Wael Ghonim (Arabic: وائل غنيم [ˈwæːʔel ɣoˈneːm]; born 23 December 1980) is an Internet activist and computer engineer with an interest in social entrepreneurship.
[2] In 2011, he became an international figure and galvanized pro-democracy demonstrations in Egypt after his emotional interview[3] following 11 days of secret incarceration by Egyptian police.
During these 11 days, he was interrogated regarding his work as one of two administrators of the Facebook page, "We are all Khaled Said", which helped spark the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
A reviewer at The New York Times called the book "a touchstone for future testimonials about a strengthening borderless digital movement that is set to continually disrupt powerful institutions, be they corporate enterprises or political regimes".
In less than two hours, he published an event titled "25 يناير على التعذيب والفساد والظلم والبطالة" ["January 25: Revolution against Torture, Corruption, Unemployment and Injustice"].
On 5 February 2011, Mostafa Alnagar, a major Egyptian opposition figure,[22] reported that Wael Ghonim was alive and detained by the authorities and to be released "within hours".
In the interview, he praised the protesters and mourned the dead as the host read their names and showed their pictures, eventually becoming "overwhelmed" and rising to walk off camera.
[26][27] In the interview, he urged that the protesters deserved attention more than he did and called for the end of the Mubarak regime, describing it as "rubbish".
"[26] On 9 February, Ghonim addressed the crowds in Tahrir Square, telling the protesters: "This is not the time for individuals, or parties, or movements.
A young Google executive, Wael Ghonim, had energized this protest when it might have lost heart, when it could have succumbed to the belief that this regime and its leader were a big, immovable object.
The condition of his country—the abject poverty, the crony economy of plunder and corruption, the cruelties and slights handed out to Egyptians in all walks of life by a police state that the people had outgrown and despaired of—had given this young man and others like him their historical warrant.
"[34]In 2012 following a book deal he signed, Ghonim decided to donate its proceeds, worth US$2.5 million, to charity work in Egypt.
[35] He founded Tahrir Academy, a nonprofit online collaborative learning platform, aiming to transform young Egyptians' characters.
On 26 April, he arrived in New York to be honored at the 2011 Time 100 Gala ceremony where he began his speech with a moment of silence to mark those killed in protests around the Arab world.
He later appeared on Al Arabiya TV and called the rumor as Mubarak-regime propaganda, adding, "I am stronger than Hosni Mubarak.
"[45] From 18 May 2011, a major campaign on Twitter gained momentum with the hashtag #unfollowedghonimbecause, criticising Ghonim for various failings and an exaggerated focus on the Egyptian economy.