Ahmed Shafik
| Ahmed Shafik أحمد محمد شفيق |
|
|---|---|
| Prime Minister of Egypt | |
| In office 31 January 2011 – 3 March 2011 |
|
| President | Hosni Mubarak Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (acting) |
| Preceded by | Ahmed Nazif |
| Succeeded by | Essam Sharaf |
| Minister of Civil Aviation | |
| In office 18 September 2002 – 31 January 2011 |
|
| Prime Minister | Atef Ebeid Ahmed Nazif |
| Preceded by | Ahmed Abdel Rahman Nasser |
| Succeeded by | Ibrahim Manaa |
| Commander of the Air Force | |
| In office 7 April 1996 – 1 March 2002 |
|
| President | Hosni Mubarak |
| Preceded by | Ahmed Abdel Rahman Nasser |
| Succeeded by | Magdy Galal Sharawi |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Ahmed Mohamed Shafik November 1941 (age 70) Cairo, Egypt |
| Political party | Independent |
| Religion | Islam |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Egypt |
| Service/branch |  Egyptian Air Force |
| Years of service | 1961–2002 |
| Rank | Air Marshal |
| Battles/wars | North Yemen Civil War Six-Day War War of Attrition October War |
Ahmed Mohamed Shafik (Arabic: أحمد محمد شفيق, IPA: [ˈæħmæd mæˈħæmmæd ʃæˈfiːʔ]; born 25. November 1941)[1][2] is an Egyptian politician and candidate for the presidency of Egypt. He was a senior commander in the Egyptian Air Force and later served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 31 January 2011 to 3 March 2011, a period of 33 days.
After a career as a fighter pilot, and squadron, wing and base commander, Shafik was the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force from 1996 to 2002, reaching the rank of air marshal. Thereafter he served in the government as Minister of Civil Aviation from 2002 to 2011.
He was appointed as Prime Minister by President Hosni Mubarak on 31 January 2011 in response to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, making him the last Prime Minister to serve as part of Mubarak's administration.[3] He remained in office for only one month, resigning on 3 March 2011, one day after a contentious talk show confrontation in which he was accused by a prominent Egyptian novelist (Alaa Al Aswany) of being a Mubarak regime holdover.[4]
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[edit] Early life
Shafik was born in Cairo in November 1941. After graduating from the Egyptian Air Academy in 1961, he joined the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) at the age of 20. Later in his career, he gained a master's degree in Military Sciences, a Fellowship of High War College from Nasser Military Academy,a Fellowship of Combined Arms from the High War College in Paris, a Fellowship of the National Defense College from Nasser Military Academy and a Ph.D. in "The National Strategy of Outer-Space". Air Marshal Ahmed Shafik received the highest Medals and merits during his service.[5]
[edit] Military career
As a young officer, Shafik served as a fighter pilot and was later appointed as fighter air squadron commander. During the War of Attrition (1967–1970), Shafik saw active service as the Multi-Task Airwing Commander. Subsequently he took up a post as an air base commander.[5]
During the 1973 October War, Shafik was a senior fighter pilot under Hosni Mubarak's command. It is believed that Shafik shot down two Israeli aircraft during the war on 14 October 1973.[6]
In 1984 Shafik was appointed a military attaché in the Egyptian Embassy in Rome. He continued in this role until 1986. During 1988 to 1991, Shafik served several military senior command positions before he was appointed as the Commander of the Air Operations Department.[5]
In September 1991, Shafik was appointed as the Air Force's Chief of Staff, holding this position until April 1996, when he became Commander of the Egyptian Air Force. In 2002,after resigning from the military service, he was appointed as Minister of Civil Aviation and was succeeded by his chief of staff Air Marshal Magdy Galal Sharawi.[5]
[edit] Political career
During the course of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011, Shafik was named Prime Minister on 29 January.
