Obituary: A journalistic life, lived to its fullest Said Sonbol (1929-2004) He couldn't have known that he would die the day after his daughter Noha got married. He couldn't have known, in 1949, when he graduated from Fouad I University's Chemistry Department, that he would eventually become a journalist for the largest newspaper at the time. In fact, given his field of specialisation, one wonders if he had planned to become a journalist at all, let alone one specialising in economic affairs. When he did, however, set out on a journalistic career, starting at the Wafd mouthpiece Al-Misri, he sported a tarboush. Back then, this was the headgear of those who would eventually become his colleagues -- Moussa Sabri, Hamdi Fouad, Anis Mansour and Abdel-Hamid Saraya, all members of the generation of Akhbar Al-Yom journalists who acquired their profession through practice, honed their skills in the crucible of party politics, the monarchy and the British presence, and braved the government clampdowns that extended to the ranks of newspaper magnates such as Mohamed El-Tabie and Ihsan Abdel-Quddous. Nor when setting out on his career could he have predicted that he would become Al-Akhbar 's first economic bureau chief in 1958, the paper's deputy editor-in-chief in 1961, its managing editor four years later, then chairman of the board of directors and editor-in-chief in 1985, a position he remained in until 1992. Even after his retirement, he continued to write, producing his famous "Sabah Al-Kheir" (Good Morning) column until the last days of his life. Born in 1929, Said Sonbol was a child of the pre- revolutionary era and a contemporary of Egypt's great revolutionary leaders. An established journalist by the time Gamal Abdel-Nasser came to power, his dedication to his profession was fired by the vision, hopes and tumultuous events of those heady days. Under Anwar El-Sadat, he joined the Journalists' Syndicate, rising to deputy chairman when Ibrahim Nafie was syndicate chief. Like all the great journalists of his generation, his was a career studded by major scoops, career breakthroughs and accolades. Following the Tripartite Aggression, he got the inside story on the Anglo-Egyptian talks and Suez Canal negotiations. He was the first Arab journalist to uncover the secrets behind the rising tensions between Cuba and the US, and the first journalist to whom Castro confided that the US was planning to invade his country. He pioneered a television talk show dedicated to the discussion of national concerns, Egypt's economic problems above all. He counted among his happiest moments the day he received the national medal of honour, and the day the UN notified him that he -- only 35 at the time -- had been chosen to represent Africa in an economic studies programme that took him to Addis Ababa, Geneva, New York and Washington. In 1976, he suffered a heart ailment necessitating surgical intervention, which was performed by the noted specialist, Magdi Yaaqoub. More recently, he travelled abroad for further treatment, returning seemingly fit and energetic. In his memoirs he extolled the virtues of modern medicine, and expressed his gratitude to all those who inquired after his well- being. Again, how could he have predicted that he had only a few more months to live? Al-Ahram Weekly mourns the passing of this widely respected journalist and cherished colleague who memorably said, "some people stretch a short life out for many long years, others pack a full life into a few short years." However you reckon the years, there is no denying that Said Sonbol -- journalist, politician and economist -- lived a full and meaningful life. When Sonbol -- the former Al-Akhbar editor-in-chief -- died, the paper's current chief editor Galal Doweidar paid him a reverent and heartfelt tribute. He praised, in particular, the many qualities that made Sonbol an excellent helmsman of the ship launched by Ali and Mustafa Amin. Through his selfless dedication, spirited innovativeness, kindness and consideration towards his staff and colleagues, indefatigable drive and sheer hard work he steered his newspaper to continually greater heights. Sonbol's life spanned three historical epochs: from the pre- revolutionary capitalist period through the post-revolutionary socialist period to this age of privatisation. The time has come to bid farewell to a noble-minded and giving man. Samir Sobhi
