{{Short description|Prime Minister of Egypt from 2012 to 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Hesham Qandil | image = Hesham Qandil.jpg | caption = Official portrait, 2012 | order = 51st | office = Prime Minister of Egypt | president = Mohamed Morsi | deputy = Mohamed Kamel Amr | term_start = 2 August 2012 | term_end = 8 July 2013 | predecessor = Kamal Ganzouri | successor = Hazem El Beblawi {{small|(Acting)}} | office1 = Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation | prime_minister1 = Essam Sharaf<br>Kamal Ganzouri | term_start1 = 21 July 2011 | term_end1 = 2 August 2012 | predecessor1 = Hussien Ehsan Al-Atfy | successor1 = Mohamed Bahaa Eldin | birth_name = Hesham Mohamed Qandil | birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=yes|1962|9|17}} | birth_place = Beni Suef, United Arab Republic<br/>(present-day Egypt) | death_date = | death_place = | party = Independent | alma_mater = {{nowrap|Cairo University (BS)}}<br>{{nowrap|Utah State University (MS)}}<br>{{nowrap|North Carolina State University (PhD)}} | native_name_lang = ar | native_name = {{nobold|هشام قنديل}} }} {{Mohamed Morsi}} '''Hesham Mohamed Qandil''' (also spelled: ''Hisham Kandil''; {{langx|ar|هشام محمد قنديل}} &nbsp;{{IPA|arz|heˈʃæːm mæˈħæmmæd ʔænˈdiːl|pron}}; born 17 September 1962) is an Egyptian engineer and civil servant who served as the 51st prime minister of Egypt from 2012 to 2013.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/07/09/qandil-steps-down/|title=Qandil steps down|date=8 July 2013|work=Daily News Egypt|access-date=24 December 2013}}</ref> Qandil was appointed as prime minister by President Mohamed Morsi on 24 July 2012 and sworn in on 2 August 2012. Qandil previously served as Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation from 2011 to 2012.<ref name=Reuters24Jul>{{cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-egypt-government-mursi-idUSBRE86N0HN20120724|title= Egypt's Mursi names little-known water minister as PM|last=Perry|first=Tom|date=24 July 2012|work=Reuters|access-date=24 December 2013}}</ref>

''Reuters'' reported that Qandil was a politically independent senior public servant in the Morsi administration, but was not popularly considered to be a likely candidate for the position of prime minister.<ref name=Reuters24Jul/> Qandil was Egypt's youngest prime minister since Gamal Abdel Nasser's appointment in 1954.<ref name=bbcprofile>{{cite news|title=Profile: Egypt Prime Minister Hisham Qandil|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-18977436|access-date=3 February 2013|work=BBC|date=3 August 2012}}</ref> When Morsi was overthrown in a coup d'état by the military, Qandil after initially continuing in his role as prime minister until the formation of a new government, resigned from office on 8 July 2013 in protest over the killing of 61 protestors by the military at the Republican Guard headquarters.<ref name=resignation>{{cite web |url=http://www.turkishweekly.net/2013/07/09/news/egypt-pm-qandil-addresses-resignation-to-morsi-slams-military-coup/ |title=Egypt PM Qandil addresses resignation to Morsi, slams military coup - the Journal of Turkish Weekly |access-date=2015-06-09 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150531225844/http://www.turkishweekly.net/2013/07/09/news/egypt-pm-qandil-addresses-resignation-to-morsi-slams-military-coup/ |archive-date=31 May 2015}}</ref> He was arrested on 24 December 2013<ref name=arrest>{{cite news|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/News/89991.aspx|title=Egypt police arrest Morsi-era PM Hisham Qandil|date=24 December 2013|access-date=24 December 2013|work=Ahram Online}}</ref> and released seven months later on 15 July 2014<ref name=release>{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/106318/Egypt/Politics-/Morsis-PM-Hisham-Qandil-released.aspx|title=Morsi's PM Hisham Qandil released|publisher=Ahram Online|date=15 July 2014}}</ref> after he was acquitted by the Court of Cassation, which accepted his appeal and annulled the one-year sentence against him.<ref name=acquittal>{{cite web|url=https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/12833-qandil-egypt-faces-difficult-challenges-and-needs-justice|title=Qandil: Egypt faces difficult challenges and needs justice|work=Middle East Monitor|date=16 July 2014|access-date=18 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304070625/https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/news/africa/12833-qandil-egypt-faces-difficult-challenges-and-needs-justice|archive-date=4 March 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=annul>{{cite web|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/106135/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-court-annuls-imprisonment-of-exPM-Hisham-Qan.aspx|title=Egypt court annuls imprisonment of ex-PM Hisham Qandil|publisher=Ahram Online|date=13 July 2014}}</ref>

