Veteran journalist Salah Essa passes away at 78

CAIRO – 26 December 2017: Journalists and press institutions mourned on Tuesday the veteran writer and journalist Salah Essa who passed away on Monday at the age of 78 after a long battle with illness.

Essa was the last secretary general of the Supreme Press Council, which was replaced by the National Press Authority.

He was born on October 14, 1973, in a village in Meet Ghamr, Dakahlia governorate.

He started his career as a short story writer and a leftist political and social thinker and worked as a journalist in Al-Gomhouriya newspaper in 1972.

Essa co-founded and was the chairman and editor-in-chief of a number of newspapers and magazines, including Al-Qahirah, Al-Ahaly and National Culture.
He issued his first book in 1979 entitled "Urabi Revolution", followed by a number of books in literature, history and political thinking, as well as other fields.

Essa lived a life of constant struggle for survival, patriotism and generosity. He was not only a journalist but also a man who stood up for the rights of people until he passed away after a long struggle with illnesses and died at Maadi Military Hospital on December 25.

Egypt Press Syndicate, Egypt’s Supreme Media Regulatory Council and State Information Service as well as other bodies mourned the death of the great writer.