Farid Ghadry
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Farid Ghadry (born on June 18, 1954) is the President of the Reform Party of Syria. He comes from a prominent Syrian family that includes many politicians and civil servants who served in Syria.
Ghadry was born in Aleppo, Syria. In 1964 his family emigrated to Beirut, Lebanon because of political turmoil. There he attended the Maristes Brothers School (Champville - Deek-el-Mehdi).
In 1975 the Ghadry family, once again, emigrated to the U.S. and settled in the suburbs of Washington DC. Mr. Ghadry graduated from the American University in Washington DC in 1979 with a degree in Finance and Marketing.
He worked at EG&G Intertech Inc., a subsidiary of EG&G Inc., a Fortune 500 U.S. defense contractor, for two years before starting his own business, International TechGroup Inc., in 1983. He sold his business in 1989 and has been involved in many entrepreneurial operations since.
Ghadry, because of his father's work, was granted Saudi citizenship. The passport was confiscated by the Saudi embassy in Washington because of his stance on democratic reforms in Saudi Arabia during the Iran-Contra in 1987 and in the last several years.
In October 2001 Ghadry, along with several Syrian-Americans, launched the Reform Party of Syria. A constructive and comprehensive program has been put in place to bring regime change to Syria.
In September 2007 Ghadry's Syrian citizenship was revoked by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.[1]
Ghadry and the Executive Committee of RPS are hoping to return to Syria to rebuild the country on the basis of principles of economic and political reforms that will usher democracy, prosperity, freedom of expression, and human rights in addition to lasting peace with open borders with all of Syria’s neighboring countries including Israel.
Ghadry has been invited to speak at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), Harvard University, University of Virginia, the European Parliament, the French Parliament, the Israeli Knesset and the Belgian Senate.
He is married to Ahlam Ghadry and has four children. He has served on the Board of Trustees of Norwood School in Bethesda, MD and headed the Capital Campaign for Crew at St. Albans and National Cathedral Schools.[2]