Anissa Hassouna s last public appearance on Tuesday in Cairo as she was honored by Egypt s First Lady Entissar El-Sisi during the celebration of the International Woman s Day (Photo: Official Entissar El-Sisi s Facebook page)
Born in 1953 in Cairo, Anissa Hassouna was the daughter of late Minister of Justice Essam Hassouna, who held the post in the 1960s.
She graduated from the Faculty of Economics & Political Science at Cairo University and started her career as a diplomat at the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs before moving to the Council of Arab Economic Unity for 14 years then to the League of Arab States.
Hassouna then moved to the private sector in 1991 and joined Misr Iran Development Bank where she worked for 16 years till 2007.
In March 2009, she became executive director of the Magdi Yaccoub Heart Foundation in Egypt, holding the role through 2015. The foundation was created in 2008 by famous Egyptian cardiologist Sir Magdi Yaccoub to provide free cardiovascular healthcare for children.
In late December 2015, President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi appointed Anissa Hassouna as a member of parliament in the House of Representatives where she focused on laws relating to women, children and healthcare.
The later former MP published her memories about her struggle with cancer titled Bedoon Sabeq Enzer (“Without Prior warning”) in 2017 following her diagnosis.
The book became a best-seller in Egypt.
Despite her struggle with cancer, Anissa Hassouna continued her career in charity and became the executive director of Al-Nas Children Hospital in 2019, which provides healthcare to children for free.
Days before her death, Anissa Hassouna appeared for the last time publicly on a wheelchair while being honoured by Egypt’s First Lady Enitasser El-Sisi on Tuesday during the celebration of International Woman’s Day in Cairo among other women who contributed positively to the Egyptian society.
Anissa Hassouna is survived by her husband Sherif Nagy and two daughters.
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