Tharwat Okasha

Tharwat Okasha was an army officer involved in the Free Officers Movement, along with former president Nasser and his comrades, which toppled King Farouk of Egypt from his crown in what is known as the 23 July Revolution of 1952.[2] As a child of an aristocratic family, Okasha received a good education, read books in foreign languages, and learned music very early on at home. This background made him the most cultured and enlightened officer among his group of army officers.

Okasha received his PhD in literature from Sorbonne in the 1960s and worked as visiting scholar at the Collège de France. He published more than 70 books, including his three-volume memoir titled My Memoirs in Politics and Culture, which is considered a rich resource for historians of the Nasserite era; as well as a 38-volume encyclopedia of arts titled The Eye Listens and the Ear Sees.

Okasha served as the press attaché at the Embassy of Egypt in Paris.[2] He was appointed Minister of Culture in the late 1950s by President Nasser. Okasha held the position twice, from 1958 to 1962, and again from 1966 to 1970.[3] In his first term Okasha replaced Fathi Radwan in the post on 7 October 1958 and was succeeded by Mohammed Abdul Qader on 27 September 1962.[4] Okasha's second term began on 10 September 1966, and he was in office until 18 November 1970 when Badr Al Din Abu Ghazi was named minister of culture.[4]

During his terms in ministerial posts, he founded many cultural institutions that are still functioning and considered major Egyptian landmarks. For example, he founded the High Council for Culture and Arts (now called the Supreme Council for Culture), the General Egyptian Book Organisation and, most importantly, the Arts Academy.