Zaki Badr

Zaki Badr
Minister of Interior
In office
27 February 1986 – January 1990
Prime Minister Atef Sedki
Preceded by Ahmed Rushdi
Succeeded by Abdul Halim Moussa
Personal details
Born 28 February 1926
Minya province
Died 2 April 1997(1997-04-02) (aged 71)
The United States
Nationality Egyptian
Children Ahmed Zaki
Alma mater Police Academy
Military service
Rank Major General

Zaki Badr (Arabic: زكي بدر‎; b. 28 February 1926 – 2 April 1997) was an Egyptian major general and the former interior minister of Egypt who served in the post from 1986 to 1990 in the Sedki Cabinet. Badr had a confrontational approach during his term.[1]

Early life and education

Badr was born in the Minya province of the southern Egypt on 28 February 1926.[2] He graduated from police academy in 1946.[3]

Career

Badr began his career as a police officer in 1947.[2] He served as the governor of Asyut in the Upper Egypt.[4][5] He also served in the ministry of interior during the term of Nabawi Ismail, and was in charge of the central region of Minya.[6] He was the key man in the Egyptian government's struggle against the underground extremists cells.[7] He took strong measures on Asyut when extremists rioted in the city after Anwar Sadat's assassination in October 1981.[7]

Minister of Interior

Badr was appointed interior minister on 27 February 1986, replacing Ahmed Rushdi in the post.[8][9][10] Shortly after his appointment Badr fired or transferred hundreds of security officials from March to August 1986.[11] He was the most disliked man in the cabinet due to his hardliner approach against Islamic "fundamentalist" movements.[3] He confronted nearly all groups in the society in order to achieve the regime's goal of eliminating Islamist militant entities in Egypt.[12]

Badr also toughly struggled against drug trafficking, black market currency speculation and extremism during his term.[3] On the other hand, human rights activists in Egypt criticized him for the violations of civil liberties,[13] since his brutal policies were experienced everywhere in the country, including the universities.[4] Badr ordered the arrest for the relatives of the fugitive Islamic Group leaders.[14] These people were tortured at Ain Shams police station and the state security intelligence department in Lazughli.[14] This event was one of the triggers of the assassination attempt against Badr in 1989.[14] However, Badr was a frequent and respectful guest at gatherings of Copts, who supported for his iron fist.[15]

Badr was sacked by the President Hosni Mubarak in January 1990[3] and replaced by Abdul Halim Moussa in the post.[16] No explanation was given for the dismissal of Badr.[17] However, a scandal he had been involved was the reason for his removal.[1] On the other hand, Najib Ghadbian regards Badr's removal as one of three steps towards democracy in Egypt occurred in 1990.[18]

Assassination

During his term as interior minister on 16 December 1989, Badr became the target of an assassination attempt when a Suzuki pickup truck loaded with gunpowder exploded in a Cairo suburb seconds before his motorcade was to pass.[19][20] He survived the attack,[21] and nobody was hurt in the blast.[22] The driver of the truck, Youssef Hasan Mahmoud, who was a 24-year-old medical student, was arrested while trying to escape the scene.[19][20] The perpetrators were the members of the Islamic Group whose relatives had been arrested and tortured earlier, including Ayman Zawahiri.[14][19]

Controversy

When he was interior minister, Badr referred to Islamist extremists as "mad dogs, with all respect to dogs."[17] In 1994, Badr and his successor as interior minister Abdul Halim Moussa accused each other of corruption and wrongdoing.[23][24]

Personal life

Badr was married and had two sons.[2] One of his sons, Ahmad Zaki, was appointed minister of education by Hosni Mobarak in 2010.[25][26] His family founded a charitable foundation, the Zaki Badr Foundation, in the United States.[27]

Death

Badr died at a hospital in the United States on 2 April 1997.[21][27]

