peaceful energy purposes only."}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/mohamed-elbaradei-tells-atomic-energy-agency-he-has-hit-dead-end-with-iran-cqsvn856ps7|title=Mohamed ElBaradei tells Atomic Energy Agency he has hit 'dead end' with Iran|date=26 November 2009|work=The Times|access-date=14 January 2025|url-status=|archive-url=https://archive.today/20241120104739/https://www.thetimes.com/article/mohamed-elbaradei-tells-atomic-energy-agency-he-has-hit-dead-end-with-iran-cqsvn856ps7#selection-1487.179-1487.575|archive-date=20 November 2024}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hibbs |first1=Marc |date=September 1, 2009|title=The ElBaradei Legacy|url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.2968/065005002 |journal= Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists|volume=65|issue=5|pages= 10–23|doi= 10.2968/065005002|bibcode=2009BuAtS..65e..10H |quote="U.S. officials complained that carefully worded IAEA reports to the Board of Governors and public statements by the director-general suggested that the agency had concluded Tehran didn't have a nuclear weapons program, at a time when France, Israel, Britain, and the United States believed the opposite."}}</ref>

===First term as Director General===
After being appointed by the IAEA [[IAEA#General Conference|General Conference]] in 1997, ElBaradei said in his speech that, "for international organizations to enjoy the confidence and support of their members, they have to be responsive to [members'] needs; show concrete achievements; conduct their activities in a cost-effective manner; and respect a process of equitable representation, transparency, and open dialogue."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC41/Statements/gcelbard.html|last=ElBaradei|first=Mohamed|title=Strengthened Safeguards System: Status of Additional Protocols|date=29 September 1997|publisher=IAEA|access-date=1 December 2009}}</ref>

Just a couple of months before ElBaradei took office, the [[Nuclear proliferation#Additional Protocol|Model Additional Protocol]] was adopted, creating a new environment for IAEA verification by giving it greater authority to look for undeclared nuclear activities. When in office, ElBaradei launched a program to establish "integrated safeguards" combining the IAEA's comprehensive [[Nuclear proliferation#Scope of safeguards|safeguard agreements]] with the newly adopted Additional Protocol. In his statement to the General Conference in 1998, he called upon all states to conclude the Additional Protocol: "One of the main purposes of the strengthened-safeguards system can be better achieved with global adherence. I would, therefore, urge all states with outstanding-safeguards agreements to conclude them, and I would also urge all states to accelerate their consideration of the Model Additional Protocol and enter into consultations with the Agency at the earliest possible opportunity. We should work together to ensure that, by the year 2000, all states [will] have concluded outstanding-safeguards agreements and also the Additional Protocol." ElBaradei repeated this call through his years as the Director General of the IAEA. In November 2009, 93 countries had Additional Protocols in force.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Safeguards/sg_protocol.html|title=Strengthened Safeguards System: Status of Additional Protocols|date=26 November 2009|publisher=IAEA|access-date=1 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091210121221/http://www.iaea.org/OurWork/SV/Safeguards/sg_protocol.html|archive-date=10 December 2009}}</ref>

ElBaradei's first term ended in November 2001, just two months after the [[Terrorism|terrorist]] attacks of [[September 11 attacks|9/11]]. These attacks made clear that the more is needed to be done to protect [[nuclear material]] and installations from theft or a terrorist attack. Consequently, ElBaradei established a nuclear security program to combat the risk of nuclear terrorism by assisting member states to strengthen the protection of their nuclear and radioactive material and installations, the [http://www-ns.iaea.org/security/nsf.asp Nuclear Security Fund] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170211155712/http://www-ns.iaea.org/security/nsf.asp |date=11 February 2017 }}.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/About/Policy/GC/GC49/Documents/gc49-17.pdf|last=ElBaradei|first=Mohamed
|title=Nuclear Security – Measures to Protect Against Nuclear Terrorism|date=23 September 2005|publisher=IAEA|access-date=1 December 2009}}</ref>

===Second term as Director General===
One of the major issues during ElBaradei's second term as the director general of the IAEA was the agency's inspections in Iraq. ElBaradei disputed the U.S. rationale for the [[2003 invasion of Iraq]] from the time of the 2002 [[Iraq disarmament crisis]], when he, along with [[Hans Blix]], led a team of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq. ElBaradei told the [[UN Security Council]] in March 2003 that documents purporting to show that Iraq had tried to acquire [[uranium]] from [[Niger]] were not authentic.

