It has just been learned that the new Library of Alexandria is to be guided in its actions by a Board of Trustees that is a veritable who's who of eminent personalities. The Board is to be chaired by Mrs. Suzanne Mubarak, Egypt's First Lady, who has been the driving force for this project for a very long time. The Board includes ex-officio, the ministers of Higher Education, Culture, and Foreign Affairs, the Governor of Alexandria and the President of the University of Alexandria. The Board also includes the following luminaries:
Dr. A.K. AboulMagd (Egypt)
Abdel-Latif Al-Hamad (Kuwait)
Hanan Ashrawi (Palestine)
Jacques Attali, (France)
Tahar Ben Jelloun (Morocco/France)
Margaret Catley-Carlson (Canada)
Umberto Eco (Italy)
Farouk El-Baz (Egypt/USA)
Vigdis Finnbogadottir (Iceland)
Hans-Peter Geh (Germany)
Stephen Jay Gould (USA)
Yolanda Kakabadse (Ecuador)
Luis Monreal (Spain)
Adele Simmons (USA)
Wole Soyinka (Nigeria)
M.S. Swaminathan (India)
Laila Takla (Egypt)
Carl Tham (Sweden)
Marianna V. Vardinoyannis (Greece)
William Wulf (USA)
Ahmed Zewail (Egypt/USA)
The Director of the Library is to be recruited by the Board, and with a two thirds majority of the votes. Ismail Serageldin is a candidate for the position.
Furthermore, it seems that there is an even more eminent Council of Patrons that includes the President of France and the Queen of Spain, but whose composition is still being finalized.
It is a remarkable vote of confidence in the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, that such a group has agreed to give of their time to help make the dream a reality. It augurs well for the new institution that such persons will be there to guide its growth.