Sherif Ismail (, ; 6 July 1955 – 4 February 2023) was an Egyptian engineer and politician who served as the

prime minister of Egypt A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

from 2015 to 2018. He was also the minister of petroleum and mineral resources from 2013 to 2015.

Early life and education

Ismail was born on 6 July 1955. He studied mechanical engineering at

Ain Shams University Ain Shams University () 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 founded in July 1950, the third ...

and graduated in 1978.

Career

Ismail held managerial posts at state-run petrochemical and natural gas firms. He served as the executive deputy chairman and then chairman of the Egyptian holding company for petrochemicals (ECHEM), which was established in 2002. Next he was named chairman of the Egyptian Natural Gas Holding Company (EGAS). Then he worked as the managing director of the state-run oil holding company, Ganoub El Wadi Petroleum Holding Company (GANOPE), and became chairman of the company. He was appointed minister of petroleum and mineral resources on 16 July 2013 as part of the interim cabinet led by Hazem El Beblawi. He replaced Sherif Hassan Haddara in the post. Ismail was appointed prime minister on 12 September 2015. In 2016 an economic crisis occurred when the

Egyptian pound The Egyptian pound ( ; abbreviations: £, E£, £E, LE, or EGP in Latin alphabet, Latin, and in Arabic script, Arabic, ISO 4217, ISO code: EGP) is the official currency of Egypt. It is divided into 100 piastres, (or qirsh, ; ''plural'' ; abb ...

significantly weakened. Due to this crisis, the cabinet of Ismail had to initiate and implement the strict economic reforms. Following this incident Ismail reshuffled the cabinet in March 2016 changing ten ministers, including finance, investment, and tourism ministers. In February 2017, the cabinet was again reshuffled, which included the change of nine ministers mostly related to economic policies. In November 2017 Ismail left Egypt for treatment in Germany and resumed his post on 1 December. During this period

Mostafa Madbouly Mostafa Kamal Madbouly (born 28 April 1966) is an Egyptian politician who serves as the 54th and current Prime Minister of Egypt. He was appointed by President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi to succeed Sherif Ismail following his government's resignation i ...

, minister of housing and urban utilities, served as the acting prime minister. On 5 June 2018, Ismail submitted his resignation to 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 been serving as the sixth and current president of Egypt since 2014. After the 2011 Egyptian revolution and 201 ...

. However, he continued to serve as prime minister in caretaker capacity. Two days after Ismail submitted his resignation, Sisi appointed Madbouly to succeed him as prime minister. Following his departure as prime minister, it was reported on 9 June 2018 that Ismail had been nominated to serve as the top aide to Sisi. From 18 June Ismail served as presidential aide for national and strategic projects and represented Sisi at the funeral of

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, ; ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. He was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and 1986 to 1988, as well as Mayor of Pari ...

in September 2019.

Personal life and death

Ismail was married and had two children. He had health problems related to the

digestive system The human digestive system consists of the gastrointestinal tract plus the accessory organs of digestion (the tongue, salivary glands, pancreas, liver, and gallbladder). Digestion involves the breakdown of food into smaller and smaller compone ...

and had an operation in Germany in November 2017 while serving as prime minister. He died in Cairo on 4 February 2023, at the age of 67. His death was first announced by the Egyptian President Sisi via a post on social media. A military funeral ceremony was held for Ismail on 5 February, and the funeral prayers took place at the Lt. Gen. Hussein Tantawi Mosque in

New Cairo New Cairo ( ') is a satellite city within the Cairo governorate of Egypt, and the metropolitan area of Greater Cairo. Administratively, it is officially part of the Eastern Area of Cairo city, but like all new settlements in Egypt, it is di ...

with the attendance of the President Sisi, Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, Speaker of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...

Hanfy Gebaly and Defense Minister Mohamed Ahmed Zaki along with others.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ismail, Sherif 20th-century Egyptian engineers 20th-century Egyptian politicians 21st-century Egyptian engineers 21st-century prime ministers of Egypt 1955 births 2023 deaths Ain Shams University alumni Beblawi Cabinet 21st-century Egyptian politicians Egyptian mechanical engineers Petroleum ministers of Egypt Independent politicians in Egypt Place of birth missing