Hussein Kamel Bahaeddin (Arabic: حسين كامل بهاء الدين, 18 September 1932 – 29 July 2016) was an Egyptian professor of paediatrics and Minister of Education between 1991 and 2004.

Despite controversy over certain measures, including religious and political reforms, Bahaeddin advocated for addressing poverty and malnutrition to improve academic outcomes and emphasized democratic practices in education.

[10] In 1994, Bahaeddin tried to pass a rule that would have prohibited schoolgirls from donning the hijab unless their parents provided a letter of consent to the school.

[16] However, the decree was withdrawn due to public outcry over the measure, which was seen as part of a systematic campaign against Islamists and the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt.

The Ministry of Education then withheld 15 days of each participant's monthly pay and accused them of teaching homosexuality and atheism.

The decision was made after receiving information from ministry managers and security personnel, as well as complaints from the parents of the pupils.

According to a report in the Gulf News, the decision was not made in reaction to US demands for reforms that would "eliminate a climate that Washington considers as helping to breed terrorism".

[24][25] These reforms went to the extent of removing Quranic verses and the sayings of the Prophet Mohammed from school texts as part of the "New Basic Education Bilateral Agreement" with the US which will provide $64 million USD.

[3] In 2006, Bahaeddin received the Egyptian Order of the Republic (First Class),[3] and the Centennial Award of the International Pediatric Federation in 2010.