Ahmed Shafik
Ahmed Shafik | |
---|---|
أحمد شفيق | |
49th 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 | |
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 Zaki 25 November 1941 |
Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki
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
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%.
Early life and education
Shafik was born in the
Military career
As a young officer, Shafik served as a
During the 1973 October War, Shafik was a senior fighter pilot under Hosni Mubarak's command. Shafik shot down two Israeli aircraft during the war on 14 October 1973.[10]
During his 40 years of service in the Egyptian Air Force as a fighter pilot, he flew several types of fighter jets including the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19, Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 and the Dassault Mirage 2000; he also acted as the wing commander for the Egyptian Air Force acrobatic team. He is also fully qualified on the American-built McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II and the General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon.[6]
In 1984, Shafik was appointed military attaché in the Egyptian Embassy in
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 he resigned from military service and was succeeded by his chief of staff, Air Marshal Magdy Galal Sharawi.[9]
Political career
After retiring from the Air Force, Shafiq became the
During the course of the
Shafik resigned from office one day after a contentious interview on the Egyptian
On 10 July, Shafik made his first public appearance since resigning as prime minister. He attended the graduation ceremony of the Egyptian Air Force Academy class along with the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces.[6]
2012 Egyptian presidential election
In November 2011, Shafik announced his candidacy in the
Along with the Muslim Brotherhood's Freedom and Justice Party candidate Mohamed Morsi, Shafik was one of two candidates who survived the first round of voting on 23–24 May, coming in behind Morsi. The second and final round of voting was 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, asked for the Egyptian election to be temporarily suspended until an investigation could be carried out.[21]
On 28 May 2012, 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".[22] The election contest between Shafik and Morsi had been described as a "choice between two of Egypt's most polarizing politicians", and some activists resorted to participation in a hunger strike to protest his candidacy.[23]
Shafik's presidential campaign was characterized by an emphasis on public order and security, and although the ruling
Although preliminary election results indicated that the Muslim Brotherhood's candidate Mohamed Morsi won the second round of elections by a slight margin, the results remained within the margin of error and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, with Shafik claiming victory in the election.[26]
On 24 June, the High Presidential Electoral Commission, headed by Farouk Sultan, announced Shafik's narrow defeat by his bitter rival Morsi, with 48.27% of the vote for the former, compared to Morsi's 51.73%.
In the hours following his defeat, it was widely reported that Shafiq and his family flew out to Abu Dhabi, wary of potential charges of financial irregularities and electoral fraud, a move he later confirmed on Sky News.
Shafik alleged that the election was flawed; Public Prosecutor Abdel Meguid Mahmoud called for an investigation into the claims.[27] In August 2013, former Israeli negotiator Yossi Beilin stated that an Egyptian official had told him that the true results of the election were in favor of Shafik, but the military gave the presidency to Morsi out of fear of unrest.[28]
Launch of new political party
Ahmed Shafiq announced that he would launch a new political party, called the
2018 Egyptian presidential election
On 29 November 2017, Ahmed Shafik announced his intention to run in the Egyptian presidential election, but a few hours later announced that the United Arab Emirates prevented him from leaving its territory after announcing his intention to run in the presidential election which was denied by the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash and said in a series of tweets on Twitter, that there was "no obstacle" for Shafiq to leave the UAE, and that the UAE was "sad" to learn that Mr. Shafik was ungrateful. "We facilitated matters for him and we have generously welcomed him, despite our strong reservations about some of his stances," Gargash wrote. On 2 December 2017, Shafiq was deported from the UAE to France. The next day he left France and arrived in Egypt.[29]
On January 7, 2018, Ahmed Shafik withdrew his candidacy, announcing his withdrawal from the presidential race.
Notes
- ^ Also spelled: Shafiq.
References
- ^ a b "Shafiq to launch 'Egyptian Patriotic Movement' political party". Ahram Online. 17 September 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ a b "Wife of presidential hopeful Ahmed Shafiq succumbs to illness". 30 April 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2021.