[edit] Appointment as Prime Minister and resignation
Shafik's period in office as Prime Minister was short-lived, lasting just over a month, after he resigned on 3 March due to pressure from protestors and the opposition. They had objected to Shafik staying on as PM, having been seen as one of Mubarak's old guard.[7] Shafik was alleged to have been a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces that took over power after Mubarak's departure on 11 February 2011.[8] Shafik was succeeded by Essam Sharaf after he stepped down.
Shafik resigned as Prime Minister one day after a contentious interview on the Egyptian ONTV satellite network in which he was confronted by Alaa Al Aswany, author of The Yacoubian Building, on Reem Maged's talk show Baladna bel Masry. Al Aswany was highly critical of Shafik during the broadcast, representing one of the first televised public criticisms of a high-ranking government official in Egyptian history. At one point, Al Aswany said about Shafik, "if your son had been one of those who got run over by the police cars, you would not have remained silent like that."[9] Al Aswany furthermore accused Shafik of being a holdover of the regime that Egyptians had struggled to topple, and that he was unfit to represent Egyptians in the post-revolution era.[10]
[edit] Egyptian presidential election, 2012
In November 2011, Shafik announced his candidacy in the Egyptian presidential elections. Shafik's candidacy has sparked controversy and protest within Egypt, with many considering him to be a holdover of the Mubarak regime. Shafik's remark that he considers former president Housni Mubarak to be a "role model" has been particularly controversial.[11] At one campaign event, a protester hurled shoes at him, although Shafik was not struck.[12] Shafik's candidacy has been noted as supported by many in Egypt's Coptic Christian minority who are opposed to Islamist candidates in the election.[13]
Along with the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party candidate Mohamed Morsi, Shafik was one of two candidates that survived the first round of voting on 23–24 May, coming in behind Morsi. The second and final round of voting will be held on 16–17 June 2012. Allegations have arisen that the interior ministry handed out over 900,000 ID cards to Egyptian soldiers so that they could vote for Shafik, which would be a major campaign violation. Fellow presidential candidate Hamdeen Sabahi, who finished in third place in the first round of voting, has asked for the Egyptian election to be temporarily suspended until an investigation is carried out.[14]
On Monday, 28 May, protesters angry at Shafik's advancement to the second round of voting set fire to an office associated with his campaign in Cairo. Fellow candidate Khaled Ali said while participating in a protest against the election results in Tahrir Square that Tahrir had “toppled Mubarak, and would topple Shafik.”[15] The election contest between Shafik and Morsi has been described as a "choice between two of Egypt's most polarizing politicians," and some activists have resorted to participation in a hunger strike to protest his candidacy.[16]
Shafik's presidential campaign has been characterized by an emphasis on public order and security, and although the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has not endorsed a candidate, American news outlet McClatchy Newspapers has pointed to the "conspicuous presence of sympathetic security forces at his campaign stops" as evidence of his close relationship with the military.[17] Shafik has used his campaign events to court Egyptian elites and voters wary of an Islamist-led government. He reportedly suggested that he would employ executions and "brutal force" to restore order in the country within a month of taking office.[18]
Although preliminary election results indicate that the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Morsi has won the second round of elections by a slight margin, the results remain within the margin of error and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces has yet to formally announce a winner. For his part, Shafik is claiming victory in the election.[19]
[edit] References
- ^ Qomra.org: Biography
- ^ http://www.bbc.co.uk/arabic/middleeast/2011/01/110129_egypt_shafiq.shtml
- ^ "Egypt protests | Al Jazeera Blogs". Al Jazeera Blogs. 2009-12-29. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. http://blogs.aljazeera.net/middle-east/2011/01/29/live-blog-291-egypt-protests. Retrieved 2011-01-29..
