Ambassador Aly Erfan is professor of practice and associate dean for administration and undergraduate studies at the School of Global Affairs and Public Policy at The American University in Cairo. He also serves as editor of the GAPP Policy Briefs Series.

Erfan supervises the development and maintenance of two digital research resources: Syria Reader, which documents key developments and milestone documents related to the Syrian crisis, and Jerusalem Timeline, which chronicles significant events concerning Jerusalem holy sites. He was appointed by the Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs to the International Advisory Board of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding.

Erfan is an Egyptian diplomat with a 30-year career at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the League of Arab States. He served for more than 20 years in the cabinets of three Egyptian foreign ministers and the secretary-general of the League of Arab States, covering critical and eventful periods in the Middle East. His diplomatic portfolio included the Middle East Peace Process, regional crises, arms control, Arab-Israeli affairs, Arab-American relations, Arab-European relations and United Nations affairs.

From 2011 to 2016, he served as chief of cabinet and political adviser to the secretary-general of the League of Arab States during the Arab Spring. Throughout his diplomatic career, he participated in Egyptian and Arab League delegations to numerous regional and international organizations, summits and conferences, including sessions of the United Nations General Assembly, Security Council meetings, international and regional summits, multilateral peace process negotiations and Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty review conferences.

Erfan holds a bachelor's in political science from The American University in Cairo and a master's degree in area studies, specializing in the Near and Middle East, from the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London.