Sakher El Materi (Mohamed Sakhr El Materi, , born 2 December 1981) is a

Tunisia Tunisia, officially the Republic of Tunisia, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered by Algeria to the west and southwest, Libya to the southeast, and the Mediterranean Sea to the north and east. Tunisia also shares m ...

n businessman. He is the son-in-law of Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, who was President of Tunisia until 2011. In 2010 (prior to the Tunisian revolution), Materi's company Princesse El-Materi Holdings was operating in six industry sectors: News and

Media Media may refer to: Communication * Means of communication, tools and channels used to deliver information or data ** Advertising media, various media, content, buying and placement for advertising ** Interactive media, media that is inter ...

Bank A bank is a financial institution that accepts Deposit account, deposits from the public and creates a demand deposit while simultaneously making loans. Lending activities can be directly performed by the bank or indirectly through capital m ...

ing and Financial Services, Automotive, Shipping and Cruises, Real Estate and

Agriculture Agriculture encompasses crop and livestock production, aquaculture, and forestry for food and non-food products. Agriculture was a key factor in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created ...

. A member of the ruling Constitutional Democratic Rally, he was elected as a Member of the Chamber of Deputies of Tunisia for the constituency of

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

on 25 October 2009. He was struck off by the party after the 2011 Tunisian Revolution. After the revolution El Materi fled the country and went to the

Seychelles Seychelles (, ; ), officially the Republic of Seychelles (; Seychellois Creole: ), is an island country and archipelagic state consisting of 155 islands (as per the Constitution) in the Indian Ocean. Its capital and largest city, Victoria, ...

Biography

El Materi was born on 2 December 1981 in

into a family of Turkish origin. In 1973, his father, Moncef El Materi, founded El Adwya one of Tunisia's largest private pharmaceutical companies. El Materi's uncle, Mahmoud El Materi, was known for his involvement in the fight for the Tunisian independence and for being one of the co-founders of the Neo Destour political party with the first

President of Tunisia The president of Tunisia, officially the president of the Republic of Tunisia (), is the executive head of state of Tunisia. The president exercises executive power with the assistance of a government headed by the Prime Minister of Tunisia, pr ...

Habib Bourguiba Habib Bourguiba (3 August 19036 April 2000) was a Tunisian politician and statesman who served as the Head of Government of Tunisia, prime minister of the Kingdom of Tunisia from 1956 to 1957, and then as the first president of Tunisia from 1 ...

. After obtaining a Management certificate Florence Beaugé
"Le parcours fulgurant de Sakhr El-Materi, gendre du président tunisien Ben Ali"
''Le Monde'', 24 October 2009 in Brussels, Sakher El Materi joined his father's company Adwya. Shortly afterwards he married Nesrine, the youngest daughter of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali. In 2005, he led a controversial business agreement with the company Nestlé in Tunisia. The Tunisian Revolution in early 2011 pushed out the President of Tunisia and all his family members.

Interpol The International Criminal Police Organization – INTERPOL (abbreviated as ICPO–INTERPOL), commonly known as Interpol ( , ; stylized in allcaps), is an international organization that facilitates worldwide police cooperation and crime cont ...

issued a global alert to arrest Ben Ali and his relatives, including Sakher.http://www.tap.info.tn/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=14412&Itemid=27

Politics

In the summer of 2008, he entered the Central Committee of the Democratic Constitutional Rally. On 25 October 2009, he was elected to the Chamber of Deputies. In a 2009 diplomatic cable from the United States Ambassador Robert Godec that was leaked during the United States diplomatic cables leak, the diplomat opined that El Materi and Nesrine and other members of Ben Ali's family were disliked and even hated by some Tunisians for their perceived lavish lifestyle.

The Canadian Press The Canadian Press (CP; , ) is a Canadian national news agency headquartered in Toronto, Ontario. Established in 1917 as a vehicle for Canadian newspapers to exchange news and information, The Canadian Press has been a privately-held company, pr ...

described him as "one of the most powerful members of Tunisia's ruling class", and before Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, the President of Tunisia and Materi's father-in-law, fled Tunisia amidst the 2010–2011 protests, Materi was considered by some to be a possible successor to Ben Ali as President. In January 2011, after the collapse of the Ben Ali regime, it was mistakenly reported that Sakher was going to a house he owns in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada; a group of people critical of his father-in-law's regime then gathered outside the property. Sakher is still on the title deed of the house and the address listed, and although there are reports saying it was sold, no record of any sale has been found according to the official home listings. In July 2011, a Tunisian court convicted him of corruption in absentia, sentencing him to 16 years in prison. In December 2012, with an international arrest warrant outstanding, local authorities in Seychelles arrested Materi. However he was not extradited and as of 2016 remains in the Seychelles. In 2017, Sakher offered the Tunisian government over $200 million in exchange for a right to return to Tunisia. The government did not respond. His house in the Seychelles was reportedly put up for sale in 2019 amidst rumours that Sakher and his family could move to

Qatar Qatar, officially the State of Qatar, is a country in West Asia. It occupies the Geography of Qatar, Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it shares Qatar–Saudi Arabia border, its sole land b ...

Personal life

His father, Moncef El Materi, and mother, Naima El Ati Boutiba, are both of Turkish descent. El Materi has three siblings: Beya (born in 1976), Hafiz (born in 1977), and Holya (born in 1979). In 2005, El Materi married the daughter of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Materi, Sakher 1981 births Living people Businesspeople from Tunis Tunisian people of Turkish descent Democratic Constitutional Rally politicians Tunisian businesspeople