Hesham Qandil

Hesham Qandil هشام قنديل
Prime Minister of Egypt
In office 2 August 2012 – 3 July 2013
President	Mohamed Morsi
Deputy	Mohamed Kamel Amr
Preceded by	Kamal Ganzouri
Succeeded by	Hazem Al Beblawi
Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation
In office 21 July 2011 – 2 August 2012
Prime Minister	Essam Sharaf Kamal Ganzouri
Preceded by	Hussien Ehsan Al-Atfy
Succeeded by	Mohamed Bahaa Eldin
Personal details
Born	Hesham Mohamed Qandil (1962-09-17) 17 September 1962 Beni Suef, United Arab Republic (now Egypt)
Political party	Independent
Alma mater	Cairo University Utah State University, Logan North Carolina State University
Religion	Islam

Hesham Mohamed Qandil (also spelled: Hisham Kandil ; Arabic: هشام محمد قنديل‎  pronounced [heˈʃæːm mæˈħæmmæd ʔænˈdiːl]) (born 17 September 1962) is an Egyptian engineer and civil servant who was Prime Minister of Egypt from 2012 to 2013.^[1] He was appointed prime minister by President Mohammed Morsi on 24 July 2012. Qandil previously served as minister of water resources and irrigation from 2011 to 2012.^[2] Reuters reported that Qandil was a politically independent senior public servant in the Morsi administration, but was not popularly considered to be a likely candidate for the position of prime minister.^[2] Qandil was Egypt's youngest prime minister since Gamal Abdel Nasser's appointment in 1954.^[3] He was arrested on 24 December 2013.^[4]

Early life and education

Qandil was born in 1962.^[5] He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, which he obtained from Cairo University in 1984.^[3] Then he received a master's degree in irrigation and drainage engineering from Utah State University in 1988 and a PhD in biological and agricultural engineering with a minor in water resources from North Carolina State University in 1993.^[3][6]

Career

After graduation, Qandil joined the Egyptian civil service in the water resources department in 1985. From 1999 to 2005 he served as the office director for the minister of water resources.^[3] He participated in the work of the Nile Basin Initiative, and was an observer member of the Egyptian - Sudanese joint Nile water. He was also chief of water resources at the African Development Band, a position in which he worked for approximately six years, from 2004 to early 2011. He returned to Egypt following the 2011 revolution to help build up the country. In 2011, he was appointed minister of water resources and the Nile basin as part of Essam Sharaf's second Cabinet.^[3] Qandil was serving in that post when he obtained a PhD from North Carolina State University.^[6]

Prime Minister of Egypt

On 24 July 2012, Qandil was designated as prime minister by President Mohamed Morsi.^[7] His appointment was seen as unexpected by the Arab media, including The Majalla.^[8] On 2 August 2012, he took office as prime minister and formed a technocrat-dominated government, with a few political parties (the Freedom and Justice Party, the Al-Wasat Party, and the Renaissance Party).

First Qandil Cabinet

Qandil's first cabinet was presented on 2 August 2012.^[9] The cabinet consisted of 35 ministers, including technocrats, the Freedom and Justice Party members, the Al-Wasat Party members, and the Renaissance Party members.

Second Qandil Cabinet

On 6 January 2013, ten ministers in the first cabinet of Qandil were changed.^[10] The reshuffle included ministry of finance, ministry of local development, ministry of transportation, ministry of legal affairs and parliamentary councils, ministry of electricity, ministry of interior, ministry of supply and social affairs, ministry of environment, ministry of communications and ministry of civil aviation.^[10] Following the reshuffle, the number of the ministers who were the members of the Freedom and Justice Party increased to eight in the cabinet.^[11][12]

Resignations

On 2 July 2013, five cabinet members resigned together; they were Hisham Zazou, the tourism minister, Atef Helmi, the communications and IT minister, Hatem Bagato, the state minister for legal and parliamentary affairs, Abdel Qawi Khalifa, the water minister, and Khaled Abdel Aal, the environment minister. ^[13] Mohamed Kamel Amr, the foreign minister, resigned as well. ^[14]

Dismissal

On 3 July 2013, an Egyptian appeals court endorsed a verdict dismissing Qandil of his duties and sentencing him to one year in prison for not executing a court ruling to re-nationalize the Tanta Flax and Oil Company.^[15] Subsequently, on the same day, President Morsi was removed from office and arrested by the Egyptian army, along with other leading Muslim Brotherhood figures. In late September 2013, the Cairo Misdemeanor Court endorsed the sentence against Qandil who could file appeal with the court of cassation.^[16]

Personal life

Qandil is married and has five daughters.^[8]

References

External links

Media related to Hesham Qandil at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Prime Ministers of Egypt (List) Khedivate (1878–1914) Nubar Isma'il1 Tewfik Sharif Tewfik1 Riyad Sharif el-Baroudi Raghib2 Sharif Nubar Riyad Fahmi Fahri Riyad Nubar Fahmi Ghali Said Rushdi Sultanate (1914–1922) Rushdi Said Wahba Nasim Yakan Kingdom (1922–1953) Sarwat Nasim Y. Ibrahim Zaghlul Ziwar Yakan Sarwat Nahhas Mahmoud Yakan Nahhas I. Sedki A. Yahya Nasim Mahir Nahhas Mahmoud Ali Mahir H. Sabry Sirri Nahhas Ahmad Mahir Nukrashi I. Sedki Nukrashi Hadi Sirri Nahhas Ali Mahir Hilali Sirri Hilali Ali Mahir Naguib3 Republic (1953–present) Naguib3 Nasser3 Naguib3 Nasser3,4 A. Sabri4 Z. Mohieddin4 Sulayman4 Nasser4 Fawzi4 A. Sedki Sadat Hegazi Salem Khalil Sadat Mubarak A. F. Mohieddin Ali Lutfi A. M. N. Sedki Ganzouri Ebeid Nazif Shafik Sharaf Ganzouri Qandil Beblawi1 Notes ^1 interim ^2 Orabi ^3 headed a government in rebellion, July–September 1882, beginning during Raghib's term ^4 UAR period