This is very sad news, not least because I know that he felt he had much
more to do - including working on a much more comprehensive history of
ICOM that the slim volume published in 1998.

I can add some additional information on his involvement wit ICOM's work
on professional ethics.

In 1970, while the Director of the National Museum of Algeria, as well as
an established and already much respected ICOM member, Sid-Ahmed Baghli
was one of the small group of experts who drew up ICOM's Ethics of
Acquisition code and policy statement: http://icom.museum/acquisition.html
This was very influential, and was also in many ways the foundation of
ICOM's policies on museum ethics as well as the start of its long campaign
against illicit trafficking.

The 1974 General Conference (Resolution 4) called for the development of a
comprehensive code of ethics, and the Executive Council appointed a small
Working Group of EC members to undertake this, and Sid-Ahmed was one of
the members appointed to this.  However, for various reasons including
the relocation of the proposed Chairperson this did not make progress
with the project.  However, Sid-Ahmed prepared his own initial working
paper on the project and submitted this to the November 1974 meeting of
the Executive Council.

Unfortunately no further progress was made, and the Working Party was
not re-appointed the following year.  However, when the project was
restarted under by chairmanship in 1984, following the discussions at the
1983 General Conference, my committee members and I were very grateful
indeed for the very warm support of Sid-Ahmed, and the 1970 Ethics of
Acquisition paper and his 1974 Executive Council study were among the
most important documents with which we began our work, which ended with
the unanimous adoption of the first version of the ICOM Code of Ethics by
the Buenos Aires General Conference in 1986.

Well done, you good and always faithful servant of our profession and
especially of ICOM: we will greatly miss your wise counsel - and not least
your wit, your jokes and your smile!


Patrick Boylan
(Chairman of Ethics Committee, 1984-90,
Vice-President, 1992-98)

=====================


On Tue, 3 Mar 2009, Bonomi, Carla wrote:

> In Memoriam
> Sid Ahmed Baghli
>
> It is with deep regret that we learn of the demise of Sid Ahmed Baghli,
> eminent Honorary Member of ICOM, who passed away in Paris last Tuesday.
>
> His congeniality, collegial spirit and commitment have uninterruptedly
> contributed to the development of ICOM over several decades. ICOM's
> international museum community will miss his acute sense of observation,
> his penetrating insight into issues from all angles, his experience,
> gentle wit and wisdom.
>
> A graduate of the Faculty of Arts of the University of Grenoble
> (France), M. Baghli was named Director of National Museums of Algeria in
> 1964, then Conservator and Director of Antiquities. He was a member of
> the Algerian Centre of Scientific Research from 1966 to 1976, then
> Plenipotentiary Minister at UNESCO from 1982 to 1985. From 1986 to 1997,
> Mr. Baghli returned to Algeria as Director of Cultural Patrimony at the
> Ministry of Culture and Tourism and became Head of Cabinet of the
> Ministry of Culture, and in 1996, Head of Ministry of the National
> Education Cabinet.
>
> A member of ICOM since 1963, Sid Ahmed Baghli was involved in numerous
> ICOM activities. He participated in the revision of the Code of
> Professional Ethics in 1974 and was elected on several occasions to
> ICOM's Executive Council. Deeply engaged in the development of museum
> ethics, Mr. Baghli supervised the translation of the Code of
> Professional Ethics into Arabic while he was Chairperson of ICOM-Algeria
> in 1977 he became member of the Ethics Committee. In later years, he
> collaborated with Patrick Boylan and Yani Herreman to writing the
> History of ICOM 1946-1996 on the occasion of ICOM's 50th Anniversary. In
> recognition for his exceptional contribution to ICOM and the world
> museum community, Mr. Baghli was elected Honorary Member of ICOM in
> 2001.
> In the same year, Mr. Baghli was named Cultural Advisor to the Permanent
> Delegation of Algeria at UNESCO. In 2004, at ICOM's 20th General
> Conference in Seoul (Korea), he delivered a Keynote Address on "The
> Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage and
> New Perspectives for the Museum" in which he advocated broadening the
> definition of the museum and the remit of museum specialists as
> custodians of the works of man and nature to "preserve the magic" by
> making the intangible tangible and thereby safeguard "our fragile yet
> fabulous cultural diversity".
>
> On behalf of ICOM Alissandra Cummins, ICOM President and Julien Anfruns,
> Director General, extend their sincere condolences to the colleagues,
> friends and family of M. Sid Ahmed Baghli.
>
> Alissandra Cummins, President and Julien Anfruns, Director General
>
> http://icom.museum/honorary-members_baghli.html
>
> - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
>
> Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
> archives at:  http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html
>

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Change ICOM-L subscription options, unsubscribe, and search the
archives at:  http://home.ease.lsoft.com/archives/icom-l.html