Ahmed Ezz (businessman)

Ahmed Ezz
Born	(1959-01-12) January 12, 1959 Egypt
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, former politician
Known for	Proprietor of Ezz Steel, former chairman of Egypt's national assembly budget committee, organizational secretary of the National Democratic Party of Egypt

Ahmed Ezz (; born 12 January 1959) is a prominent Egyptian entrepreneur and former political figure, known as the proprietor of Ezz Steel and the former chairman of Egypt's national assembly budget committee. He also held the position of organizational secretary within the National Democratic Party of Egypt (NDP).

Entrepreneurship

Ahmed Ezz was born in 1959 to Lieutenant Abdel Aziz Ezz and Palestinian Afaf Halawa, inheriting a family tradition in the trade of construction materials.</ref> At the age of 19, he became involved in the family enterprise, Ezz Foreign Trade Co., which was established in 1959 and initially specialized in steel imports.</ref> The business diversified in 1989 by launching Al Ezz for Ceramics and Porcelain (ECAP), a company producing ceramic tiles under the Gemma brand.</ref>

In 1994, Ezz initiated Ezz Steel SAE, marking his entry into steel production with a focus on rebars. Al-Ezz for Ceramics was publicly listed on the Egyptian Exchange in 1998, followed by Ezz Steel's listing in 1999. That same year, he secured a 21.5% controlling interest in the state-owned Alexandria National Iron & Steel Company, which was subsequently renamed Al-Ezz Dekheila Steel Company - Alexandria (EZDK). Through his holding entity, Al Ezz Group Holding for Industry and Investment, he retains majority control over these significant industrial enterprises.

Political career

During the 1990s, Ezz entered the political arena by joining Hosni Mubarak's National Democratic Party, where he became an influential member and party secretary. He successfully contested parliamentary elections representing Sadat-Monouf-Sers al-Liyan districts—areas hosting his manufacturing facilities—in 2000, 2005, and 2010. Additionally, he chaired the Planning and Budgeting Committee.

He was elected twice as president of the Arab Iron and Steel Union.

Prior to the 2011 revolution, opposition groups and members of parliament accused Ezz’s firms of monopolizing more than 60% of Egypt’s steel sector, allegedly with governmental backing. Critics argued this dominance caused steel prices to surge by as much as 70%. Ezz countered by stating that implementing competition legislation would establish a legal basis to resolve such disputes.

The Egyptian Competition Authority investigated his companies twice regarding monopoly allegations—both before and after the revolution—and found no evidence of anti-competitive behavior. He also faced charges related to profiteering and mismanagement of public funds but settled these accusations with a payment of $96 million in 2018.

Ezz attempted to stand as an independent candidate in Sadat City during the 2015 parliamentary elections; however, he was disqualified. His initial appeal was rejected, while a subsequent appeal was postponed until April 2015.

Arrest and conviction

After Hosni Mubarak stepped down amid Egypt’s 2011 revolution, Ahmed Ezz was detained on 17 February 2011 alongside former ministers Habib el-Adly, Ahmed Maghrabi, and Zuheir Garana. These arrests garnered significant attention within Egypt and sparked concerns about judicial fairness under the emergency law enacted in 1981. Critics warned that targeting businessmen connected to the previous regime might damage Egypt’s economic stability and hinder democratic development, potentially triggering capital flight.

In a letter from prison dated 11 March, Ezz refuted the allegations against him and underscored the necessity for due process and impartial trials during Egypt’s transitional phase. On 5 October 2012, he received a conviction for money laundering with a sentence of seven years imprisonment alongside a fine amounting to 19.5 billion Egyptian pounds (around $3 billion). He subsequently appealed this decision.

On 9 March 2018, the Cairo Criminal Court dismissed all charges against him and lifted his travel restrictions, bringing this legal matter to a close.

External links

• EZZ Steel
• National Democratic Party of Egypt
• videohat.masrawy.com
• Fahim, Kareem, Michael Slackman, and David Rohde. "Egypt’s anger targets Mubarak’s son’s close associate." The New York Times. 7 February 2011.