H.E. Muhammad Morsi Isa al-Ayyat is the first democratically elected President of Egypt. He was sworn in on June 30, 2012, after having won 51.7% of the vote a week earlier. He was a leading member of the Muslim Brotherhood, and became the first President of its Freedom and Justice Party (FJP) in 2011. Morsi is a professor of engineering and has taught in both US and Egyptian universities.
Background
Morsi was born in northern Egypt in August 1951 and received a Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in engineering from Cairo University in 1975 and 1978, respectively. In 1982 he received his PhD from the US and then worked there as an Assistant Professor for three years. He then returned to Egypt to teach at Zagazig University.
Second choice for President.
Morsi only emerged as the Muslim Brotherhood’s candidate after their first choice, Khairat El-Shater was disqualified. Morsi had been a Member of Parliament from 2000 to 2005 and was already a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood. He became Chairman of the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), a political party, when it was founded by the Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the 2011 Egyptian revolution. Morsi’s reputation is one of an honest, steady workhorse rather than a dynamic, inspirational leader. The way he personally deals with issues will be under scrutiny as much as the end results.
Challenges Ahead
Morsi has many challenges facing him internally and externally; the military, inter-religious violence, poverty, unemployment are all urgent internal problems. Externally, he has the eyes of the world scrutinising his every move looking out for ‘Islamic extremism’, the situation in Gaza, and the relationship with Israel. The treatment of religious minorities will be carefully watched by all, especially international observers. He has recently shown great tact with the way he sidelined the power of the military and transferred this to civil rule.
EVEN within his ruling circle, Muhammad Morsi, Egypt's president, has looked increasingly embattled and isolated since his slim electoral victory last June. More than half of his score of official advisers have abandoned him, along with his vice ...and more »
AHMED MAHER, one of the leaders of Egypt's 2011 revolution, supported Islamist Mohamed Morsi in last year's presidential election because he believed Mr. Morsi's victory over a military-backed candidate would be more likely to consolidate democracy in ...
The 2011 revolution that toppled Morsi's predecessor, former dictator Hosni Mubarak, was inspired by—in addition to police abuse and suffocating repression—the dire financial straits most Egyptians faced. Alongside Tahrir Square's famous anti-Mubarak ...
Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood presidential candidate Mohammed Morsi, casts his vote inside a polling station, in Zakazik 80 Kilometers (50 miles) north of Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, May 23, 2012. On Wednesday morning, Egypt commenced two days of ...
CAIRO -- President Mohammed Morsi named nine new ministers to his government Tuesday, including three members of the Muslim Brotherhood, in a move that his prime minister, Hesham Kandil, said was intended to re-energize efforts to reverse Egypt's ...
Also among those who escaped were around 40 members of the Palestinian militant group Hamas and Lebanon's Hezbollah, as well as more than 30 leaders of Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood — including the man who is now president, Mohammed Morsi.
CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi on Wednesday announced the release of seven Egyptian security officers who had been kidnapped nearly a week ago in the lawless Sinai Desert, ending days of mounting anxiety over the government's apparent inability ...
(With photos) CAIRO, May 23 (KUNA) -- Egyptian President Mohammad Morsi underlined here on Thursday the significance of reaching regional and international consensus on a peaceful settlement to the Syrian crisis. Speaking at a meeting with visiting ...and more »
A handout picture released by the Egyptian presidency shows Egypt's President Mohamed Morsi (R) and his Foreign Minister Mohamed Kamel Amr (L) meeting with UN-Arab League envoy for Syria Lakhdar Brahimi in Cairo on May 20, 2013.(AFP PHOTO ...
Hasan: Believe me, I voted for President Mohammed Morsi and was very happy when he won. I said to myself: Here's a man who has memorized the Quran and knows our Lord. Yet, unfortunately, I've been disappointed with him. Tamer: Morsi works to ...
Arguably, the biggest winner of the Arab Spring in Egypt, Morsi has been catapulted into the position of President of Egypt with the moral authority of being democratically elected. He has shown political acuteness in dealing with internal situations, and is now trying to reassert Egypt’s leading role in the Arab world. However, many tests lie before him including how he will deal with a militarily aggressive Israel without breaking off ties.
Citizen of: Egypt
Birth: 20 August 1951 (Age: 61)
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