Ahmed Mahmoud Darwish ( ar, أحمد محمود درويش, born 25 May 1959) is an

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian politician. He served as the first Chairman of the General Authority of Suez canal Economic Zone from 2015 to 2017. He previously served as Minister of State for Administration Development in the Nazif Cabinet between 2004 and 2011.

Early life and education

Ahmed Darwish did his bachelor's and master's degrees in

Cairo University Cairo University ( ar, جامعة القاهرة, Jāmi‘a al-Qāhira), also known as the Egyptian University from 1908 to 1940, and King Fuad I University and Fu'ād al-Awwal University from 1940 to 1952, is Egypt's premier public university ...

in Computer Engineering in 1981 and 1984 respectively. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from the University of California, Davis in 1988. He received Life Time Achievement Medal in Public Service from the university of California, Davis in 2017.

Academic career

Darwish started out his academic career as a Lecturer at the University of California, Davis in 1988 during his Ph.D. studies. After that, he moved back to Cairo in 1989, where he joined the Computer Engineering Department,

as an Assistant Professor before moving up the ranks and being promoted to Associate Professor then Professor in 1994 and 1999 respectively. Darwish continued his role as a professor in Cairo University

in absentia is Latin for absence. , a legal term, is Latin for "in the absence" or "while absent". may also refer to: * Award in absentia * Declared death in absentia, or simply, death in absentia, legally declared death without a body * Election in absen ...

during his term as a minister of state and his term with the General Authority of Suez Canal Economic Zone.

As a Minister of State

Darwish was appointed in the cabinet of

Ahmed Nazif Ahmed Nazif ( ar, أحمد نظيف, ; born 8 July 1952) served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 14 July 2004 to 29 January 2011, when his cabinet was dismissed by President Hosni Mubarak in light of a popular uprising that led to the Egyptia ...

in 2004 as a minister of state for administrative development tasked with developing the government's electronic services and institutionalizing governance policies. During his tenure as a Minister of State for Administrative Development, he was awarded the 2007 Middle East Eminent Persons from Singapore. The entire Nazif Cabinet resigned with the orders of then-president

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

as part of the political concessions done during the

2011 Egyptian revolution The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...

Heading the Suez Canal Economic Zone

In November 2015, Darwish was appointed by the Egyptian president

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi; (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian politician and retired military officer who has served as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. Before retiring as a general in the Egyptian mil ...

to serve as the chairman of the new flagship project that aims at revitalizing the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

area by constructing a 461 square kilometres across the three Suez Canal governorates of Suez, Port Said and Ismailiya, and will include six maritime ports, to be completed by 2045. During her tenure, the Suez Canal Economic Zone is reported to have attracted investments for 30 different logistical projects amounting to 20 million

US Dollars The United States dollar (Currency symbol, symbol: Dollar sign, $; ISO 4217, code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from Dollar, other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American ...

. In April 2017, A presidential decree was issued replacing Darwish with

Mohab Mamish Vice Admiral Mohab Mamish ( ar, مهاب مميش; born 6 August 1948) was the chairman of the Suez Canal Authority. He was the Commander of the Egyptian Navy from 27 September 2007 until August 2012. He was also a member of the Supreme Council ...

who is also serving as the chairman of the

Suez Canal Authority Suez Canal Authority (SCA) is an Egyptian state-owned authority which owns, operates and maintains the Suez Canal. It was set up by the Egyptian government to replace the Suez Canal Company in the 1950s which resulted in the Suez Crisis. After th ...

at that time. Ahmed Darwish at Suez Canal

Consultancy & Business advisor

Ahmed Darwish serves on the board of advisors in various companies including the government-affiliated Egyptian National Competitiveness Council,

Banque Du Caire Banque du Caire is a bank in Egypt, founded in 1952; is one of the oldest and largest Egyptian banks providing its clients with an integrated and diversified package of banking services and products designed specifically to meet their needs. As ...

Bibliotheca Alexandrina The Bibliotheca Alexandrina (Latin for "Library of Alexandria"; arz, مكتبة الإسكندرية ', ) is a major library and cultural center on the shore of the Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria, Egypt. It is a commemoration of the Library ...

School of Business at the

American University in Cairo The American University in Cairo (AUC; ar, الجامعة الأمريكية بالقاهرة, Al-Jāmi‘a al-’Amrīkiyya bi-l-Qāhira) is a private research university in Cairo, Egypt. The university offers American-style learning programs ...

and the investment company 138 Pyramids. Darwish was an international consultant to several companies and banks such as Microsoft and Egyptian International Petroleum Company.

Personal life

Ahmed Darwish was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. He is married and has two children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Darwish, Ahmed 1959 births Living people University of California, Davis alumni Administrative Development Ministers of Egypt Cairo University alumni Egyptian engineers