CAIRO — Hossam Badrawy, a reform-oriented Egyptian politician, was appointed Saturday as the secretary general of the National Democratic Party, the nation's ruling political organization run by beleaguered Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.
The secretary general post is the top administrative position in the NDP. Badrawy also assumes the responsibilities of Gamal Mubarak, Hosni's son, who also resigned from the party Saturday. Badrawy had replaced Safwat el-Sherif as secretary general.
Badrawy headed the education and scientific research committee in the NDP's policies secretariat, and was known to be in the circle of relatively young and well-educated businessmen and professionals affiliated with Gamal Mubarak.
But he broke ranks with the party voicing opposition to some of its policies and called for constitutional amendments to facilitate the process of fielding candidates in the presidential elections.
Badrawy is a member of parliament's upper chamber, the Shura council, and was elected to parliament's lower chamber for a term from 2000 to 2005. He hails from a wealthy family, is a professor of obstetrics at Cairo University, a member of the board of trustees of the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, and president of the Nile Badrawy Hospitals Group.
(El Naggar is a McClatchy special correspondent.)
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