| Farid Al-Ghadry | |
|---|---|
| Born | (1954-06-18) June 18, 1954 (age 70) Aleppo, Syria |
| Education | American University |
| Occupation(s) | Co-founder and current president of the Reform Party of Syria |
Farid Al-Ghadry (Arabic: فريد الغادري) (born June 18, 1954) is the Syrian-born co-founder and current president of the United States–based Reform Party of Syria, a party lobbying for regime change in Syria. Al-Ghadry has been compared to Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi exile who lobbied the US government to liberate his home country from Saddam Hussein.
Personal life
Ghadry was born in Aleppo, Syria, but in 1964 his family emigrated to Beirut, Lebanon because of political turmoil. There he attended the Maristes Brothers School (Champville – Deek-el-Mehdi). In 1975, the Ghadry family emigrated to the U.S. and settled in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Ghadry graduated from American University in Washington D.C. in 1979 with a degree in finance and marketing.
Ghadry, because of his father's work, was granted Saudi citizenship. In September 2007, Ghadry's Syrian citizenship was revoked by Syrian president Bashar al-Assad after Ghadry appeared before Israel's Knesset Foreign Affairs and Defense Committee.
Ghadry has four children. He is also known in the U.S. as "Frank Ghadry." He has served on the Board of Trustees of Norwood School in Bethesda, Maryland, and headed the Capital Campaign for Crew at St. Albans and National Cathedral Schools.
Career
Ghadry worked at EG&G Intertech Inc., a subsidiary of EG&G, a Fortune 500 U.S. defense contractor, for two years before starting his own business, International TechGroup Inc., in 1983. This company was Washington-based and produced software for the U.S. Navy to digitize paperwork on aircraft carriers. He sold this business in 1989. In 1990, he began buying antiquated Soviet computers and stripping them for gold plating. Other businesses have included Hannibal's Coffee Company, a chain of coffee shops that went bankrupt in 1996.
References
- Blumenthal, Max (6 June 2011). "On Naksa Day, unarmed resistance sends Israel into violent contortions". Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- Abraham, Salim (25 March 2007). ""Farid Ghadry, Syria's Chalabi: From Washington to Damascus," by Salim Abraham". Syria Comment. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- Eaves, Elisabeth (7 February 2005). "To Be Chalabi, or Not To Be". Slate. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- Greenway, H.D.S. (13 December 2005). "A hungry eye for Damascus?". The Boston Globe.
- Weisman, Alan. "Richard Perle: Grooming the Next Ahmad Chalabi". Washington Report on Middle East Affairs. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- Weisman, Alan (28 November 2007). "'Heroes' in waiting". Los Angeles Times.
- Leupp, Gary (22 December 2005). "A Syrian Chalabi? An Ominous Neocon Gathering". Dissident Voice. Archived from the original on 21 February 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
- Yoav Stern (2007). "Assad revokes citizenship of politician who visited Knesset". Retrieved 15 September 2007.
- "Mideast dissidents speak put". John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations. 4 April 2007. Archived from the original on April 4, 2007.
External links
- From Hama to Hamas: Syria's Islamist Policies, Farid Ghadry, Jewish Policy Center Quarterly, Sprint 2009
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- A Syrian Chalabi?, Gary Leupp, Professor of History at Tufts University, 24 December 2005
- Exiled Syrian opposition leader to visit Knesset next month, Ha'aretz, 27 May 2007
- Arab MKs attack visiting exiled Syrian leader, Amnon Meranda, Ynetnews, June 11, 2007
