Fawzi was born in a village near Quwaysina,
Monufia Governorate. In late 1952 he became foreign minister of Egypt under its new leader,
Gamal Abdel Nasser. Fawzi was appointed largely because of his fluency in languages, and was known to avoid involvement in politics, always remaining a diplomat. Fawzi served as foreign minister of
Egypt until 1958 when the
United Arab Republic, a union between Egypt and
Syria was formed. Fawzi served as foreign minister of the
United Arab Republic until its collapse in 1961. He remained in office until 1964. After that he remained a close advisor to Nasser on foreign affairs. Upon Nasser's death in 1970, Fawzi was appointed prime minister by his successor,
Anwar Sadat, as a compromise civilian candidate. Fawzi served as prime minister until January 1972 and then served as vice-president of
Egypt until his retirement in 1974. He wrote a book entitled "Suez War" about the 1956 crisis with
Israel over the
Suez Canal and it was published after his death in 1981. ==Honour==