Report: Will Egypt’s future leaders be PLP alumni?

CAIRO – 19 February 2018: Since the declaration of the republic following the Egyptian Revolution in 1952 and the abolishment of the monarchy, Egypt has been led by nine leaders; six presidents, two interim presidents and one acting president.

No Egyptian leader thought about his successor, but incumbent President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi does. In September, 2015, Sisi revealed launch of the Presidential Leadership Program (PLP) which seeks to educate and enlighten junior cadres who can be the country’s future leaders.

Comparing Sisi to France’s Chales du Gaulle may be not fair. Gaulle is the founder of the fifth republic of France and was the head of state for ten years (1959-1969).

Sisi has been leading the country in difficult circumstances, following the removal of the Brotherhood-affiliated President Mohamed Morsi. Since June, 2013, Egypt has been rebuilding with hands of its patriots, despite the acts of terror that it has suffered.

Sisi is Egypt’s savior who rescued Egypt from autocracy of the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group. American researcher Andrew MacGregor described Sisi as “Egypt’s second modern state’s founder.”

Sisi is running for the upcoming March’s presidential election and is expected to win a second four-year term in office due to impressive successes that he has achieved throughout his first presidential term.

By success of Sisi’s projects for youth, he will be able to prepare and present Egypt’s future leaders and may be presidents as well.

The PLP’s successes

Two batches of students have successfully graduated from the PLP and the third batch is still attending the program.




In October, 2016, Sisi attended a session on an integrated simulation model of the Egyptian state, where members of the PLP simulated some of the government's ministries and offered ways to address various issues and crises. The relevant ministers attended the session and evaluated the performance of the PLP youth.

Sisi contributes to prepare Egypt’s future leaders

“The PLP aims to inject new blood into the state's apparatuses and not to establish a platform with political nature or objectives,” stressed President Sisi during the first National Youth Conference held in Sharm el-Sheikh.

In February, 2017, Sisi met with the participants in the PLP’s second batch, reviewing achievements made over the past three years in terms of consolidating the state and launching national projects to enhance economic progress.



Charles du Gaulle’s model

After the Second World War, Charles du Gaulle founded in 1945 the National School of Administration (ENA) to train civil servants who would rebuild France.

France’s current President Emmanuel Macron is an ENA graduate

The ENA stands as one of the main pathways to high positions in the public and private sectors; most notably in politics and business. It is one of the most prestigious French and international institutions in the field of preparing officials and qualifying them to assume senior management positions.

ENA graduates are often recruited as aides and assistants by state ministers and statesmen. Four French presidents are graduates of the ENA: Valéry Giscard d'Estaing, Jacques Chirac, François Hollande and current President Emmanuel Macron.

Current ministers who graduated from the ENA:

● Édouard Philippe: France’s Prime Minister since May 15, 2017.

● Florence Parly: France’s Minister of the Armed Forces since June 21, 2017.

● Bruno Le Maire: France’s Minister of the Economy since May 17, 2017.

Egyptian-French partnership

President Sisi received on Sunday director of the (ENA) Patrick Gerard, to discuss cooperation between the school and the Youth Academy to hone the skills of officials and enable them to advance their posts.

Sisi stressed Egypt's aspiration to benefit from the experience of the French National School by establishing a full partnership with the Egyptian Academy of Youth to prepare cadres trained at the highest scientific level, so that the Egyptian Academy will become the main source for selecting leaders in the country according to the criteria of efficiency and equal opportunities.

Egypt’s former interim President Adly Mansour also is an ENA alumni

“Egypt is looking forward to benefiting from a French experiment in training cadres through a partnership between the Ecole Nationale d'Administration (ENA) and Egypt's Youth Academy,” said Sisi.


French President Emmanuel Macron (2ndR) and his wife Brigitte Macron (L) arrive with former French Presidents Francois Hollande (R) and Nicolas Sarkozy (2ndL) during a ceremony at the Elysee Palace.

Youth empowerment during Sisi’s era

Since he took up office in 2014, Sisi has been empowering young generations to occupy senior and high-profile positions in the near future. Sisi’s has surrounded himself with youth. His media office’s staff members are youth inspired.

Sisi declared 2016 as the year of the youth, followed by five national conferences for young people. The first conference was held in Sharm el-Sheikh in October, 2016. The second was held in Cairo in December, 2016. The third was held in Aswan in January, 2017. The fourth was held in Ismailia in April, 2017, while the fifth was held in Sharm el-Sheikh in October, 2017, under the title of “World Youth Forum”.

The first Youth Conference was deemed the most important conference as it drew the relationship between Sisi and youth. “I’m very proud of you,” Sisi said during the first Youth Conference.

Sisi has empowered youth to occupy high-profile positions in the state

Sisi also paid attention to the young detainees and ordered the establishment of a national committee to review the statuses of the young prisoners. As a result, three groups of young prisoners were released upon a presidential pardon from President Sisi.

The fourth pardon list is being prepared by the relevant and concerned authorities. MP Tarek al-Khouly, member of the Presidential Pardon Committee, said on November 11, 2017, that they have been working to finalize the list, in order to prove to the whole world that the outcome of the previously held youth conferences is being executed.

President Sisi confirmed that those who are not proven to be members of terrorist organizations or to be involved in acts that contradict the constitutional presidential pardon standards will be on the list, according to Kholy.


Members of President Sisi’s presidential campaign count boxes at the National Election Authority in Cairo on January 24, 2018. (Reuters)

In December 2017, the Egyptian cabinet approved a bill to amend some provisions of law No. 3396 of 1956, concerning the organization of prisons.

Article 155 of the Egyptian constitution gives the president the power to pardon or commute the sentence of prisoners following consultations with the cabinet; on the condition that their offences do not include violence or attacks on public or security properties. The pardon, that usually take place during official and religious holidays, entails:

1. Ending any freedom-restricting penalties.

2. Canceling fine penalties, if applicable.

3. Pardoning the prisoner from police surveillance.

4. The legal effects of the sentence continue to be shown on the criminal record of the released prisoners.



Sisi issued a presidential decree 434/2017 to establish the National Academy for Youth Training which aims to develop human skills and young cadres under the direct auspices of the President of the Republic.

If Sisi has accomplished his promises given to the youth, he will write his name in gold in the Egyptian history as he will be one of the creators of Egypt’s future leaders.