Wael Ghonim

About

Egyptian computer engineer and activist, known for galvanizing pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt in 2011 and becoming a symbol for the revolution. He is also an author and has founded Tahrir Academy, a technology focused NGO that aims to foster education in Egypt. He topped Time magazine's yearly list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2011 and has won many awards for his work, including the Press Freedom prize and the JFK Profile in Courage Award.

Before Fame

He earned a BS in computer engineering from Cairo University in 2004 and an MBA, with honors, in marketing and finance from the American University in Cairo in 2008. He pursued a career in marketing and sales, working at Google as the Head of Marketing of Google Middle East and North Africa in Dubai, until 2011, when he asked Google to return to Egypt during the uprising.

Trivia

In January 2011, he came to Egypt to partake in the Egyptian revolution but disappeared on January 27 during the nationwide unrest in Egypt. His family told Al-Arabiya and other international media that he was missing. On February 7, he was released after 11 days in detention and appeared on a television interview to praise the protesters and mourn the dead. He topped Time magazine's yearly list of the world's 100 most influential people in 2011, and was honored at the Time 100 Gala ceremony where he began his speech with a moment of silence to mark those killed in protests around the Arab world.

Family Life

He was born to a middle-class family in Cairo, Egypt, and grew up in Abha, Saudi Arabia. When he was 13 years old, he moved back to live in Cairo. He married Ilka Johannson in 2019 and then divorced her in 2021. He has two children, Isra and Adam.

Associated With

He called repeatedly for the end of the Hosni Mubarak's regime in Egypt.