- ^ Luhnow, David (5 March 2011). "Egypt PM Undone by TV Debate". The Wall Street Journal. http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704076804576180862540155764.html. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d http://www.mmc.gov.eg/branches/AIRFORCE/cv1.htm
- ^ Al-Ahram Weekly | Profile | Ahmed Shafiq: With an iron fist
- ^ Fam, Mariam (3 March 2011). "Egyptian Prime Minister Shafik Resigns, Caving Into Key Protester Demands". Bloomberg. http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-03-03/egypt-military-accepts-shafik-resignation-asks-sharaf-to-form-government.html.
- ^ AlJazeera (11 February 2011). "Egypt's military leadership". Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. http://english.aljazeera.net/news/middleeast/2011/02/201121185311711502.html. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ "In Egypt, Television Confronts State; TV Wins". Connected in Cairo. 7 March 2011. http://connectedincairo.com/2011/03/07/in-egypt-television-confronts-state-tv-wins/. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ El-Saeed, Youmna (9 March 2011). "The Episode That Toppled an Egyptian Cabinet". onislam.net. http://www.onislam.net/english/culture-and-entertainment/media/451394-the-episode-that-toppled-an-egyptian-cabinet.html. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Editorial (29 May 2012). "Egyptians learn that democracy sometimes produces tough choices". The Post and Courier. http://www.postandcourier.com/article/20120529/PC1002/120529113/egyptians-learn-that-democracy-sometimes-produces-tough-choices. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Hanna Allam (19 May 2012). "Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak’s last prime minister, is the surprise contender in Egypt’s presidential race". McClatchy Newspaper. http://www.charlotteobserver.com/2012/05/17/3251853/ahmed-shafik-mubaraks-last-prime.html. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ The Associated Press (22 May 2012). "Egypt’s election fever comes to Garbage City". The Washington Post. http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/middle_east/egypts-election-fever-comes-to-garbage-city/2012/05/22/gIQAAxZUiU_story.html. Retrieved 22 May 2012.
- ^ http://english.alarabiya.net/articles/2012/05/26/216677.html
- ^ TOM PERRY AND AHMED TOLBA (28 May 2012). "Egyptians set fire to office of presidential candidate Shafik". Globe and Mail (Toronto). http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/egyptians-set-fire-to-office-of-presidential-candidate-shafik/article2445962/?utm_medium=Feeds%3A%20RSS%2FAtom&utm_source=Home&utm_content=2445962. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Patrick Werr (8 June 2012). "Egyptians protest against ex-premier before election". Reuters (Cairo). http://www.reuters.com/article/2012/06/08/us-egypt-election-protest-idUSBRE85716820120608. Retrieved 8 June 2012.
- ^ Hannah Alam (17 May 2012). "Ahmed Shafik, Mubarak’s last prime minister, is the surprise contender in Egypt’s presidential race". McClatchy Newspapers. http://www.mcclatchydc.com/2012/05/17/149392/ahmed-shafik-mubaraks-last-prime.html. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ David Kirkpatrick (27 May 2012). "Egyptian Is Counting on Worries of Elites". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/28/world/middleeast/ahmed-shafik-counting-on-egyptian-elites-fears.html. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ "Mohamed Morsi claims victory for Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt election". The Guardian. 18 June 2012. http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/jun/18/mohamed-morsi-muslim-brotherhood-egypt. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
[edit] External links
- Air Force Commander of the Egyptian Armed Forces
- Ahmed Shafik collected news and commentary at Al Jazeera English
- Ahmed Shafik: Tough, Al-Ahram Weekly, 10–16 February 2011
- [1] Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq on CNN's "State of the Union"
| Military offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Ahmed Abdel Rahman Nasser |
Commander of the Egyptian Air Force 1996–2002 |
Succeeded by Magdy Galal Sharawi |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Ahmed Abdel Rahman Nasser |
Minister of Civil Aviation 2002–2011 |
Succeeded by Ibrahim Manaa |
| Preceded by Ahmed Nazif |
Prime Minister of Egypt 2011 |
Succeeded by Essam Sharaf |
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