Ahmed Mourad Salah El-Din Zulfikar (15 August 1952 – 1 May 2010) was an Egyptian

mechanical engineer Mechanical may refer to: Machine * Machine (mechanical), a system of mechanisms that shape the actuator input to achieve a specific application of output forces and movement * Mechanical calculator, a device used to perform the basic operations of ...

and

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value. With this definition, entrepreneurship is viewed as change, generally entailing risk beyond what is normally encountered in starting a business, which may include other values th ...

. He worked for three decades in the field of

infrastructure Infrastructure is the set of facilities and systems that serve a country, city, or other area, and encompasses the services and facilities necessary for its economy, households and firms to function. Infrastructure is composed of public and priv ...

. Zulfikar was one of the first founders of the modern irrigation systems technology in

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 ...

Early life and education

Ahmed Mourad Salah El-Din Zulfikar was born on August 15, 1952, in

Abbassia Abbassia ( ar, العباسية ) is a neighbourhood in Cairo, Egypt. The Saint Mark's Coptic Orthodox Cathedral, Cairo is located in Abbassia. The medical faculty of Ain Shams University and its affiliate hospital units are located in Ab ...

neighborhood of

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

to a well-off family. His father was the actor and producer

Salah Zulfikar Salah El Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar ( ar, صلاح ذو الفقار; ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer. He started his career as a police officer in the Egyptian National Police, before becoming an ac ...

, a police officer at the time, and his mother was Mrs. Nafisa Bahgat. He has one sister,

Mona Zulficar Mona Salah El Din Zulficar is a prominent Egyptian lawyer and human rights activist and was included in the ''Forbes'' 2021 list of the "100 most powerful businesswomen in the Arab region". She participates in drafting new laws and developing exi ...

, a lawyer. Eng asu main bldng

Despite growing up in the midst of an artistic family, his father, Salah Zulfikar, a famous actor, and his uncles, Ezz El Dine Zulfikar and

Mahmoud Zulfikar Mahmoud Qasdy Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar (18 February 1914 – 22 May 1970) was an Egyptians, Egyptian film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He started his career as an architect, before becoming an actor in 1939. He was a major figur ...

, were famous directors and producers in

Egyptian cinema The cinema of Egypt refers to the flourishing film industry based in Cairo, sometimes also referred to as Hollywood on the Nile. Since 1976, the capital has held the annual Cairo International Film Festival, which has been accredited by the Intern ...

at the time, Zulfikar was not enthusiastic about working in the movie business and chose another path away from fame and became what he always wished for, to be an engineer. He received his BA in

Mechanical Engineering Mechanical engineering is the study of physical machines that may involve force and movement. It is an engineering branch that combines engineering physics and mathematics principles with materials science, to design, analyze, manufacture, and ...

from

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University ( ar, جامعة عين شمس) is a public university located in Cairo, Egypt. Founded in 1950, the university provides education at the undergraduate, graduate and post-graduate levels. History Ain Shams University was fou ...

in 1976.

Career

Ahmed Zulfikar helped introduce modern irrigation technology in

. He began his career in

Arab Contractors The Arabs (singular: Arab; singular ar, عَرَبِيٌّ, DIN 31635: , , plural ar, عَرَب, DIN 31635: , Arabic pronunciation: ), also known as the Arab people, are an ethnic group mainly inhabiting the Arab world in Western Asia, ...

. He worked as a site engineer for 3 years. Ahmed Zulfikar78'

In 1979, Zulfikar resigned from working for Arab Contractors and traveled to Germany for studying modern irrigation technology and returned to Egypt after a year to establish his first private corporation ''TOCEG Misr'' at the age of 27 years. Zulfikar worked for over three decades in the design and construction of modern irrigation systems and had a major role in converting tens of thousands of acres from

flood irrigation Surface irrigation is where water is applied and distributed over the soil surface by gravity. It is by far the most common form of irrigation throughout the world and has been practiced in many areas virtually unchanged for thousands of years. S ...

to modern irrigation in the period from 1979 to 2010. He participated in the establishment of

golf course A golf course is the grounds on which the sport of golf is played. It consists of a series of holes, each consisting of a tee box, a fairway, the rough and other hazards, and a green with a cylindrical hole in the ground, known as a "cup". Th ...

s with automated irrigation systems according to international standards. He was involved with

landscaping Landscaping refers to any activity that modifies the visible features of an area of land, including the following: # Living elements, such as flora or fauna; or what is commonly called gardening, the art and craft of growing plants with a goal o ...

projects in hotels and resorts all over

Awards

* Honorary certificate from President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

in 1980. * Excellence Award from Egyptian Ministry of Agriculture in 1984. * Man of the Year in TORO AG Germany 1988. * Success cup from Sahara Exhibition in 2004.

Positions held

* Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of ''TOCEG Misr'' (1979-1994). * Member of the Board of Directors of the ''Egyptian Center for Agricultural Services'' (1992-2002). * Consultant for ''Inter Group'' and plenty of agricultural institutions in Egypt (1998-2010). * Founder and Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ''Egyptian Company for Contracting and Modern Irrigation ECMI'' (2000-2010).

Personal life

Ahmed Zulfikar married Mrs. Inas El Imam in

in 1978 and the couple remained happily married until his death in 2010. Together they had two sons, Salah and Karim. The elder; Salah Zulfikar (1979- ) is a corporate regional director and the younger; Karim Zulfikar (1984-) is a businessman owning his own corporation. Zulfikar died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 57 on Saturday, May 1, 2010 in Cairo, Egypt.

References