Ahmed Maher | Egyptian diplomat, 75

Ahmed Maher, 75, a former foreign minister of Egypt known for his low-key diplomacy, died Monday, just hours after he was hospitalized with unspecified health problems, the state-owned news agency MENA said.

He served as foreign minister from 2001 until 2004. He was called back from retirement for that post in 2001 to replace Amr Moussa, who became head of the Arab League.

In 2003, after he prayed at the Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, Mr. Maher was heckled by a group of angry Palestinians outside the mosque who were protesting his visit to Israel. The protesters called him a traitor and threw shoes at him, a deep insult in the Muslim world. Later, Mr. Maher said he was shaken but recalled it without bitterness.

The soft-spoken Mr. Maher made a stark contrast to Moussa, who made a name for himself among Arabs for his anti-Israel rhetoric.

In July, President Hosni Mubarak named Mr. Maher a member of the parliament's upper house, or Shura Council, where the president appoints a third of the seats.

- AP