The Shura Council has appointed Abdel-Moneim Said as new board chairman of Al-Ahram, reports Gamal Essam El-Din Before concluding its session on Tuesday, the Shura Council approved the appointment of Abdel-Moneim Said as the new chairman of the board of Al-Ahram Press Organisation. The council, in its capacity as the owner of the national press, also appointed Ali Hashem as chairman of Dar Al-Tahrir, publisher of the daily Al-Gomhuriya. Six chairmen of national press organisations remained in position: Mohamed Ahdi Fadli at Al-Akhbar, Abdel-Qader Shuhaib at Dar Al-Hilal, Karam Gabr at Rose El-Youssef, Ismail Montasser at Dar El-Maaref, Abdallah Hassan at the Middle East News Agency (MENA) and Mohsen Bahgat at the National Distribution Company. They will retain their positions until they reach the age of 60 or, in those cases where they are already 60 or over, will remain in post on a year by year basis until reaching the age of 65, said Shura Council Chairman Safwat El-Sherif. Said will replace Mursi Atallah, who steps down as chairman of Al-Ahram after turning 66 in February. Said, 61, has been the director of Al-Ahram Centre for Political and Strategic Studies (ACPSS) since 1994, and served as a member of the board of Al-Ahram Press Organisation since 1999. President Hosni Mubarak appointed Said to the Shura Council in 2007. Said is a member of the National Democratic Party's (NDP) powerful Higher Council for Policies, led by Gamal Mubarak, as well as the party's Media Committee. He received both an MA and PhD in political science from Northern Illinois University after completing an undergraduate degree at Cairo University's Faculty of Economics and Political Science. Said has written extensively about the Arab world in both Arabic and English. At the 2004 Cairo Book Fair he was awarded the prize for the best political book for The Arabs and 11 September, 2001. His most recent monograph is Ecopolitics: Changing the Regional Context of Arab-Israeli Peacemaking. An expert on the Arab world and its relations with the West, he has contributed to the work of many leading American research centres, most notably the Saban Center for Middle East Policy. His journalism appears regularly in Al-Ahram daily, the Saudi Asharq Al-Awsat and the Kuwaiti Al-Anbaa. Under Said's directorship, the ACPSS established itself as the foremost think tank in the Middle East. Its publications are widely quoted and its researchers regular guests on Arab and foreign satellite channels. Said himself presents programmes on current affairs on a number of local television channels. Said is well-known for his support for political reforms and the market economy. Ali Hashem of Dar Al-Tahrir is a veteran Al-Gomhuriya journalist, long specialised in the telecommunications and IT sector. Hashem replaces Mohamed Abul-Hadid who retires at the age of 65.