==Early life and education== Qandil was born in 1962.<ref>{{cite news|title=Profile: Egypt's new PM Hisham Kandil|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/48551/Egypt/Politics-/PROFILE-Egypts-new-PM-Hisham-Kandil-.aspx|access-date=24 December 2013|work=Al Ahram|date=24 July 2012}}</ref> He holds a bachelor's degree in engineering, which he obtained from Cairo University in 1984.<ref name=bbcprofile/> Then he received a master's degree in irrigation and drainage engineering from Utah State University in 1988 and a PhD in biological and agricultural engineering with a minor in water resources from North Carolina State University in 1993.<ref name=bbcprofile/><ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/mkkandil/ |title=NC State Alumnus Named Egyptian Prime Minister |date=25 July 2012 |work=North Carolina State University |access-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140422183601/http://news.ncsu.edu/releases/mkkandil/ |archive-date=22 April 2014 }}</ref>

==Career== After graduation, Qandil joined the Egyptian civil service in the water resources department in 1985. He was granted a presidential award in 1995 for services to irrigation, and was promoted to office director for the minister of water resources from 1999 to 2005.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/10268|title=Egypt's New Prime Minister: An Unusual Suspect|work=Al Akhbar English|access-date=24 July 2015|archive-date=16 December 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181216073814/https://english.al-akhbar.com/node/10268|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=bbcprofile/> He participated in the work of the Nile Basin Initiative, was an observer member of the Joint Egyptian-Sudanese Water Authority, and helped launch the African Water Council. He was also Chief of Water Resources at the African Development Bank, a position he held for approximately six years, from 2004 to early 2011. He returned to Egypt following the revolution to help rebuild the country. In 2011, he was appointed Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation as part of Prime Minister Essam Sharaf's second cabinet.<ref name=bbcprofile/>

==Prime Minister of Egypt== On 24 July 2012, Qandil was appointed as prime minister by President Mohamed Morsi.<ref>{{cite web|title=Hesham Qandil |url=http://egyptelections.carnegieendowment.org/2012/09/05/hesham-qandil |publisher=Carnegie Endowment |access-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131225235128/http://egyptelections.carnegieendowment.org/2012/09/05/hesham-qandil |archive-date=25 December 2013}}</ref> His appointment was seen as unexpected by the Arab media, including ''The Majalla''.<ref name=tmajalla>{{cite news|last=Khojji|first=Zaynab|title=A Humble Prime Minister|url=http://www.majalla.com/eng/2012/08/article55233530|access-date=3 February 2013|work=The Majalla|date=10 August 2012}}</ref> On 2 August 2012, the newly formed Egyptian cabinet was sworn in consisting of a technocrat-dominated government, with a few political parties (the Freedom and Justice Party, the Al-Wasat Party, and the Renaissance Party).<ref>{{cite news|title=Qandil cabinet presents final list of nominees to be sworn in|url=http://thedailynewsegypt.com/2012/08/02/qandil-cabinet-presents-final-list-of-nominees-to-be-sworn-in/|access-date=9 September 2012|newspaper=Daily News Egypt|date=2 August 2012|author=Luiz Sanchez|author2=Ahmed Aboul Enein|archive-date=26 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226011459/http://thedailynewsegypt.com/2012/08/02/qandil-cabinet-presents-final-list-of-nominees-to-be-sworn-in/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===First Qandil Cabinet=== Qandil's first cabinet consisted of 35 ministers, including technocrats, the Freedom and Justice Party members, the Al-Wasat Party members, and the Renaissance Party members.

===Second Qandil Cabinet=== On 6 January 2013, ten ministers in the first cabinet of Qandil were changed.<ref name=EI6Jan>{{cite news|title=Details emerge on new ministers in Cabinet reshuffle|url=http://www.egyptindependent.com/news/update-details-emerge-new-ministers-cabinet-reshuffle|access-date=24 December 2013|newspaper=Egypt Independent|date=6 January 2013|agency=Al Masry Al Youm}}</ref> The reshuffle included ministry of finance, ministry of local development, ministry of transportation, ministry of legal affairs and parliamentary councils, ministry of electricity, ministry of interior, ministry of supply and social affairs, ministry of environment, ministry of communications and ministry of civil aviation.<ref name=EI6Jan/> Following the reshuffle, the number of the ministers who were the members of the Freedom and Justice Party increased to eight in the cabinet.<ref>{{cite news|last=Shalaby|first=Ethar|title=Ten new ministers take oath in Cabinet reshuffle|url=http://www.dailynewsegypt.com/2013/01/06/ten-new-ministers-take-oath-in-cabinet-reshuffle/|access-date=24 December 2013|newspaper=Daily News|date=6 January 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Fouly|first=Mahmoud|title=Egypt's 10-minister cabinet reshuffle meets with opposition dissatisfaction|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/07/c_132084440.htm|access-date=24 December 2013|agency=Xinhua News Agency|date=6 January 2013|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131127032951/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/world/2013-01/07/c_132084440.htm|archive-date=27 November 2013}}</ref>

