Born in Egypt in 1922, Boutros Boutros-Ghali was awarded a law degree from the University of Cairo in 1946. He also holds a doctorate in international law and is a graduate of the institut de Sciences Politiques in Paris. In addition to his numerous official posts in Egypt, on 1 january 1992 he became the sixth Secretary General of the United Nations, before being elected First Secretary General of the Organisation Internationale de la Francophonie (1998-2002). A negociator involved in the Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty, he has taken part in numerous international conferences troughout his career, with a particular interest in decolonization, the situation in the Middle East, human rights, and economic and social development.

He is currently Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission in Egypt,Chairman of the Curatorium et the Hague Academy of International Law, Chairman of the International Democracy and Development Panel at UNESCO, and Member and President of the Scientific Committee of the Academie Mondiale pour la paix in Monaco.