French President Emmanuel Macron issued a decree awarding an Egyptian parliamentarian the Legion of Honor, Knight rank – France’s highest civilian honor.
Egypt’s official newspaper, al-Waqa’i’ al-Masryia, published on Monday the text of the decree awarding Gihane Zaki, a member of the Egyptian House of Representatives and professor of ancient Egyptian civilization, the prestigious French order.
According to the decree, this honor comes in recognition of her distinguished contributions towards promoting culture and soft diplomacy, her role in building bridges of dialogue between civilizations, and promoting the values of peace, tolerance, and knowledge across borders.
The award ceremony is scheduled to take place at the Legion of Honor Palace overlooking the River Seine in Paris during fall, with the attendance of a select group of international cultural and diplomatic figures.
The decision to honor her came based on the recommendation of the French Ministry of European Affairs and International Cooperation, which commended Zaki’s role as a prominent intellectual voice in international forums.
Who is Gihane Zaki?
Zaki is a member of Parliament, a professor of ancient Egyptian civilization, the head of the Grand Egyptian Museum, and a researcher at the Sorbonne University’s Scientific Research Center.
She previously served as Egypt’s cultural advisor to Italy and as the former director of the Egyptian Academy of Arts in Rome, where she led the academy toward new horizons of cultural cooperation with Europe.
She is considered one of the most prominent intellectual and cultural diplomatic figures in Egypt and the Arab world.
Zaki has received several international honors from France and Italy, including the French “Knight” medal in 2009, awarded by former President Nicolas Sarkozy in recognition of her efforts to strengthen cultural relations between both shores of the Mediterranean.
National Council for Women congratulates Zaki
The National Council for Women (NCW) extended its sincere congratulations to Zaki on the award in recognition of her distinguished contributions to culture and diplomacy, and towards promoting the values of peace and understanding through scientific research, knowledge, art, and cultural communication.
The head of the NCW, Amal Ammar expressed her pride at Zaki being awarded this order, stressing that it is a well-deserved recognition of an honorable female role model, whose sincerity and dedication towards supporting the values of peace, equality and cultural diplomacy have brought people together.
Main photo credit: Biblotheca Alexandria
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