===Cabinet Resignations=== On 1 July 2013, five cabinet members resigned together; they were Hisham Zazou, the tourism minister, Atef Helmi, the communications and IT minister, Hatem Bagato, the state minister for legal and parliamentary affairs, Abdel Qawi Khalifa, the irrigation minister, and Khaled Abdel Aal, the environment minister.<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2013/07/201371122823125310.html Egypt ministers resign amid unrest] ''Al Jazeera'' July 2013</ref> Mohamed Kamel Amr, the foreign minister, resigned as well.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/01/mohamed-kamel-amr-egypt-resignation-resigns_n_3531051.html Mohamed Kamel Amr, Egypt Foreign Minister, Reportedly Resign] ''The Huffington Post'' 1 July 2013</ref> The sports minister, El Amry Farouk, resigned on 2 July 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Egyptian sports minister resigns|url=http://www.aa.com.tr/en/rss/199837--egyptian-sports-minister-resigns|access-date=2 July 2013|work=Anadolu Agency|date=2 July 2013}}</ref>

===Resignation=== {{see also|2013 Egyptian coup d'état}} On 3 July 2013, an Egyptian appeals court upheld a verdict dismissing Qandil of his duties and sentenced him to one year in prison for not executing a court ruling to re-nationalize the Tanta Flax and Oil Company.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/75629/Egypt/Politics-/Court-upholds-verdict-sacking-Morsis-PM-Qandil;-se.aspx|title=Court upholds verdict sacking Morsi's PM Qandil, sentencing him to prison|date=3 July 2013|work=Ahram Online|access-date=24 December 2013}}</ref> Subsequently, on the same day, Morsi was removed from office in a coup d'état by the military. On 8 July 2013, Prime Minister Qandil resigned over the killing of 61 protestors by the military at the Republican Guard headquarters. He had initially decided to remain in his position as a caretaker PM until the formation of a new government.<ref name=resignation/><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.madamasr.com/content/out-old|title=Out with the old|publisher=Mada Masr|date=8 July 2013|access-date=18 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140725205919/http://www.madamasr.com/content/out-old|archive-date=25 July 2014|url-status=dead}}</ref> In late September 2013, the Cairo Misdemeanor Court upheld the sentence against Qandil and he was arrested on 24 December 2013.<ref>{{cite news|title=Cairo court upholds ruling against ex-PM Hesham Qandil|url=http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/82822/Egypt/Politics-/Cairo-court-upholds-ruling-against-exPM-Hesham-Qan.aspx|access-date=24 December 2013|work=Ahram Online|date=30 September 2013}}</ref><ref name=arrest/> On 13 July 2014, the Court of Cassation accepted Qandil's appeal and abolished the verdict to imprison him for a year, to remove him from his job and to fine him 2,000 Egyptian pounds ($285).<ref name=acquittal/><ref name=annul/> He was subsequently released on 15 July 2014.<ref name=release/>

==Personal life== Qandil is married and has five daughters.<ref name=tmajalla/>

==References== {{Reflist|33em}}

==External links== {{Commons category-inline|Hesham Qandil}}

{{s-start}} {{s-off}} {{s-bef|before=Hussien Ehsan Al-Atfy}} {{s-ttl|title=Minister of Water Resources and Irrigation|years=2011–2012}} {{s-aft|after=Mohamed Bahaa Eldin}} |- {{s-bef|before=Kamal Ganzouri}} {{s-ttl|title=Prime Minister of Egypt|years=2012–2013}} {{s-aft|after=Hazem El Beblawi<br>{{small|Acting}}}} {{s-end}}

{{EgyptPMs}} {{Sharaf Cabinet (Egypt)|state=collapsed}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Qandil, Hesham}} Category:1962 births Category:21st-century prime ministers of Egypt Category:Cairo University alumni Category:North Carolina State University alumni Category:University of Utah alumni Category:People from Beni Suef Governorate Category:20th-century Egyptian engineers Category:Living people Category:Qandil Cabinet Category:Leaders ousted by a coup Category:Heads of state and government who were later imprisoned Category:21st-century Egyptian engineers Category:Irrigation ministers of Egypt Category:Independent politicians in Egypt