Amr Darrag

Ahmed Amr Darrag (born October 1958) is the founder and chairman of the Egyptian Institute for Studies (EIS). EIS is a think tank based in Istanbul, Turkey. He is an Egyptian engineer and politician, who briefly served as Egypt's minister of planning and international cooperation from 7 May to 4 July 2013 under the Freedom and Justice Party-led government.

Amr Darrag
Minister of Planning and International Cooperation
In office
7 May 2013 – 4 July 2013
Prime MinisterHisham Qandil
Preceded byAshraf Al Arabi
Personal details
BornOctober 1958 (age 62)
NationalityEgyptian
Political partyFreedom and Justice Party
Children3
Alma materCairo University
Purdue University

Early life and education

Darrag was born in October 1958.[1] He holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering and a master's degree in soil mechanics and foundations both of which he received from Cairo University in 1980 and 1984, respectively.[1][2] He also obtained a PhD in soil mechanics and foundations from Purdue University in 1987.[1][3]

Career

Darrag began his career in 1987 as a senior engineer for Erdman and Associates Inc. in Orlando, Florida, where he worked for one year.[1] He served as the board chairman at Egyptian engineering consultancy firm, Engineering House of Expertise.[1] He also worked as professor of geotechnical engineering at Cairo University.[4][5] In addition, he served as director of corporate planning and business development at the Egyptian Group for Engineering Consultations (EGEC).

He is one of the founding members of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), a Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated Islamist party in Egypt.[2][6] He served as the party secretary in Giza governorate.[7][8] He was appointed chairman of the party's foreign relations committee in July 2012 and also, served as chairman of its development and planning committee.[5][9] He is a member of the higher commission and executive board of the party.[5][9][10] He was secretary general of the constituent assembly that was tasked with drafting Egypt's 2012 constitution.[3][11]

In the general elections of 2011, he ran for a parliamentary seat in Giza on the list of the FJP, but lost the election.[12] On 7 May 2013, Darrag was appointed minister of planning and international cooperation to the cabinet headed by prime minister Hisham Qandil.[13] Darrag replaced Ashraf Al Arabi in the post.[14] He and other FJP members in the cabinet resigned from office on 4 July 2013 following the 2013 coup in Egypt.[15] His term officially ended on 16 July 2013 when the interim government led by Hazem Al Beblawi was formed.[16]

Personal life

Darrag is married and has three daughters.[7]

References
  1. "Meet the ministers". Daily News. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  2. Messieh, Nancy (7 May 2013). "Profiling Egypt's New Ministers". Atlantic Council. Archived from the original on 7 June 2013. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
  3. "Amr Darrag". World Economy Forum. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  4. Barry Goldsmith Clarke; Institution of Civil Engineers (1999). Urban Ground Engineering. Thomas Telford. p. 65. ISBN 978-0-7277-2786-2.
  5. "2013 U.S.-Islamic World Forum Speakers". Brookings. Archived from the original on 5 December 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
  6. Eric Trager; Katie Kiraly; Cooper Klose & and Eliot Calhoun (September 2012). "Who's Who in Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood". The Washington Institute. Retrieved 27 June 2013.
  7. Topol, Sarah A. (3 January 2012). "Why Egypt Embraces the Brotherhood". International Herald Tribune. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  8. Darrag, Amr (16 October 2012). "A Revolutionary Foreign Policy". Foreign Policy. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  9. "Darrag: Egypt aspires to be a regional leader again". Sunday's Zaman. Cairo. 27 January 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  10. Darrag, Amr (16 August 2013). "Egypt's Blood, America's Complicity". The New York Times. Retrieved 17 August 2013.
  11. "Constituent Assembly official asks court to repeat all hearings before verdict on assembly's fate". Egypt Independent. 18 October 2012. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  12. El Shafey, Mahmud (7 May 2013). "Egypt appoints nine new ministers in cabinet reshuffle". Asharq Alawsat. London. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  13. "Egypt's PM announces nine new ministers in cabinet reshuffle". Al Arabiya. Reuters. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  14. "Nine new ministers announced in Egypt cabinet reshuffle". Ahram Online. 7 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
  15. "Egypt Brotherhood ministers present official resignations". Ahram Online. 4 July 2013. Retrieved 18 July 2013.
  16. Hauslohner, Abigail (16 July 2013). "Interim Egyptian cabinet sworn in". The Washington Post. Cairo. Retrieved 16 July 2013.
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