Raymond Lakah, (born c. 1960 as Rami Lakah) (رامي لكح), is a French-
Egyptian
''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt.
Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to:
Nations and ethnic groups
* Egyptians, a national group in North Africa
** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of year ...
magnate
The term magnate, from the late Latin ''magnas'', a great man, itself from Latin ''magnus'', "great", means a man from the higher nobility, a man who belongs to the high office-holders or a man in a high social position, by birth, wealth or ot ...
, and former owner of the French
newspaper
A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...
''
France Soir
''France Soir'' () was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a populist tabloid in 2006 ...
''.
Lakah was born in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
to a Greek Catholic Christian Egyptian family, and first came to prominence with his brother Michel Lakah in the mid-1990s. They had holdings in construction, healthcare management and aviation. In November 1998, their holdings were floated on the Cairo Stock Exchange with Rami owning 38% and Michel 31%. He is an Egyptian nationalist who showed interest in Egypt's political life.
Egyptian Parliament
In November 2000 Lakah was elected to the Egyptian Parliament at the relatively young age of 40. His election raised the question of the legality of dual nationals holding government offices since Lakah was a
national
National may refer to:
Common uses
* Nation or country
** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen
Places in the United States
* National, Maryland, c ...
of both Egypt and
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. In January 2001, the Minister of Interior officially declared that his election in 2000 was invalid. Discussions about his financial debts, which had started before his election, also intensified.
His indebtedness amounting to 1.2 to 1.4 billion Egyptian Pounds with many government bankloans in Egypt unpaid. When lawsuits were filed against him, he fled Egypt and settled in France. In August 2001, a court verdict in Egypt ruled that he could not be a member of the Egyptian Parliament due to his dual nationality. In October 2004, the Egyptian parliament installed a new rule that dual nationals are not allowed to serve in the parliament.
Lakah maintains that all his debts were paid off.
In France, he took the name Raymond, instead of his
Arabic
Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...
birth name Rami, and started establishing himself in several business ventures, including Star Airlines, and in October 2004 he bought the ''France Soir'' newspaper.
Cartoon controversy
On February 2, 2006, ''
France-Soir
''France Soir'' () was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a populist tabloid in 2006 ...
'' published the Muhammad cartoons that caused a lot of havoc and anger among Muslims around the world. The cartoons were originally published by the Danish newspaper
Jyllands-Posten
(; English: ''The Morning Newspaper "The Jutland Post"''), commonly shortened to or ''JP'', is a Danish daily broadsheet newspaper. It is based in Aarhus C, Jutland, and with a weekday circulation of approximately 120,000 copies.Jacques Lefranc. ''
Le Monde
(; ) is a mass media in France, French daily afternoon list of newspapers in France, newspaper. It is the main publication of Le Monde Group and reported an average print circulation, circulation of 480,000 copies per issue in 2022, including ...
'' reported that Lakah issued a statement saying he fired Lefranc as president and director of the newspaper in ''"a strong sign of respect to the intimate convictions and beliefs of each individual."'' The statement continued, ''"We present our regrets to the Muslim community and to all people who have been shocked or made indignant by this publication."''
See also
*
Lists of Egyptians
The following is a list of some of the notable Egyptians inside and outside of Egypt:
Actors Male actors
* Abdel Moneim Madbouly
* Adel Emam
* Ahmed Zaki
* Ahmed El-Fishawy
* Ahmed El Sakka
* Ahmed Ezz
* Ahmed Helmy
* Ahmed Malek
* A ...
*
List of Copts
This list of Copts includes notable Copts figures who are notable in their areas of expertise. For saints, please refer to '' List of Coptic saints''.
Performing arts
* Rami Malek, actor
* Mena Massoud, actor
* Ash Atalla, British televisi ...
France Soir
''France Soir'' () was a French newspaper that prospered in physical format during the 1950s and 1960s, reaching a circulation of 1.5 million in the 1950s. It declined rapidly under various owners and was relaunched as a populist tabloid in 2006 ...