Salah Asfar Shishtawai J. Dessouki (22 October 1922 – 17 August 2011) was an Egyptian fencer. He won bronze medals in three fencing disciplines across four editions of the World Championships and competed at the 1948 and

1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics ( fi, Kesäolympialaiset 1952; sv, Olympiska sommarspelen 1952), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad ( fi, XV olympiadin kisat; sv, Den XV olympiadens spel) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952 ( sv, Helsin ...

. By career he was a government official and served in several capacities, including as Governor of Cairo.

Biography

Dessouki was born in Cairo on 22 October 1922. After World War II, he won three consecutive bronze medals in the team sabre event at the

World Fencing Championships The World Fencing Championships is an annual competition in fencing organized by the Fédération Internationale d'Escrime (FIE; ''International Fencing Federation'' in English). Contestants may participate in foil, épée, and sabre events. Hi ...

in 1947, 1949, and

1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...

. In all three years his team consisted of Mohamed Abdel Rahman, Mahmoud Younes, and Mohamed Zulficar. In 1949 and 1950 the squad also included Ahmed Abou-Shadi, while in 1950 they were aided by Roland Steinauer. In 1949, Dessouki, Abdel Rahman, Younes, and a fencer with the surname Schmeil also took bronze in the team épée, while Dessouki, Younes, Zulficar, Osman Abdel Hafeez, Hassan Hosni Tawfik, and Anwar Tawfik came in third in the team foil. The squad repeated this feat in 1950, with Steinauer replacing Anwar Tawfik, and in

1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...

with Abou-Shadi instead of Seinauer. Dessouki also competed at two editions of the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a vari ...

, taking part in all three team discipline events each time. His best placement at each edition was in the team foil competition, finishing fifth in 1948 and fourth in

1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...

, losing to Hungary in the bronze medal match of the latter. In 1948 he also took part in the individual sabre tournament, but was eliminated in the semi-finals. In

he competed individually in the

foil Foil may refer to: Materials * Foil (metal), a quite thin sheet of metal, usually manufactured with a rolling mill machine * Metal leaf, a very thin sheet of decorative metal * Aluminium foil, a type of wrapping for food * Tin foil, metal foil ...

category, finishing seventh. At the inaugural Mediterranean Games in 1951, held in Alexandria, Egypt, he took home three medals: silver in the team sabre and bronze in the team foil and épée. In addition to fencing, he also played tennis and served as president of the Veterans Tennis Federation of Egypt, as well as of Al Ahly SC from 1961 through 1965. Outside of sport, Dessouki had a career in politics. He served as

Governor of Cairo This is a list of governors of Cairo Governorate, the most populous of the Governorates of Egypt, since 1952. Governors from 1952–present See also * Cairo Governorate Cairo Governorate is one of the 27 governorates of Egypt. It is fo ...

, an Egyptian ambassador, and as regional director of the

United Nations Environment Programme The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) is responsible for coordinating responses to environmental issues within the United Nations system. It was established by Maurice Strong, its first director, after the United Nations Conference on th ...

and the Canadian

International Development Research Centre The International Development Research Centre (IDRC; french: Centre de recherches pour le développement international, ''CRDI'') is a Canadian federal Crown corporation that funds research and innovation within and alongside developing regions ...

for the Middle East and North Africa. He was also a member of the

International Institute for Strategic Studies The International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) is a British research institute or think tank in the area of international affairs. Since 1997, its headquarters have been Arundel House in London, England. The 2017 Global Go To Think ...

and chairman of Sinai Hotels. He died in August 2011 in

Nasr City Nasr City ( ar, مدينة نصر ) is a district of Cairo, Egypt. It is located to the east of the Cairo Governorate and consists mostly of condominia. It was established in the 1960s as an extension to neighboring settlement of Heliop ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dessouki, Salah 1922 births 2011 deaths Egyptian male épée fencers Egyptian male foil fencers Egyptian male sabre fencers Olympic fencers of Egypt Fencers at the 1948 Summer Olympics Fencers at the 1952 Summer Olympics Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Egypt Mediterranean Games bronze medalists for Egypt Fencers at the 1951 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games medalists in fencing Governors of Cairo