Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas granted the ‘Medal of Culture and Sciences and Arts, Degree of Excellence’ to Egyptian singer and head of the Musicians Syndicate Hany Shaker on Saturday.

The medal was given to Shaker, who is dubbed the Prince of Arabic Music, in appreciation of his extensive music career and his contributions to the culture and music scene across the Arab region, including Palestine.

Shaker was elected as head of Egypt's Musicians Syndicate in July 2015.

He was one of the singers honoured in Morocco in August 2015 with a commander's medal on the occasion of Youth Day marking King Mohammed VI's birthday.

Born in 1952, Shaker boasts a long musical career with over 400 songs.

He started playing the piano during his school years then joined the Cairo Conservatoire in the early 1970s after he graduated high school.

In 1972 Shaker presented his hit song, Helwa ya Donia, which was written by renowned composer Mohamed El-Mougi.

Shaker was starting his musical path at time when Egypt’s musical legends were still at their peak: Oum Kalthoum, Farid El-Atrash, Mohamed Abdel Wahab, and most notably Abdel-Halim Hafez, who greatly influenced Shaker’s musical approach.

Shaker joined Abdel-Halim's choir, appearing in the songs Soura and Bel Ahdhan.

The 62-year-old singer also worked with renowned composers including Yehia El-Mougi, Baligh Hamdy, Ammar El-Shereei and Mounir Mourad.

His debut film performance was in the 1966 film Sayed Darwish, directed by Ahmed Badrakhan, recounting the legendary singer’s life, where he played a young Darwish.

Hany Shaker and Mahmoud Abbas Abo Mazen (Photo: Al-Ahram Arabic)

Hany Shaker and Mahmoud Abbas Abo Mazen (Photo: Al-Ahram Arabic)

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