References

  1. 1 2 Neil Hicks (20–22 May 2005). "Problems confronting human rights defenders: New pressure coming from states" (PDF). International Council on Human Rights Policy. Lahore. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  2. 1 2 3 "Zaki Badr, 71, Egyptian Official who Opposed Islamic Militants". The New York Times. p. 28.
  3. 1 2 3 4 Michael Collins Dunn (March 1990). "The Fall of Zaki Badr: A Victory For Egypt's Opposition Press". Washington Report. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  4. 1 2 Hesham Al Awadi (15 January 2005). In Pursuit of Legitimacy: The Muslim Brothers and Mubarak, 1982-2000. I.B.Tauris. p. 118. ISBN 978-1-85043-632-4. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  5. ↑ Ami Ayalon (1995). Middle East Contemporary Survey: 1993 - Vol. 17. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Retrieved 14 October 2013. – via Questia (subscription required)
  6. ↑ Omar Hassanein (16 June 2009). "Most Controversial Interior Minister Nabawi Ismail Passes Away". Almasry Alyoum. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  7. 1 2 John Kifner (26 July 1987). "Cairo, in shift, follows Islamic trend". The New York Times. p. 3.
  8. ↑ Marty, Martin E.; Appleby, R. Scott; Ammerman, Nancy T.; Frykenberg, Robert Eric; Heilman, Samuel C.; Piscatori, James (1 May 2004). Accounting for Fundamentalisms: The Dynamic Character of Movements. University of Chicago Press. p. 396. ISBN 978-0-226-50886-3. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  9. ↑ "Hosni Mobarak Fires Top Cabinet Minister". The Durant Daily Democrat (Cairo). UPI. 28 February 1986. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  10. ↑ Michael Ross (1 March 1986). "Egyptian Army Storms Mutineers' Camp". Los Angeles Times (Cairo). Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  11. ↑ Hazem Kandil (13 November 2012). Soldiers, Spies and Statesmen: Egypt's Road to Revolt. Verso Books. p. 194. ISBN 978-1-84467-961-4. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  12. ↑ Ahmed Abdalla (January–February 1991). "Mubarak's Gamble". MER 168 21. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  13. ↑ "Egypt: The penal system". Country Data. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Laura Mansfield (30 July 2006). His Own Words: Translation and Analysis of the Writings of Dr. Ayman Al Zawahiri. Lulu.com. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-84728-880-6. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  15. ↑ Alan Cowell (25 December 1989). "Coptic Monasteries Flourish in Egypt". The New York Times. p. 4.
  16. ↑ "Abdel Halim Moussa, 73; Egyptian Official Reached Out to Rebels". Los Angeles Times. 22 July 2003. Retrieved 28 December 2012.
  17. 1 2 Alan Cowell (13 January 1990). "Cairo Ousts Hard-Line Interior Minister". The New York Times. p. 3.
  18. ↑ Najib Ghadbian (1997). Democratization and the Islamist Challenge in the Arab World. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. p. 93. Retrieved 14 October 2013. – via Questia (subscription required)
  19. 1 2 3 Caryle Murphy (22 October 2002). Passion for Islam: Shaping the Modern Middle East: The Egyptian Experience. Simon and Schuster. p. 78. ISBN 978-0-7432-3743-7. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  20. 1 2 Edward F. Mickolus (2009). The Terrorist List: The Middle East, Volume 1: A-K. ABC-CLIO. p. 384. ISBN 978-0-313-35768-8. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  21. 1 2 "Zaki Badr, 71, Former Egyptian Minister, Opposed to Militants". The Morning Call (Cairo). AP. 5 April 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  22. ↑ "Egypt Interior Minister Unhurt in Bomb Blast". Los Angeles Times (Cairo). 17 December 1989. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  23. ↑ Robert Fisk (21 February 1994). "Algeria's past may be Egypt's future". The Independent. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  24. ↑ "Egyptians Angry over Corruption among Officials". St Louis Post-Dispatch. AP. 1 May 1994. Retrieved 30 August 2013.  – via Questia (subscription required)
  25. ↑ "Egypt: New Education And Transport Ministers, Five New Governors". Wikileaks. 4 January 2010. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
  26. ↑ "Mubarak remnants still suffocate the Academic Freedoms" (Press release). ANHRI. 18 July 2012. Retrieved 9 December 2012.
  27. 1 2 "About Us". The Zaki Badr Foundation. Retrieved 23 December 2012.
Political offices
Preceded by
Ahmed Rushdi		 Minister of Interior
1986 – 1990 		Succeeded by
Abdul Halim Moussa
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