Omar Suleiman (Arabic : عمر سليمان; born July 2, 1936) is an Egyptian politician and military figure who has been Vice President of Egypt since January 2011. Previously, he was Minister without Portfolio and Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate (EGID), the national intelligence agency, from 1993 to 2011. In his role as Director of EGID, the British Daily Telegraph dubbed him as "one of the world's most powerful spy chiefs". Foreign Policy magazine ranked him the Middle East's most powerful intelligence chief, ahead of Mossad chief Meir Dagan .[1] [2]
Early life and education
Suleiman was born in Qena in Southern Egypt. He left Qena for Cairo in 1954, at the age of nineteen, to enroll in Egypt's prestigious Military Academy . He received additional military training in the former Soviet Union at Moscow's Frunze Military Academy . Furthermore, he holds bachelors and master degrees in Political Science from Ain Shams and Cairo Universities in the mid-1980s . Suleiman was transferred to military intelligence, where he began what was to be a long relationship between Egypt and the United States .
Egyptian intelligence career
Suleiman became the director of military intelligence in 1991.
Chief of Intelligence Office
Suleiman became the chief of Egyptian Intelligence in 1993. His name has become known only in the last years, breaking the tradition of keeping the name of the Egyptian head of Intelligence a secret known only to top government officials. It was released in the media around 2000. Suleiman has acquired a more public profile while trying to broker a deal between the different armed Palestinian groups vying for power in Gaza as the top presidential envoy from President Hosni Mubarak as well as brokering deals or truces between the Palestinians and Israel . His perceived role in negotiations between Palestinian groups gave him the image of an effective behind-the-scenes figure in the Egyptian government as well as identifying him as potentially useful to foreign governments such those of the Arab countries, Israel , the Palestinians and the United States .
Political role and accession to the Vice Presidency
Due to his role in the regional political scene and the lack of an alternative candidate acceptable to Hosni Mubarak , some have speculated that Suleiman will succeed Mubarak as President, or at least become a Vice-President. On January 29, 2011, he was named vice-president during the civil unrest , ending a vacancy in the position that lasted almost 30 years.
References
- ^ "The List: The Middle East's Most Powerful Spooks" . Foreign Policy. 2009-07-20. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2009/07/20/the_list_the_middle_easts_most_powerful_spies . Retrieved 2011-01-29.
- ^ Blair, David (2009-02-24). "The fixer in the shadows who may emerge as Egypt's leader" . Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/comment/personal-view/4800970/The-fixer-in-the-shadows-who-may-emerge-as-Egypts-leader.html . Retrieved 2011-01-29.
- ^ "Egypt's Mubarak picks vice-president for first time" . Reuters. 29 January 2011. http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/01/29/egypt-vice-president-idUSLDE70S0F120110129 . Retrieved 29 January 2011.
Further reading
- Shpiro, Shlomo (2004). "Intelligence Services and Political Transformation in the Middle East". International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence 17 (4): 575–600. doi :10.1080/08850600490496407 .
- Sirrs, Owen L. (2010). A History of the Egyptian Intelligence Service: A History of the Mukhabarat, 1910-2009. New York: Routledge. ISBN 9780415569200 .
External links
- Pharaohs-in-Waiting
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hosni Mubarak | Vice President of Egypt 2011– present | Incumbent |
| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| Name | Suleiman, Omar |
| Alternative names | |
| Short description | Egyptian politician |
| Date of birth | July 2, 1936 |
| Place of birth | Quena , Egypt |
| Date of death | |
| Place of death | |
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