He was editor of the Egyptian newspaper Al-Ahram from 1979 to 2005 and chair of the General Union of Arab Journalists from 1996 to 2012.
Born in Suez, he received a bachelor's degree from Ain Shams University in 1956 before beginning his career as a Reuters reporter.
[1] Haaretz wrote that Nafae "faithfully transmitted" the policies of Egyptian Presidents Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak and that as president of the Egyptian Journalists Syndicate, he "shaped Egypt's propaganda policy and defined the borders of self-censorship by the press.
"[3] Nafae was replaced by Salah El-Ghamri as board chair and Osama Saraya as editor-in-chief.
[4] Nafae served for over a decade as chair of Egypt's independent[clarification needed] since 1985 and of the General Union of Arab Journalists from 1996 to 2012.