Journalist and former chairman of Akhbar Al-Youm Press Organisation Yasser Rizk died of a heart attack on 26 January at the age of 57. Rizk’s death came days after the publication of his first book, Sanawat Al-Khamaseen (The Years of Khamaseen), an account of the period between 25 January uprising which led to the overthrow of Hosni Mubarak in February 2011, and the removal of Mohamed Morsi as Egypt’s president in July 2013.

Rizk had attended the launch of the book at Cairo Opera House on 16 January, and the volume, which makes use of the contacts its author accrued over 30 years as a military and presidential correspondent, received widespread coverage in Egypt’s media.

“He woke up early on Wednesday to perform the dawn prayer as usual, but once he had finished he said he was tired and unable to breathe,” said Rizk’s wife, Al-Akhbar journalist Amani Dorgham. He subsequently collapsed, and was pronounced dead on arrival at hospital.

Dorgham said her husband had “exhausted himself in recent weeks, attending the four-day World Youth Forum in Sharm El-Sheikh, and exerting tremendous efforts to introduce his book to the cultural elite ahead of Cairo’s International Book Fair”.

“In September 2020 he left his post as chairman of Akhbar Al-Youm because of health problems, including a heart condition, in order to rest and devote more time to writing his book.”

Rizk was born on 17 November 1965. His father, Fathi Rizk, was the manager of Al-Akhbar’s office in Ismailia and a former military correspondent. After graduating from Cairo University’s Faculty of Mass Communication in May 1986, Rizk joined Al-Akhbar newspaper and in 1989 was appointed as the paper’s military correspondent. Almost a decade later, in 1998, he combined the position with that of presidential correspondent, roles that provided Rizk with unique access to Egypt’s military and political decision-makers.

In 2005, Rizk was appointed editor-in-chief of the weekly Radio and Television magazine. On 18 January 2011, a week ahead of the anti-Mubarak uprising, Rizk was named editor-in-chief of the daily Al-Akhbar newspaper. In August 2012, under the Muslim Brotherhood government, he was dismissed from his post, only to be appointed by Al-Masry Al-Youm’s trustees as editor-in-chief of the independent daily. Between 2012 to 2014, Al-Masry Al-Youm, with Rizk at the helm, led criticisms of the Muslim Brotherhood regime and its leaders, particularly Mohamed Morsi. Rizk also used Al-Masry Al-Youm to drum up support for the Tamaroud (rebel) movement which gathered signatures for a petition demanding Morsi’s removal from office.

Two days ahead of the 3 July 2013 announcement of Morsi’s ouster Rizk appeared on television, saying “the Muslim Brotherhood is finished and Morsi will be deposed”, adding that he may either be detained by the army, or placed under house arrest.

Following the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood regime, Rizk conducted the first press interview with the then minister of defence Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi.

“At that time, Al-Sisi was chief of the military intelligence and a member of the ruling Supreme Council of Armed Forces,” said Rizk, who subsequently described Al-Sisi as “the man who joined shoulders with the Egyptian people in their revolt against the Muslim Brotherhood regime.”

In January 2014, Rizk was named as chairman of Akhbar Al-Youm Press Organisation and editor-in-chief of Al-Akhbar newspaper. He supported Al-Sisi’s presidential election campaign in May 2014, and repeatedly called for all Muslim Brotherhood members and sympathizers to be expelled from government positions.

In the summer of 2020 Rizk resigned from his positions at Akhbar Al-Youm. His wife Amani Dorgham said while he continued writing articles for the daily Al-Akhbar, he devoted the two years between 2020 and 2022 to preparing his book.

“His goal was to produce a landmark record of three of Egypt’s most tumultuous years in modern history, to be published in three volumes. He died just after the first volume was released,” said Dorgham.

President Al-Sisi, who was in the United Arab Emirates when Rizk died on 26 January, delegated Brigadier Mahmoud Wahdan to express condolences to Rizk’s family and attend his funeral at the Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi Mosque on Sunday. The funeral was attended by cabinet ministers, provincial governors, senior military and intelligence officers, journalists, and media figures.

*A version of this article appears in print in the 3 February, 2022 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly.