Mohammed Khairat Saad el-Shater[1] (Arabic: محمد خيرت سعد الشاطر, IPA: [mæˈħæmmæd ˈxæjɾæt ˈsæʕd eʃˈʃɑːtˤeɾ]; born 4 May 1950) is an Egyptian engineer, businessman and Islamist political activist.

Born in Kafr Al-Teraa Al-Qadimah, Dakahlia, el-Shater joined the youth wing of the ruling Arab Socialist Union party at age 16, during the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser.

After serving in the military for two years, el-Shater studied for a master's degree and worked as a lecturer at the Mansoura University.

[3] El-Shater led a successful furniture and textile business with branches in Cairo's luxurious shopping malls, which earned him a fortune of several millions.

[9][10] The Middle East researcher Avi Asher-Schapiro considers el-Shater to be a strong advocate of privatization and free market.

[12] Earlier in 2012, Khairat El-Shater had denied any intentions for entering the presidential race on Al Jazeera, after Ahmed Mansour, host of the show Without Limits (bilā ḥudūd بلا حدود), had subtly questioned the sequence of events which later took place on 31 March 2012.