Khaled Ali

Khaled Ali (also spelled Khaled Aly; خالد على, ; born 26 February 1972) is an Egyptian lawyer and activist.

He is known for his advocacy for reform of government and private sector corruption and for promoting social justice and labor rights.

He is the former head of the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights (ECESR), and co-founder of the Front for Defending Egyptian Protesters and the Hisham Mubarak Law Center (HMLC).

Ali was born in Dakahlia Governorate to a modest rural family He enrolled at Zagazig University’s law school in 1990 and graduated in 1994.

Upon graduating, he undertook an unpaid internship at a local law firm before co-founding the HMLC in 1999.

Ali has been a prominent labor activist and lawyer.

Known as a "legendary anti-corruption crusader", Ali has been involved in several prominent court cases against the government, including a 2001 ruling that gave syndicates more freedoms, a 2010 case he won that mandated a higher minimum wage for workers, and a case leading to the nationalisation of three large companies that had been privatised.

A 2001 judgment in a case spearheaded by Ali saw labor syndicates gain more freedoms.

His victory winning the renationalisation of large companies, sold by the former regime in corrupt deals, included retailer Omar Effendi, the Nile Cotton Weaving Company and several other factories.

Ali also served on the legal team that halted the privatisation of Egypt's national health insurance and presided over the legal team advocating for transparency and protection of public insurance and pension funds.

In 2007, Ali noted the growing trend of strikes as a sign of political change: "Taboos were broken during the past few years of political ferment, and workers grew less afraid," he said.

He is the former head of the ECESR, a founding member of the HMLC, a founding member of the Front to Defend Egyptian Protesters (started in 2008), and a founder of "the coordinating committee for the defense of the rights and freedoms of association."

Al-Ahram Weekly called him a "legendary anti-corruption crusader".

Speaking to a reporter in April 2008 about the general strike taking place, Ali noted that its purpose was not to harm the economy, stating that "the point was to make a strong statement and to take a stand."

Ali supported the December 2008 founding of the independent General Union of Real Estate Tax Authority Employees (RETA).

In 2009, amid protests of the state-controlled ETUF and agitation for independent unions in a broad section of trades, Ali said of the tax authority and growing political action by workers in a number of sectors, "The RETA set the example for other workers and civil servants to follow. It's indeed the single most important independent political project in 2009."

He also addressed the problem of Egyptian labor, distrust of political parties, which have tried to co-opt labor's causes, and the fear that demonstrations would be brutally suppressed by the government, stating that "there is also a tactical dimension to trying to avoid the wrath of the government and its security apparatus."

Ali made the distinction between politics and political parties, however, citing the Muslim Brotherhood's control of professional syndicates, versus the intertwining of Egypt's progressive political movement and labor.

"For years, labor constituted the social heart of the progressive political movement, which in turn served as the political brain for labor. That was important for the labor movement to articulate its discourse and negotiate its demands," Ali said.

Ali is known for filing and winning a landmark court case in 2010 that forced the government to set a minimum wage commensurate with the cost of living; it was raised to 1,200 Egyptian pounds per month and covers all workers.

In February 2010, he said, "The government represents the marriage between authority and money—and this marriage needs to be broken up... We call for the resignation of Ahmad Nazif's government because it only works for businessmen and ignores social justice. We call for a minimum wage and a maximum wage, as well as the connection of wages to prices. We also call for annual wage increases in line with inflation rates. We are against the privatisation of the health insurance sector and call for the fixing of all temporary labor contracts."

In April 2010, there was a demonstration outside the cabinet office, where approximately 300 workers protested the government's privatisation policy and against the Egyptian Trade Union Federation (ETUF), which is controlled by the government.

Ali said at the time, "We'll give them a month. If after a month the verdict hasn't been applied in a manner acceptable to workers, all the workers forces taking part in this protest will stage repeated protests until it is implemented," Ali said.

Throughout Ali's career, he has been a strong supporter of worker's strikes and public sector activism.

He won the "Egyptian Corruption Fighter" award in 2011.

Ali was an activist before, during, and after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

He has been involved in worker strikes before and since the downfall of Hosni Mubarak's regime, and has been an active supporter of the role of workers in the revolution and the labor mobilisation that took place during it.

He has denounced violent acts by the police and military, and has represented revolutionaries and the families of those killed in court.

In 2011, he was given the "Egyptian Corruption Fighter" award by the Egyptians Against Corruption movement.

Ali's career has been highlighted by several prominent legal cases and victories, most involving corruption and the private sector.

He fought corruption by the Mubarak government, which had illegally privatised public land and public sector factories.

Suing government officials for selling public property, he won a judgment ordering the return of several large companies to public ownership.

Ali was interviewed in Cairo in February 2011 by a correspondent from Democracy Now!.

Ali said that while middle class youth sparked the Arab Spring, which expressed the political will of the Egyptian people of different classes, the workers had set the stage.

He was against the rule of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and supported postponing the drafting of a new constitution until after the 2012 election.

A latecomer to the 2012 presidential race, Ali announced his candidacy the day after he became eligible to run, making him the youngest candidate in the election.

His platform was one of social and economic justice, including core issues such as regional economic strength, protecting natural resources, fighting corruption, addressing unemployment, and improving workers' rights.

Ali laid great stress on education, which he believes will lift Egypt out of poverty.

Having never belonged to any political party, he called himself the "candidate of the poor" was supported primarily by students, activists, farmers, and workers, generally on the left of the political spectrum.

Ali announced he would run for the 2018 presidential race, but ultimately withdrew.