In an October 2003 interview published in the Cairo Times, he said "the ultimate sense of security will be when we come to recognize that we are all part of one human race. Our primary allegiance is to the human race and not to one particular color or border. I think the sooner we renounce the sanctity of these many identities and try to identify ourselves with the human race the sooner we will get a better world and a safer world.<ref>ElBaradei, Mohamed, ''Breaking the Cycle'', interview, the Cairo Times, 23 October 2003</ref>

ElBaradei described the U.S. invasion of Iraq as "a glaring example of how, in many cases, the use of force exacerbates the problem rather than [solves] it."<ref name=Reuit071022>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idUSL2214711120071022|title=Iran seen to need 3–8 yrs to produce bomb|last=Boyle|first=Jon|date=22 October 2007|work=Reuters|access-date=21 June 2008}}</ref> ElBaradei further stated that "we learned from Iraq that an inspection takes time, that we should be patient, that an inspection can, in fact, work,"<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/03/21/iraq.weapons/|title=Iraq war wasn't justified, U.N. weapons experts say |publisher=CNN|date=21 March 2004|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> and that he had "been validated" in concluding that Saddam Hussein had not revived his [[nuclear weapon]]s program.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A17060-2004Nov1.html|title=U.N. Nuclear Agency Chief Urges Iran to Suspend Activities|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=2 November 2004|access-date=22 March 2011|first1=Colum|last1=Lynch|first2=Dafna|last2=Linzer}}</ref>

In a 2004 op-ed piece on the dangers of nuclear proliferation, in the [[The New York Times|''New York Times'']] (12 February 2004), ElBaradei stated that "[w]e must abandon the unworkable notion that it is morally reprehensible for some countries to pursue weapons of mass destruction, yet morally acceptable for others to rely on them for security – and indeed to continue to refine their capacities and postulate plans for their use."<ref name="saving">{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2004/ebNYT20040212.html|title=Saving Ourselves from Self Destruction|last=ElBaradei|first=Mohamed|date=2 December 2004|publisher=IAEA|access-date=21 June 2008}}</ref> He went on to say "If the world does not change course, we risk self-destruction."

===Third and final term as Director General===
The United States initially voiced opposition to his election to a third four-year term in 2005.<ref name=VOA050427>[http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2005-04/2005-04-27-voa51.cfm?CFID=147267394&CFTOKEN=36357258&jsessionid=6630c6fe1d2b054bd9925dd1957764a173c2 ''Voice of America'': IAEA Postpones Decision on ElBaradei's Third Term]{{dead link|date=April 2025|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref> In a May 2005 interview with the staff of the [[United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations|U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee]], [[Lawrence Wilkerson]], [[Chief of staff (politics)|the chief of staff]] to former [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Colin Powell]], charged former [[Undersecretary of State for Arms Control and International Security]] [[John R. Bolton|John Bolton]] with an underhanded campaign to unseat ElBaradei.<ref name=ACT050708 /> "Mr. Bolton overstepped his bounds in his moves and gyrations to try to keep [ElBaradei] from being reappointed as [IAEA] head," Wilkerson said. The [[The Washington Post|''Washington Post'']] reported in December 2004 that the [[George W. Bush administration|Bush administration]] had intercepted dozens of ElBaradei's phone calls with Iranian diplomats and was scrutinizing them for evidence [that] they could use to force him out.<ref name=ACT050708/><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna6700460|title=U.S. eyes ouster of U.N. nuclear chief|date=12 December 2004|work=NBC News}}</ref>  IAEA spokesman Mark Gwozdecky said the agency worked on "the assumption that one or more entities may be listening to our conversations." "It's not how we would prefer to work, but it is the reality. At the end of the day, we have nothing to hide," he said. Iran responded to the ''Washington Post'' reports by accusing the U.S. of violating international law in intercepting the communications.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4093567.stm|title=ElBaradei 'has nothing to hide'|work=BBC News |date=13 December 2004|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref>

