Raymond Lakah, (born c. 1960 as Rami Lakah) (رامي لكح), is a French-

Egyptian Egyptian describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years of ...

magnate The magnate term, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders, or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...

, and former owner of the French

newspaper A newspaper is a periodical publication containing written information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as politics, business, sports a ...

France Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

''. Lakah was born 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 ...

to a

Coptic Christian Copts ( cop, ⲛⲓⲣⲉⲙⲛ̀ⲭⲏⲙⲓ ; ar, الْقِبْط ) are a Christian ethnoreligious group indigenous to North Africa who have primarily inhabited the area of modern Egypt and Sudan since antiquity. Most ethnic Copts are ...

Egyptian family, and first came to prominence with his brother Michel Lakah in the mid-1990s. They had holdings in construction, healthcare management and aviation. In November 1998, their holdings were floated on the Cairo Stock Exchange with Rami owning 38% and Michel 31%. He is an Egyptian nationalist who showed interest in Egypt's political life.

Egyptian Parliament

In November 2000 Lakah was elected to the

Egyptian Parliament The Parliament of Egypt is the bicameral legislature of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). The Parliament is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. Under t ...

at the relatively young age of 40. His election raised the question of the legality of dual nationals holding government offices since Lakah was a

national National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

of both Egypt and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. In January 2001, the Minister of Interior officially declared that his election in 2000 was invalid. Discussions about his financial debts, which had started before his election, also intensified. His indebtedness amounting to 1.2 to 1.4 billion Egyptian Pounds with many government bankloans in Egypt unpaid. When lawsuits were filed against him, he fled Egypt and settled in France. In August 2001, a court verdict in Egypt ruled that he could not be a member of the Egyptian Parliament due to his dual nationality. In October 2004, the Egyptian parliament installed a new rule that dual nationals are not allowed to serve in the parliament. Lakah maintains that all his debts were paid off. In France, he took the name Raymond, instead of his

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic languages, Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C ...

birth name Rami, and started establishing himself in several business ventures, including Star Airlines, and in October 2004 he bought the ''France Soir'' newspaper.

Cartoon controversy

On February 2, 2006, ''

France-Soir ''France Soir'' ( en, France Evening) was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a popul ...

'' published the

Muhammad cartoons The ''Jyllands-Posten'' Muhammad cartoons controversy (or Muhammad cartoons crisis, da, Muhammedkrisen) began after the Danish newspaper ''Jyllands-Posten'' published 12 editorial cartoons on 30 September 2005, most of which depicted Muhamma ...

that caused a lot of havoc and anger among Muslims around the world. The cartoons were originally published by the Danish newspaper

Jyllands-Posten ''Morgenavisen Jyllands-Posten'' (; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to ''Jyllands-Posten'' or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circulat ...

on September 30, 2005. ''France Soir'' republished the cartoons under the headline, ''"Yes, One has the Right to Caricature God."'' The same day Raymond Lakah fired the editorial director, Jacques Lefranc. ''

Le Monde ''Le Monde'' (; ) is a French daily afternoon newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average circulation of 323,039 copies per issue in 2009, about 40,000 of which were sold abroad. It has had its own website si ...

'' reported that Lakah issued a statement saying he fired Lefranc as president and director of the newspaper in ''"a strong sign of respect to the intimate convictions and beliefs of each individual."'' The statement continued, ''"We present our regrets to the Muslim community and to all people who have been shocked or made indignant by this publication."''

References

External links

Lakah-Group

Freedom’s Fighters

Interview with Lakah hosted by Amr Adeeb in ALQAHERA ALYOUM live television show 4/12/2008 (in Arabic)

March 2002 article on Al Jazeera interview with Lakah (in Arabic).
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lakah, Raymond Living people Egyptian businesspeople Egyptian emigrants to France Coptic Christians 21st-century French newspaper publishers (people) 1960s births Egyptian billionaires French male writers

Egyptian Parliament

Cartoon controversy

See also

References

External links