(Public Domain Photo)
Head of the General Book Organisation Ahmed Megahed was dismissed on Sunday following a disagreement over renaming the Family Library.
Megahed told Al-Tahrir TV channel that he went into his office as normal on Sunday and was given a letter informing him that the Minister of Culture Alaa Abdel Aziz had revoked his mandate.
Abdel Aziz was appointed on 7 May in the cabinet reshuffle.
Megahed said that the minister had not contacted him since he took office, but that there was a disagreement over the name of the Family Library.
Megahed said the minister decided to change the name to the Library of the Revolution. He said he learned about the change through the media and had various objections to the decision. These included the library’s watermark, which would be extremely expensive to change. He added that he as head of the General Book Organisation should have been informed of the change by the minister, and not through the press.
A source at the General Book Organisation who wished to remain anonymous said the decision to end Megahed’s mandate came after Megahed said that he would not carry out any work for the organisation for the time being.
The Family Library project was started in 1994 by the supreme committee of the Reading for All campaign. The committee was headed by Suzanne Mubarak, the wife of ousted president Hosni Mubarak. It offers literary publications at low prices.
In a statement made after a committee meeting on Thursday, the supreme committee of the Family Library announced its reservations regarding the name change and said that they would retain the project’s original name.
The Ministry of Culture could not be reached for comment.
