Although he originally dreamed of becoming an attorney,[1] he obtained a Bachelor of Arts degree in Greek and Roman Archaeology from Alexandria University in 1967.

When he was 33 years old, Hawass was awarded a Fulbright Fellowship to attend the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia to study Egyptology,[1] earning a Master of Arts degree in the subject and also one in Syro-Palestinian Archaeology in 1983, and his PhD in Egyptology in 1987[1][2] from the Graduate Group in the Art and Archaeology of the Mediterranean World (AAMW), concentrating on "The Funerary Establishments of Khufu, Khafra and Menkaura During the Old Kingdom.

When US President Barack Obama visited Cairo in June 2009, Hawass gave him personal tours of ancient Egyptian archaeological sites.

[10] Facing mandatory retirement, he was promoted by President Hosni Mubarak to the post of Vice Minister of Culture at the end of 2009.

[14] Hawass later told The New York Times that thieves looking for gold broke 70 objects, including two sculptures of the pharaoh Tutankhamun and took two skulls from a research lab, before being stopped as they left the museum.

[14][15][16][dead link‍] A press release including a statement from Hawass stated that he "will continue excavating, writing books, and representing his country,"[17] ensuring that archaeological sites in Egypt were being safeguarded and looted objects returned.

[15] On March 3, 2011, he resigned after a list was posted on his personal website of dozens of sites across Egypt that were looted during the 2011 protests.

As his biography at the National Geographic Explorers webpage notes, he states that he isresponsible for many recent discoveries, including the tombs of the pyramid builders at Giza and the Valley of the Golden Mummies at Bahariya.

His team is continuing to CT scan mummies, both royal and private, and hopes to solve some of the mysteries surrounding the lives and deaths of such important figures as Hatshepsut and Nefertiti.

[31] Hawass has also appeared in several episodes of the U.S. television show Digging for the Truth, discussing mummies, the pyramids, Tutankhamun, Cleopatra and Ramesses II.

[33] In June 2007, Hawass announced that he and a team of experts may have identified the mummy of Hatshepsut,[34] in KV60, a small tomb in the Valley of the Kings.

[citation needed] The opening of the sealed tomb was described in 2006 as "one of the most important events in the Valley of the Kings for almost a hundred years.

Hawass has repeatedly spearheaded movements to return many prominent and irregularly taken Ancient Egyptian artifacts back to Egypt from collections in various other countries.

Examples of these artifacts include: the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Nefertiti, the Dendera zodiac ceiling painting from the Dendera Temple, the bust of Ankhhaf (the architect of the Khafre Pyramid), the faces of Amenhotep III's tomb at the Louvre Museum, the Luxor Temple's obelisk at the Place de la Concorde and the statue of Hemiunu.

Hawass, then serving as Secretary General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities in Cairo, spoke at a press conference saying: "If the British want to be remembered, if they want to restore their reputation, they should volunteer to return the Rosetta Stone because it is the icon of our Egyptian identity".

[39] In 2022, Hawass launched another petition, calling once again for the return of the Rosetta Stone, the bust of Nefertiti and the Dendera Zodiac ceiling to Egypt.

[46] A 2020 study by Gad, Hawass, et al. analysed mitochondrial and Y-chromosomal haplogroups from Tutankhamun's family members of the 18th Dynasty, using comprehensive control procedures to ensure quality results.

[48] he added "“There is a very important fact Afrocentrists need to know: the depictions on Egyptian temples from the Old Kingdom to the end of the Late Period show the King of Egypt and in front of him are captives from Africa, Libya, Syria, and Palestine,” he said referring to Ramses III Prisoner tiles among other evidence that show the difference between Egyptians and their neighbors.

They broadcast all the work.”[50] In 2023, after ending his lecture about ancient Egypt at Columbus, Ohio, Zahi Hawass asked the audience whether they have any questions.

[51] Hawas criticized a tweet by US billionaire Elon Musk claiming that aliens built the pyramids, he stated in TV interview that that studying ancient Egyptian civilization provides a comprehensive understanding of its secrets.

[53] Hawass also asserted that there is no archeological evidence confirming the identity of the pharaoh who ruled during the arrival of the Prophets Moses and Joseph to Egypt, adding that information currently available on the issue is limited to guesses and speculation.

[59][60][61] He later wrote that he was using rhetoric to explain political fragmentation among the Arabs, and that he does not believe in a "Jewish conspiracy to control the world".

It was reported that his re-appointment angered numerous factions, who opposed the appointment of any of the old guard under Mubarak to new positions in the government.

[64] Hawass has lent his name to a line of men's apparel, described by The New York Times as "a line of rugged khakis, denim shirts and carefully worn leather jackets that are meant, according to the catalog copy, to hark "back to Egypt’s golden age of discovery in the early 20th century"; the clothing was first sold at Harrods department store in London, in April 2011.

[65] Hawass already sells a line of Stetson hats reproducing the ones he wears, which "very much resemble" the ones worn by Harrison Ford in the Indiana Jones movies.

[76] In 2002, he was awarded the American Academy of Achievement's Golden Plate and the glass obelisk from US scholars for his efforts to the protection and preservation of Ancient Egyptian monuments.

[75][77] In 2003, Hawass was given international membership in the Russian Academy for Natural Sciences (RANS)[75] and, in 2006, he was chosen as one of the world's 100 most influential people by Time.

[89] Hawass has written and co-written many books relating to Egyptology, including The Curse of the Pharaohs: My Adventures with Mummies,[citation needed] and King Tutankhamun: The Treasures from the Tomb,[98] the latter published to coincide with a major exhibition in the UK.