ElBaradei rattles official Egypt by mulling presidential run

CAIRO – Once upon a time, Mohamed ElBaradei was Egypt’s favorite son. He was extolled in the media as his achievements mounted.

The nation looked on proudly as he was elected three times to the post of director general of the powerful International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), admired his courage when he publicly disputed the U.S. rationale behind the invasion of Iraq, and applauded his success as a national victory when he and the IAEA won the Nobel Peace Prize for striving to prevent the spread of nuclear energy for military use. In recognition, he was awarded the highest accolade in Egypt, the Nile Medal.

Caren Firouz / Reuters file

Mohamed ElBaradei, the former head of the IAEA, speaks during an agency press conference in Tehran on Oct. 4, 2009.

But once he stepped down from the IAEA and stated publicly he would be willing to run for president in Egypt’s 2011 election, a position held by President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak for the past 28 years, his most vocal supporters began a campaign of vilification. 

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