- ^ "A Tripartite Agreement to Implement IT Systems in the Ministry of Civil Aviation". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. 7 March 2005. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ "Egypt protests". Al Jazeera. 29 December 2009. Archived from the original on 29 January 2011. Retrieved 29 January 2011.
- ^ Luhnow, David (5 March 2011). "Egypt PM Undone by TV Debate". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Presidential Candidates; Ahmed Shafik Biography". Qomra. Archived from the original on 27 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ نبذة عن أحمد شفيق رئيس الوزراء المصري السابق. BBC (in Arabic). 29 January 2011. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ Zaynab al-Baqari (26 May 2012). "Profile: Egyptian presidential candidate Ahmed Shafiq". Asharq. Archived from the original on 18 May 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ a b c d "Air Marshal AHMED MOHAMED SHAFIK, Air Force Commander". Egyptian Armed Forces web site. Egyptian Armed Forces, MMC. Archived from the original on 23 October 2012. Retrieved 19 November 2014.
- ^ "Ahmed Shafiq: With an iron fist". Ahram. 14 September 2005. Archived from the original on 2 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ "Ahmed Shafiq - prime minister of Egypt". britannica.com.
- ^ "Egypt presidential candidate: Ahmed Shafiq, former Mubarak man". Christian Science Monitor. 1 June 2012.
- ^ Sharp, Jeremy M. (11 February 2011). "Egypt: The 25 January Revolution and Implications for U.S. Foreign Policy" (PDF). CRS Report for Congress. Retrieved 5 March 2013.
- ^ Fam, Mariam (3 March 2011). "Egyptian Prime Minister Shafik Resigns, Caving into Key Protester Demands". Bloomberg.
- ^ "Egypt's military leadership". 11 February 2011. Archived from the original on 12 February 2011. Retrieved 11 February 2011.
- ^ "In Egypt, Television Confronts State; TV Wins". Connected in Cairo. 7 March 2011. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ El-Saeed, Youmna (9 March 2011). "The Episode That Toppled an Egyptian Cabinet". OnIslam. Retrieved 10 April 2012.
- ^ Editorial (29 May 2012). "Egyptians learn that democracy sometimes produces tough choices". The Post and Courier. 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. Retrieved 22 May 2012.[permanent dead link]
- ^ "Egypt's election fever comes to Garbage City". Associated Press via Fox News. 22 May 2012. Retrieved 17 September 2012.
- ^ "Egypt's third runner-up seeks election suspension: lawyer". Al Arabiya. 26 May 2012. Archived from the original on 21 June 2012. Retrieved 27 June 2012.
- ^ Tom Perry and Ahmed Tolba (28 May 2012). "Egyptians set fire to office of presidential candidate Shafik". Globe and Mail. Toronto. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Patrick Werr (8 June 2012). "Egyptians protest against ex-premier before election". Reuters. Cairo. 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. Archived from the original on 28 May 2012. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ David Kirkpatrick (27 May 2012). "Egyptian Is Counting on Worries of Elites". The New York Times. Retrieved 30 May 2012.
- ^ Hussein, Abdel-Rahman (18 June 2012). "Mohamed Morsi claims victory for Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt election". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 18 June 2012.
- ^ "Public prosecutor calls for investigation into Shafiq's vote rigging complaint". Egypt Independent. 11 November 2012. Retrieved 1 December 2012.
- ^ Yossi Beilin (18 August 2013). "Morsi didn't win the elections". Israel Hayom. Retrieved 9 January 2014.
- ^ Youssef, Nour; Kirkpatrick, David D. (29 November 2017). "Ex-General Says U.A.E. Blocks His Return to Egypt to Run for President". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Youssef, Nour (7 January 2018). "Egypt's Presidential Race Loses Popular Candidate". The New York Times. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
- ^ Hearst, David (9 January 2018). "Shafiq quit Egypt election bid after threats of 'sex tape' and corruption slurs: Sources". Middle East Eye.