Born in 1933 in the Delta province of Mounfiya, which was also hometown of ousted president Hosni Mubarak, Kamal El-Ganzouri received a doctorate in economics from the University of Michigan before returning to Egypt in the early 1960s. Upon his return home, Ganzouri was appointed an economic advisor to the Arab Bank for Economic Development in Africa and then to Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. In 1974 Ganzouri was chosen undersecretary of planning minister before serving as governor of the New Valley Province in 1976 and southern province of Bani Suef in 1977. He served as governor of Bani Suef only for six months before resigning to become head of National Planning Institute. A year after ousted Mubarak took office in 1981, the veteran economist was appointed minister of planning and then minister of international co-operation in 1984. After serving as deputy prime minister from 1986 until 1996, he replaced Atef Sedky as premier in 1996 to be replaced in 1999 by Atef Ebeid. For his popular means of dealing with the country's economic and political crises, Ganzouri was widely known as minister of the poor. During Ganzouri's tenure, the poverty ratio in Egypt was reduced from 21 per cent to 17 per cent, according to experts. He also improved relations with international institutions including the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. Ganzouri was reappointed prime minister by the then ruling military council in Nov. 2011 following Essam Sharaf. Some revolutionary bodies at the Tahrir Square who ignited the January uprising against the 30-year long Mubarak's rule opposed the move for his old age and entrenchment in Mubarak-era institutions. Media reports said Sunday the two times Egypt's prime minister died at 83, but neither of them has been confirmed yet.
