Ahmed Shafik أحمد محمد شفيق زكى |
|
---|---|
Prime Minister of Egypt | |
In office 29 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 – 28 January 2011 |
|
Prime Minister |
Atef Ebeid Ahmed Nazif |
Preceded by | Ahmed Abdel Rahman Nasser |
Succeeded by | Ibrahim Manaa |
Commander-in-Chief 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 Zaki 25 November 1941 Cairo, Egypt |
Political party | Egyptian Patriotic Movement(December 2012 - Present) |
Religion | Sufi Islam |
Military service | |
Allegiance | Egypt |
Service/branch | Egyptian Air Force |
Years of service | 1962–2002 |
Rank | - Air Chief Marshal |
Battles/wars |
North Yemen Civil War Six-Day War War of Attrition October War |
Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki (Arabic: أحمد محمد شفيق زكى, IPA: [ˈæħmæd mæˈħæmmæd ʃæˈfiːʔ ˈzæki]; born 25 November 1941) is an Egyptian politician and a former 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 29 January 2011 to 3 March 2011.
After a career as a fighter pilot, and squadron, wing and group 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 29 January 2011 in response to the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, making him the last prime minister to serve as part of Mubarak's administration. He remained in office for only one month, resigning on 3 March 2011, one day after a contentious talk show confrontation in which Alaa Al Aswany, a prominent Egyptian novelist, accused him of being a Mubarak regime holdover.
He narrowly lost out in the 2012 Egyptian presidential elections to Mohamed Morsi, the candidate of the Freedom and Justice Party, gaining 48.27% of the vote, compared to Morsi's 51.73%. In September 2012, Morsi's government issued an arrest warrant for Shafik. He was acquitted in one case. His name is still on airport watch lists as another investigation is ongoing.
Shafik was born in the Heliopolis district of Cairo on 25 November 1941. His parents were prominent members of Egyptian society, with his father, Mohamed Shafiq Zaki, serving as undersecretary at the ministry of irrigation and his mother, Naja Alwi, being the daughter of a noted ophthalmologist. After completing his schooling at the Heliopolis Secondary School, he attended the Egyptian Air Academy from where he graduated in 1962 at the age of 21 and became a member of the Egyptian Air Force (EAF). Later in his career, he gained a master's degree in military science; 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.