The United States was the only country to oppose ElBaradei's reappointment and eventually failed to win enough support from other countries to oust ElBaradei. On 9 June 2005, after a meeting between [[United States Secretary of State|U.S. Secretary of State]] [[Condoleezza Rice]] and ElBaradei, the United States dropped its objections. Among countries that supported ElBaradei were China, Russia, Germany, and France. China praised his leadership and objectivity,<ref name=VOA050427/> and supported him for doing "substantial fruitful work, which has maintained the agency's role and credit in international non-proliferation and promoted the development of peaceful use of [[Nuclear power|nuclear energy]]. His work has been universally recognized in the international community. China appreciates Mr. El Baradei's work and supports his reelection as the agency's director general."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.china-botschaft.de/det/fyrth/t175367.htm|title=Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Liu Jianchao's Press Conference on 16 December 2004 |publisher=China-botschaft|year=2004|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> France, Germany, and some developing countries, have made clear their support for ElBaradei as well.<ref name=ACT050708>{{cite web|url=http://www.armscontrol.org/act/2005_07-08/ElBaradei |title=ElBaradei Set to Win Third Term|publisher=Arms Control Today|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> Russia issued a strong statement in favor of re-electing him as soon as possible.

ElBaradei was unanimously re-appointed by the IAEA board on 13 June 2005.<ref name="USagrees">{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4075496.stm|title=US agrees to back UN nuclear head|date=9 June 2005|work=BBC News|access-date=21 June 2008}}</ref>

===Comments on no fourth term===
In 2008, ElBaradei said that he would not be seeking a fourth term as director general.<ref name=IHT080910>{{cite news|url=http://www.iht.com/articles/reuters/2008/09/10/africa/OUKWD-UK-NUCLEAR-IAEA-ELBARADEI.php|title=IAEA chief ElBaradei will not seek fourth term|newspaper=International Herald Tribune|date=29 March 2009|access-date=22 March 2011}}{{Dead link|date=November 2021 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> Moreover, he said, in an IAEA document, that he was "not available for a further term" in office.<ref>[http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-09/2008-09-10-voa37.cfm ''Voice of America'': IAEA Chief ElBaradei Will Not Seek Another Term] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081117013509/http://www.voanews.com/english/archive/2008-09/2008-09-10-voa37.cfm |date=17 November 2008 }}</ref> In its first five rounds of voting, the IAEA [[Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency|Board of Governors]] was split in its decision regarding the next director general. ElBaradei said, "I just hope that the agency has a candidate acceptable to all—north, south, east, west—because that is what is needed."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINLR30012520090327|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120711063012/http://in.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idINLR30012520090327|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 July 2012|title=5-Vote impasse reopens race to head UN atom watchdog|work=Reuters|date=27 March 2009|access-date=22 March 2011}}</ref> After several rounds of voting, on 3 July 2009, Mr. [[Yukiya Amano]], Japanese ambassador to the IAEA, was elected as the next IAEA director general.

===ElBaradei and U.S. relations===
ElBaradei, leader of the National Coalition for Change, has been a major voice for democratic change in Egypt since 2009 and was a significant leader during the 2011 protests.<ref>{{cite news|last=de Nesera|first=André|title=Former Egyptian Diplomat ElBaradei Face of Opposition to President Mubarak|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/former-egyptian-diplomat-elbaradei-face-of-opposition-to-president-mubarak-115126994/160186.html|work=Voice of America|date=2 February 2011}}</ref> However, he has a rocky history with the U.S. government and supports some policies that do not support current U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. During his tenure as Director General of the IAEA (1997–2009), for instance, ElBaradei downplayed claims of possible military dimensions to Iran's nuclear program, which undermined U.S. efforts to press Iran over its safeguards violations.<ref>{{cite news|last=Pleming|first=Sue|title=Rice swipes at IAEA, urges bold action on Iran|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-iran-usa-rice-idUSN1822732020070919|work=[[Reuters]]|date=19 September 2007}}</ref> According to a 3 July 2003 article in ''Time'' magazine, ElBaradei also maintained that Iraq's nuclear program had not restarted before the 2003 Iraq War, contradicting claims by the Bush administration. He told the German news magazine ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' on 12 July 2010 that he wanted to open the Gaza Strip – Egypt border and accused Israel of being the biggest threat to the Middle East because of their nuclear weapons.<ref>{{cite news|last=Follach|first=Erich|title=Interview with Mohammed ElBaradei|url=http://www.spiegel.de/international/world/0,1518,705991,00.html|newspaper=Der Spiegel|date=12 July 2010}}</ref>

