Mohamed ElBaradei Interview (page: 3 / 7) Nobel Prize for Peace	Print Interview

When you returned to Egypt, do you think you were changed by your experience in New York?

Mohamed ElBaradei: Going back, I should say, during NYU, I think this was a fantastic time of my life. I had three years living in Greenwich Village in New York, exposed to the culture at that time, seeing the different perspectives on life, seeing people rejecting the Vietnam War, supporting George McGovern at that time. McGovern only got Massachusetts, and I guess Greenwich Village, but it showed how liberal an environment I was living in. One of my mentors, Tom Frank, a professor of law at NYU, he was really instrumental in making me understand that we need to look at the global picture, and we always need to not take anything for granted, but go very much through a process of critical thinking before we formulate our views. So he was, I think, instrumental in shaping my views as to how to pursue my career in the future.

Then I went back. I mentioned working with the Foreign Minister in 1974 in Egypt, and this was a crucial time. This was a time after the '73 war between Israel and Egypt, and the effort to start a peace process.

It was fantastic for me as a young diplomat to sit in meetings with Henry Kissinger, going through his shuttle diplomacy, going to a meeting in the Oval Office with President Carter, going to see a meeting with the Foreign Minister of Russia -- Gromyko. I was all over the place, seeing people at the very high level of diplomacy, watching carefully, seeing how people negotiate, how people interact, how people cut a deal, and I would say these three, four years in working as a special assistant, as a confidante to the Foreign Minister of Egypt -- Mr. (Ismail) Fahmi at that time -- was crucial in getting the practical experience, how nations and people interact, and you realize at the end of the day how important the psychology is.
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It is not as much about substance as about how to connect with people, how to bring your views across, how to understand where people are coming from, and at the end of the day, how you cut a deal, how you make a compromise.

I think that is the most important lesson you learn in life, that you have to be ready to make a compromise. You do not compromise your principles, but you have to be ready to compromise. You have to understand that you cannot get your way 100 percent. Life is too complicated. You are not an island, and you work in a social setting, and you need to understand that you work always -- at the family level, at the society level -- to work out the compromise that is perceived to be fair. You don't get 100 percent of what you want, but at least you will get the basic minimum that you require.
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You mentioned President Carter. It is often suggested that he had more influence on the world after his presidency than during it, because he has some of those gifts.

Mohamed ElBaradei: Sure.

How did you find him at that time?

Mohamed ElBaradei: I found him a man of integrity, absolutely. People disagreed on how effective he was as President, but I think everybody agreed that he's the most effective former President alive right now. I have a lot of respect and admiration for President Carter. It was a delight when I got the Nobel Peace Prize to get a letter from him. It meant a lot to me, getting that letter from a man who is my idol in many ways.

What did he say?

Mohamed ElBaradei: He said, "Rosalyn and I are very delighted that you got the Nobel Peace Prize," and he had a few nice words to say about my work. This meant a lot to me.

In what way was he a model for you?

Mohamed ElBaradei: He always has the courage to express his views, his convictions. He doesn't hesitate to run against the current. He has always had a moral certitude. He looks at the ethics and morality of his action, and that's key. Whatever we do in life, whether privately or publicly, we need to have a compass. We need to be sure that what we do is not only good for us, but good for the people at large. That's ethics. That's morality. I think we need to always know that our work is not just good for us in the short term, but it's morally correct. And when I talk about morality, I don't talk about religion. I talk about a moral code, a moral value, which I think we all have, being honest, being fair, being correct. These are values I think we all share.

As a parent, did you talk about that with your kids, or did you see it more as a process of modeling?

Mohamed ElBaradei: I think it's more modeling. I never bring in my children and say, "Listen, these are the values you should follow in life." I think it's a modeling by my wife and me. I think we give them a good life. They saw how we go through life: a difficult time, a hard time, good time. I am very happy. I think they are good kids. If I have hope, it's because I look at my children.

My children grew up in six countries. They were born in Geneva. They went to grammar school in New York. They went to high school in Vienna. They went to college in London. They went to graduate schools in the U.S., and now they are working both in London. So for them, they are absolutely color-blind. They are absolutely religious-blind. They are absolutely ethnic-blind. For them, home is the world. For them, every human being is just one member of that large human family you have.
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So, if we have more of these kids, if we have more children like mine, in my view, we will not have war. We will not continue to kill each other like we did in the Stone Age. The key is get as many people as possible exposed. The key is to get many people to travel. The Achievement Summit is exactly what we need, 100 million times. Get everybody to see the rest of the world, to interact with the other people. Then you realize how much the stereotyping, the us-versus-them will evaporate.

It's also an enrichment of culture. Young people who study the arts and culture of other countries feel more at home in the world.

Mohamed ElBaradei: Sure. I'm exactly the same. I was saying the other day that my wife and I, having spent 35 years in different countries, we fit more or less, everywhere. We do not fit 100 percent anywhere, but we fit, more or less, everywhere in the world. So we feel comfortable wherever we are, which is a great feeling.

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