Farouk Hosny
| Farouk Hosny Arabic: فاروق حسني |
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|---|---|
| Born | 1938 Alexandria, Egypt |
| Occupation | Abstract painter, Minister of Culture |
| Website | www.faroukhosny.com |
Farouk Hosny (or Hosni) (Arabic: فاروق حسنى; born 1938) is an Egyptian abstract painter who was Minister of Culture from 1987 to 2011.
Hosny was born and grew up in Alexandria. He graduated from Alexandria University's School of Fine Arts in 1964 and upon graduation directed the Al-Anfoushi Cultural Palace for several years. An abstract painter, Hosny held exhibitions worldwide and won the Japanese Soka Gakai International University cultural and peace prize.
Between 1971-1978, he was Egypt's cultural attaché in Paris and from 1979 to 1987 served in the same position in Rome, where he also was the director of the Egyptian Academy of Arts.
In 1987, Hosny was appointed the Minister of Culture in Egypt from his position in Rome. During his tenure, he expanded state-run exhibition spaces and initiated various cultural programs, including the Horizon One Gallery, the Palace of Arts, Gezira Arts Center, Alexandria Center of Arts, the Modern Dance Troupe and School, the Cairo History Rehabilitation Project (which included a number of Jewish synagogues), the Nubian Museum in Aswan and the Alexandria National Museum (under construction are the Grand Egyptian Museum and the National Museum of Civilisation in Fustat) and the Cultural Development Fund.
In 2005, Hosny tendered his resignation to President Hosni Mubarak in the wake of the Beni Suef Cultural Palace fire, in which 48 spectators were killed and more injured. Mubarak rejected Hosny's resignation, in response to the pleas of some 400 high-profile intellectuals.
Hosny is no longer the Minister of Culture in light of the 2011 revolution in Egypt. In March 2011, the interim government of Egypt appointed Cairo University professor Emad Abu Ghazi to the post.
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