At an urgent meeting held at El-Sennary House, Dr. Mohammed El-Sharnoubi, Secretary General of Egypt’s Science Academy, the Institut d’Egypte, announced that Dr. Ibrahim Badran was chosen as the new President of the Academy, and Ismail Seragelin as the Vice President. Serageldin had up to now been a member of the Board of Directors.
The Institut d’Egypte is the first ever scientific institute in Egypt and the Middle East, and the second oldest outside of Europe. It was established in 1798 by Napoleon Bonaparte, during his expedition to Egypt, as a counterpart to the Institut de France in Paris, to carry out research. The first board was made up of Gaspard Monge as President, Bonaparte himself as Vice President, and Joseph Fourier and Louis Costaz as Secretaries. About 160 scientists and historians wrote and published the famous Déscription de l'Égypte in 24 volumes, covering a comprehensive description of ancient and modern Egypt. The Bibliotheca Alexandrina was the first institution to put the entire collection in an accessible digital DVD format in 2004.
Recent clashes in Cairo culminated in the burning down of the historic building of the Institut d'Egypte, in a fire that also destroyed much of its valuable collection, which included precious rare books, manuscripts and maps. The tragedy was closely followed by the loss of its president Dr. Mahmoud Hafez, who passed away on 23 December.
Follow Ismail Serageldin's tweets on Twitter about the Institut d'Egypte