Ahmed Shafik, Egyptian Aviator And Politician

01/07/2021 M.Durgut 696 Views Ahmed Shafik, aviator, Egypt, pilot

There is no doubt that a good aviator can achieve success in other fields as well. Achievement in aviation industry requires passion, determination, hard work and discipline. This is why there are many aviators who also manage to have promising careers in other areas. One of these multifaceted ex-pilots is Ahmed Shafik, an Egyptian politician who served as a fighter pilot.

He dedicated a huge chunk of his life to serving in the military. Shafik had a successful military career that lasted for 40 years. During those years of his life, he flew many different types of aircraft and accomplished many great feats. So, let’s take a look at the life and career of this Egyptian aviator.

Ahmed Shafik’s Early Life

Ahmed Mohamed Shafik Zaki was born in Cairo on the 25^th of November 1941. He attended the local Heliopolis Secondary School. Following that he went to the Egyptian Air Academy and graduated at the age of 21, becoming a member of the Egyptian Air Force.

His education didn’t end there, though. During his career, he also managed to get a master’s degree in military science and earned his PhD in “The National Strategy of Outer-Space”. So, we can say that he was a firm believer in becoming well-educated. His discipline and determination didn’t just earn him academic success but he also received the highest medals during his long and exciting career.

Military Career Of Ahmed Shafik

After successfully finishing the Egyptian Air Academy, Ahmed Shafik started piloting a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 as well as a Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. He served actively during the War of Attrition, which was a war between Egypt and Jordan versus Israel that lasted for 3 years.

He also fought in the October War in 1973, which is also known as Yom Kippur War or 1973 Arab–Israeli War. During that time, he was a senior pilot. From 1984 to 1986 he acted as a military attaché in Rome. In 1986 he got promoted to Air Commodore and helped crush the CSF conscription riot of 1986.

Following his service in important command positions, he became the Commander of the Air Operations Department. From 1991 to 1996 he served as the Air Force’s Chief of Staff and later became the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force. In 2002 he left his successful career as a military officer and an aviator in order to pursue a career in politics.

If his career in the military could indicate something about his future career in politics, it was that he was going to be successful, thanks to his skillful and firm nature.

A Brief Look At His Political Career

During his career as a politician, he served as the Minister of Civil Aviation from 2002 to 2011. He also served as the Prime Minister, but only for a short while before he resigned because of the pressure from protestors.

He became a candidate for presidency in the 2012 Egyptian presidential election and got 48.27% of the vote, which was not enough to win. Although he had potential to be a very successful politician, the new regime in his country was not suitable for it.