Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri

‘Abd el-Razzāq el-Sanhūrī
عبد الرزاق السنهوري
President of the Egyptian Council of State
In office
3 March 1949 – 29 March 1954
PresidentHimself
Preceded byKāmil Pasha Mursī
Succeeded by‘Alī al-Sayyid
Minister of Education
In office
24 February 1945 – 15 February 1946
Preceded byMohammed Hussein Heikal
Succeeded byMuḥammad Ḥasan al-‘Ashmawi
In office
9 December 1946 – 2 March 1949
Preceded byMuḥammad Ḥasan al-‘Ashmawi
Succeeded byAḥmad Mursī Badr
Under-Secretary of Education
In office
January 1942 – March 1942
Dean of the Law Faculty at the Egyptian National University (Cairo University)
In office
8 October 1936 – 15 October 1937
Personal details
Born(1895-08-11)August 11, 1895
DiedJuly 21, 1971(1971-07-21) (aged 75)
Party
Alma materKhedival School of Law, Cairo
University of Lyon (PhD)
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Abd el-Razzak el-Sanhuri or ‘Abd al-Razzāq el-Sanhūrī (Arabic: عبد الرزاق السنهوري; 11 August 1895 – 21 July 1971) was an Egyptian jurist, law professor, judge and politician. He is best remembered as the primary author of the revised Egyptian Civil Code of 1948. El-Sanhuri's multi-volume masterwork, Al-Wasit fi sharh al-qanun al-madani al-jadid, a comprehensive commentary on the Egyptian Civil Code of 1948 and on civil law more generally, published during 1952-1970, remains in print and is highly regarded in legal and juristic professions throughout the Arab world. El-Sanhuri was Minister of Education in the Cabinet of Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha from 1945-1946 and again from late 1946 to 1948.

He was subsequently appointed as President of the Egyptian Council of State. El-Sanhuri's tenure as President of the Council of State lasted until 1954, when he was dismissed by coercion. He has been described as "a personality of unique embroidery, never to reoccur". An avowed advocate of Arab unity, el-Sanhuri was notably active in the legal and institutional reforms of different Arab countries throughout most of his adult life. He presided over a committee which drafted the Iraqi Civil Code, while at the same time serving as dean of the Baghdad Law School, from 1935 to 1937. He also contributed to a drafting project of a Syrian civil code throughout the early 1940s. El-Sanhuri also drafted various public and private laws of Kuwait, Sudan, Libya and Bahrain.