Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour

Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour
Born	(1945-08-21) August 21, 1945 Egypt
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, politician
Known for	Minister of Tourism; Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment; Secretary General of the National Salvation Front

Mounir Fakhry Abdel Nour (; born 21 August 1945) is an Egyptian entrepreneur and political figure.

Early life and education

Born on 21 August 1945 into a Coptic Christian household, Abdel Nour is the son of Amin Fakhry Abdel Nour (1912–2012), who was active in the Wafd political movement. He completed his secondary education at a French-language high school in Cairo before obtaining a bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Economics and Political Science at Cairo University. Furthering his studies, he earned a master's degree from the American University in Cairo (AUC), focusing his thesis on the role of private foreign investment in economic development.

Career

Abdel Nour’s professional journey began in the financial sector, initially representing Banque de l'Union Européenne across Egypt and the Middle East. He subsequently held the position of vice president at American Express International Banking Corporation in Egypt. Demonstrating entrepreneurial initiative, he established the Egyptian Finance Company and, in 1983, founded the Egyptian French Company for Agro-Industries, known as Vitrac Company. His expertise led to board memberships at the Cairo and Alexandria stock exchanges, the Federation of Egyptian Industries, and Cairo University’s center for economic studies on developing nations.

Transitioning into politics, Abdel Nour first ran unsuccessfully in the 1995 elections but secured a parliamentary seat in 2000, where he served as leader of the opposition. He advanced to become secretary-general of the Wafd Party. After the January 25 revolution, he was appointed Minister of Tourism in February 2011 under Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq, succeeding Zoheir Garranah. He continued in this capacity through subsequent administrations led by Essam Sharaf and Kamal Ganzouri until August 2012.

Rejecting participation in Hisham Kandil’s Muslim Brotherhood-led government, Abdel Nour aligned with opposition forces and co-founded the National Salvation Front in November 2012, acting as its Secretary General. He played a key role in mobilizing support for the June 30, 2013 protests that resulted in the end of Muslim Brotherhood governance.

In February 2013, he joined Ibrahim Mahlab’s cabinet as Minister of Trade, Industry and Investment, retaining responsibility for trade and industry until September 2015. On 16 July 2013, Abdel Nour was appointed Minister of Industry and Foreign Trade within the interim government headed by Prime Minister Hazem Al Beblawi.

External links

• Members of the Pan-African Parliament