Farewell, Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour

Yesterday morning, Egypt lost one of the greatest men of law, legislation and education, Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour, the great parliamentary symbol, the former Speaker of the People’s Assembly, who died on the blessed Night of Destiny, after a life full of giving, as he enriched the legal, judicial and legislative life through his abundant knowledge.

I knew Dr. Fathi Sorour closely... and I remember my first meeting with him as it was at the beginning of the legislative session in 2000. When I asked to hold an interview with him, he told me:" if you are like other journalists and will ask me traditional questions, there is no need for the interview". Thank God, when we started the interview and my questions continued, he told me:" you are different" . After that, I used to have a long interview with him at the beginning and end of each parliamentary session, and my relationship with him continued as a son and a student until he died. 

He was a legendary man with an honorable judicial, legal, diplomatic, executive, parliamentary and professional history, both internally and internationally. He is a genius in law. He was chosen as Chairman of the Rights and Freedoms Committee of the Preparatory Committee for the 1971 Constitution, which established the most distinguished constitutional principles in protecting rights and freedoms. 

He was the minister of Education. He was the one who came up with the idea of reviving the ancient Bibliotheca Alexandrina with the approval of UNESCO and the contributions of many countries, laying its foundation stone, and establishing the General Authority for the Bibliotheca Alexandrina.

In diplomacy, he was a great diplomat, and in social life, he served lots of citizens who were asking for a private or public service. We all know that he was behind the establishment of the children’s cancer hospital in the Sayyida Zeinab area. His white hands in the entire area established clinics, medical convoys, and mosques. 

In the international field, he served as th President of the Inter-Parliamentary Council in direct elections among a number of candidates, in addition to assuming the presidency of the Union of Arab, African and Euro-Mediterranean Parliaments. He issued the Universal Declaration on Democracy in 1997. 

Such symbols must be immortalized, we should write books and make films about them to be role models for the new generations. May God have mercy on the soul of my professor, the professor of generations, the professor of law, and the professor of giving. May God grant him vast paradise. He died on the Night of Destiny, in the blessed month of Ramadan, and on a Friday. Farewell, Dr. Ahmed Fathi Sorour.