Dr. Fahmi Bishay has been an active member of the Coptic Orthodox Church in Cairo, Egypt; Rotterdam, Holland; and Perth, Western Australia before coming to Rome, Italy. He joined St. Paul’s as an enthusiastic member more than fifteen years ago.
Fahmi is an economist, writer, and artist. He obtained his Ph.D. in Agricultural Economics from Iowa State University, Ames, Iowa, USA. Dr. Bishay taught, conducted research, and provided policy advice to many developing countries. He taught at Erasmus University, Rotterdam, where he worked closely with the late Professor Jan Tinbergen, the first Nobel Laureate in Economics; and at the University of Western Australia, Perth, where he was Head of the Department of Agricultural Economics. He next joined the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations in Rome, Italy as Chief of the Policy and Planning Division, and later Senior Advisor at FAO’s Investment Centre. Dr. Bishay is a life guest Professor at the Chinese Academy of Agriculture Sciences. Following his retirement, he pursued his passion for policy advice and development, and he is currently a Senior Consultant in Agricultural Policy Analysis and Sustainable Development. He is the author of: “Models for Spatial Agricultural Development Planning”, “As I Recall”, “No Age Limit”, “Tales of the Wanderer”, “Identity”, “Seeking Beauty”, and Chief Editor of “Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development”.
Fahmi is married to Dr. Mona Bishay (retired IFAD Director, and a former Senior Warden of St. Paul’s). They have two grown-up children, and four grandchildren.