The 34-year-old Egyptian replaces Hicham El Amrani of Morocco, who resigned just weeks after long-standing president Issa Hayatou of Cameroon was ousted in a surprise election defeat to Ahmad of Madagascar in March.
Fahmy's grandfather Mourad served as general secretary of African football's governing body from 1961-82, after which he was replaced by his son Mustapha, who held the post until 2010 before moving to Zurich as the director of competitions at FIFA.
Amr Fahmy would be assisted by former Ghana international Tony Baffoe, who has been appointed deputy general secretary in charge of development and competitions, while Essadik Alaoui of Morocco had also been appointed deputy general secretary in charge of administration and finance, a CAF statement said.
(Reporting by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by John O'Brien)
