Honored Leaders

Mr Ibrahim   Darwish

Biography:

Ibrahim Attiya Darwish was born in Alexandria, in 1951. He obtained a Bachelor’s degree in Arts from the Department of Archaeology and Greco–Roman Studies in 1981; and since 1986 he took numerous training courses in diving inside and outside Egypt. Darwish participated in most of the maritime excavations conducted by international expeditions in Egypt (1996–2002) as one of the first Egyptian archaeologists to specialize in submerged antiquities and to practice archaeology underwater. He accompanied a group of French, German and Polish scholars in publishing a large work entitled Alexandria: The Submerged Royal Quarters about the discoveries of the European Institute for Underwater Archaeology (IEASM) in Alexandria. Moreover, he participated in writing the book, Canopus I, on the submerged antiquities of Abu Qir.

When the Department of Underwater Antiquities at the Supreme Council of Antiquities was established in 1996, Darwish was appointed as its first Director. He was, in fact, an enthusiastic Director; as he managed, within a few months to supply his department with the necessary equipment, in addition to training courses for the department archaeologists, which made it one of the most active departments, through which astounding discoveries were achieved. In 2005, Darwish was the first Egyptian archaeologist to obtain a PhD in submerged antiquities from the University of Moscow. He was appointed Director–General of the Museums and Antiquities of Alexandria in 2007; and later Head of the Central Department of Alexandria Museums (2007–2011).