Egyptian writer, intellectual Galal Amin dies at 83

CAIRO – 26 September 2018: Egyptian writer, intellectual and economist Galal Amin died on Tuesday, Sept. 25 at the age of 83.

Amin published eight books over the course of his career, with his most widely acclaimed book “Whatever Happened to the Egyptians?” published in 2000. The book underlines the causes of the economic collapse in Egypt between 1950 and 2000, social changes such as religious fanaticism and the decline of the Arabic language.

Amin's other books include "Whatever Else Happened to the Egyptians?" (2003), "Egypt in the Era of Hosni Mubarak" (2011), and "The Illusion of Progress in the Arab World" (2006).

Born in 1935, Amin was the son of Egyptian academic and jurist Ahmed Amin, one of the rivals of famous Egyptian writer Taha Hussein.

Before travelling to London to continue his studies at the London School of Economics, he graduated from the Faculty of Law at Cairo University in 1955. He returned to Egypt in the mid 1960s to teach at Ain Shams University, and later in the American University in Cairo.

In 2015, he was honored with the Sultan Qaboos Award for Culture, Arts and Literature, which recognized his significant intellectual accomplishments.