ElBaradei has called for international criminal investigation of former Bush administration officials for their roles in planning the [[Legality of the Iraq War|war on Iraq]].<ref>[http://www.haaretz.com/news/international/former-iaea-head-suggests-iraq-war-crime-probe-of-bush-administration-1.357684?localLinksEnabled=false "Former IAEA head suggests Iraq war crime probe of Bush administration."]{{dead link|date=November 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }} ''AP'', 22 April 2011.</ref>

===Multinational control of the nuclear fuel cycle===
In an op-ed that he wrote for the [[The Economist|''Economist'']] in 2003, ElBaradei outlined his idea for the future of the [[nuclear fuel cycle]]. His suggestion was to "limit the processing of weapon-usable material in civilian nuclear programs, as well as the production of new material, by agreeing to restrict these operations exclusively to facilities under multinational control." Also, "nuclear-energy systems should be deployed that, by design, avoid the use of materials that may be applied directly to making nuclear weapons." He concluded by saying that "considerable advantages would be gained from international co-operation in these stages of the nuclear-fuel cycle. These initiatives would not simply add more non-proliferation controls, to limit access to weapon-usable nuclear material; they would also provide access to the benefits of nuclear technology for more people in more countries."<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.nuclearfiles.org/menu/key-issues/nuclear-weapons/issues/proliferation/fuel-cycle/elbaradei-economist.htm|last=ElBaradei|first=Mohamed|title=Towards a Safer World|date=16 October 2003|newspaper=The Economist|access-date=1 December 2009}}</ref>

Non-nuclear-weapon states have been reluctant to embrace these proposals due to a perception that the commercial or strategic interests of nuclear-weapon states motivate the proposals, a perception that the proposals produce a dependency on a limited number of nuclear fuel suppliers, and a concern that the proposal restricts their unalienable right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.<ref name=ASIL>[http://www.asil.org/insights080630.cfm American Society of International Law: The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons: Taking Stock after the May 2008 Preparatory Committee Meeting ?] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130722170849/http://www.asil.org/insights080630.cfm |date=22 July 2013 }}</ref>

===Technical cooperation and cancer control===
ElBaradei's work does not only concentrate on nuclear verification. Another very important aspect is development through nuclear technology. In 2004, ElBaradei sponsored a comprehensive global initiative—the [[Programme of Action for Cancer Therapy]] (PACT)—to fight cancer. In one of his statements, ElBaradei said: "A silent crisis in cancer treatment persists in developing countries and is intensifying every year. At least 50 to 60 percent of cancer victims can benefit from radiotherapy, but most developing countries do not have enough radiotherapy machines or sufficient numbers of specialized doctors and other health professionals." In the first year of operation, PACT provided cancer-treatment capacity in seven member states, using the IAEA's share of the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Nobel/nobelfund0506.pdf|title=IAEA Nobel Peace Prize Cancer and Nutrition Fund|date=May 2006|publisher=IAEA|access-date=1 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060627092823/http://www.iaea.org/Publications/Booklets/Nobel/nobelfund0506.pdf|archive-date=27 June 2006}}</ref>

In his speech to the 2008 General Conference, ElBaradei said that "development activities remain central to our work. Our resources have long been insufficient to keep pace with requests for support, and we have increasingly made use of partnerships with other organizations, regional collaborations and country-to-country support. I again emphasize that technical cooperation is not a bargaining chip, part of a political 'balance' between the development and safeguards activities of the agency."<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.iaea.org/NewsCenter/Statements/2008/ebsp2008n008a.html|title=IAEA at a Crossroads (Abridged Version)|date=29 September 2008|last=ElBaradei|first=Mohamed|publisher=IAEA|access-date=1 December 2009|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510005822/http://www.iaea.org/newscenter/statements/2008/ebsp2008n008a.html|archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref>