Prof. Dr. Hani Atif Nebhan Sewilam is the Egyptian Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation, appointed in August 2022

A leading academic in hydrology and water resources management, he holds a PhD in Water Resources Management from RWTH Aachen University, Germany, and an MSc in Environmental and Irrigation Engineering from the University of Southampton, UK. His undergraduate and early training were at Zagazig University in Egypt. 

Before becoming minister, Dr. Sewilam served as the Director of the UNESCO Chair in Hydrological Changes and Water Resources Management at RWTH Aachen, Germany, and was a professor at the American University in Cairo, where he also founded the Center for Applied Research on the Environment and Sustainability (CARES). 

He has published over 130 scientific works in areas including irrigation, water-energy-food nexus, desalination, integrated water systems, and sustainable development, and has led numerous international research and capacity building projects across Europe, Africa, and the Mediterranean region.

In addition to his ministerial role, in 2023 he was elected President of the African Ministers’ Council on Water (AMCOW) for a two-year term