Dowidar was mourned by the country’s National Press Authority (NPA), Journalists Syndicate, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Civil Aviation, among others.

The late journalist was born in Samanoud in Gharbiya governorate in the central Nile Delta on 22 April, 1934.

Dowidar started his career as a writer at Al-Akhbar shortly after he earned a bachelor’s degree from the Faculty of Arts at Cairo University in 1959.

He worked as a foreign affairs correspondent for the paper in a number of countries.

He also authored a popular daily column that was titled ‘Reflections’ (‘Khawater’) for many years.

Dowidar then served as the editor-in-chief of the newspaper from 1991 to 2005.

“Al-Akhbar’s family lost its [great leader], Galal Dowidar, the former editor-in-chief — the man who taught us everything we know, gave us opportunities, opened doors for us, and was the best and most helpful support we could ask for,” Khaled Miri, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief said in a post on his Facebook page.

“May God have mercy on his soul and provide us, his students and his family, with solace,” Miri added.

On the national level, Dowidar served as secretary-general of the Supreme Council of the Press — the predecessor of the NPA.

He authored four books: ‘Journeys and Stories’, ‘Enemy of Peace’, ‘The US-Middle East Crisis’, and ‘This Dirty War.’