Khairat al-Shater
| Khairat el-Shater | |
|---|---|
| محمد خيرت الشاطر | |
 |
|
| Personal details | |
| Born |
Mohammed Khairat Saad el-Shater 4 May 1950 Dakahlia, Egypt |
| Political party | Freedom and Justice Party |
| Other political affiliations |
Muslim Brotherhood |
| Alma mater |
Alexandria University Mansoura University |
| Profession | Engineer |
| Website | www.khairatshater.com |
Mohammed Khairat Saad el-Shater (Arabic: محمد خيرت سعد الشاطر, IPA: [mæˈħæmmæd ˈxæjɾæt ˈsæʕd eʃˈʃɑːtˤeɾ]; born 4 May 1950) is an Egyptian engineer, businessman and Islamist political activist. A leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, as the Deputy Supreme Guide, el-Shater was the initial candidate of the movement's Freedom and Justice Party during the 2012 Egyptian presidential election before being disqualified by the election commission. Previously, he was the deputy chairman of the Brotherhood.
Born in Dakahlia, el-Shater joined the youth wing of the ruling Arab Socialist Union party at age 16, during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser. He studied engineering at the Alexandria University. There he participated in the February 1968 student protests against the government. After serving in the military for two years, el-Shater studied for a Master's degree and worked as a lecturer at the Mansoura University. After the then president Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1981, el-Shater was exiled as an Islamist dissident, and left for England. After returning in the mid-1980s, he became an active member of the Muslim Brotherhood. In 1995, he became head of the Brotherhood's Greater Cairo branch.
El-Shater led a successful furniture and textile business with branches in Cairo's luxurious shopping malls, which earned him a fortune of several millions. He is considered a main financier and chief strategist of the Brotherhood. Under the Mubarak regime, he was imprisoned from 2007 until his release by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces in March 2011. Following the victory of the Freedom and Justice Party (parliamentary wing of the Muslim Brotherhood) in the 2011/12 parliamentary election, el-Shater was tipped as a likely candidate for Prime Minister of a coalition government. The Middle East researcher Avi Asher-Schapiro considers el-Shater to be a strong advocate of privatization and free market.
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