Abd El-Razzak El-Sanhuri
Abd el-Razzak el-Sanhuri or ‘Abd al-Razzāq al-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. Al-Sanhūrī's multi-volume masterwork, Al-Wasīṭ fī sharḥ al-qānūn al-madanī al-jadīd, 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. Al-Sanhūrī was Minister of Education in the Cabinet of Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha from 1945-1946 and again from late 1946 to 1948.
‘Abd al-Razzāq al-Sanhūrī | |
|---|---|
| عبد الرزاق السنهوري | |
| President of the Egyptian Council of State | |
| In office 3 March 1949 – 29 March 1954 | |
| President | Himself |
| Preceded by | Kāmil Pasha Mursī |
| Succeeded by | ‘Alī al-Sayyid |
| Minister of Education | |
| In office 24 February 1945 – 15 February 1946 | |
| Preceded by | Mohammed Hussein Heikal |
| Succeeded by | Muḥammad Ḥasan al-‘Ashmawi |
| In office 9 December 1946 – 2 March 1949 | |
| Preceded by | Muḥammad Ḥasan al-‘Ashmawi |
| Succeeded by | Aḥmad 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 | August 11, 1895 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Died | July 21, 1971 (aged 75) Alexandria, Egypt |
| Political party |
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| Alma mater | Khedival School of Law, Cairo University of Lyon (PhD) |
He was subsequently appointed as President of the Egyptian Council of State. Al-Sanhūrī'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, al-Sanhūrī 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. Al-Sanhūrī also drafted various public and private laws of Kuwait, Sudan, Libya and Bahrain.