The Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Mohammad ElBaradei, has been selected for the 2008 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development. ElBaradei’s role was instrumental in India clinching the Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, a pre-condition for India in order to enter into the international nuclear commerce.

The International Jury of the Prize decided to confer the award on ElBaradei for his impassioned opposition to the use of nuclear energy for military purposes and his steadfast espousal of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.

A statement released by the Indira Gandhi Memorial Trust said that Dr ElBaradei, as Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna, has been outspoken on nuclear proliferation and international security issues. Adding further, the statement said that Dr ElBaradei has led the IAEA in carving out an independent approach free from bias and reflective of a wider balanced perspective in tune with today's world.

A lawyer by training, ElBaradei began his career in the Egyptian Diplomatic Service in 1964 and served in the UN both in New York and Geneva. ElBaradei has held his present position at the IAEA since 1997, having been re-appointed for a third term in September 2005.