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Egypt's nominee for prime minister hails from Mubarak's party

April 9, 2014 at 12:41 pm

Following the resignation of Egypt’s interim Prime Minister Hazem Al-Beblawi on Monday, Egyptian news media reported the potential nomination of Ibrahim Roushdy Mehleb, the Minister of Housing in the outgoing government, as his successor.


Mehleb, born in 1949, was a member of the Policies Committee of the dissolved National Democratic Party, led by ousted dictator Hosni Mubarak. The latter appointed Mehleb in 2010 as a member of parliament in the Shura Council.

Mehleb graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree from the Department of Engineering at Cairo University in 1972. He then worked for Arab Contractors, the leading state-owned construction company in Egypt. He was gradually promoted while working for the company, first as director of the Bridge Constructions department, then as technical manager in Saudi Arabia, then board member, then vice-president, until he finally became chairman of the board. In July 2013, the military-installed government under Al-Beblawi appointed him as the Minister of Housing, until the prime minister and his government resigned on Monday.

The veteran business leader and politician has also held a number of other influential posts, including chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee at the Egyptian Contractors Union, board member of the Civil Engineering Research Centre at Cairo University, board member of the Housing and Construction Research Centre, vice-president of Business Organisations for Preserving the Environment, board member of the Governors Council in the Arab Water Council, and board member of Suez Bank.

In addition, Mehleb was also a member of a number of international organisations, such as the International Bridges and Constructions Organisation in Switzerland.