Salah Zulfikar

Salah El-Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar (صلاح ذو الفقار, ; 18 January 1926 – 22 December 1993) was an Egyptian actor and film producer.

Salah El-Din Ahmed Mourad Zulfikar was born on January 18, 1926, in El Mahalla El Kubra, Gharbia, to Ahmed Mourad Bey Zulfikar (1888-1945), a senior police commissioner in the Ministry of Interior, and Nabila Hanem Zulfikar, a housewife.

Zulfikar was the seventh of eight siblings.

His father had a remarkable impact on his sons in terms of commitment, loyalty, integrity and self-reliance.

His military background did not limit his family's interest in culture, arts and the Egyptian political life in general.

His eldest brother, Mohamed, was a doctor and a businessman, two elder sisters were Soad and Fekreya.

Another brother was Mahmoud, a filmmaker and a major figure in Egyptian film industry, graduated as an architect.

His brother Ezz El-Dine was also a remarkable filmmaker and graduated as a military officer, Kamal was a military officer.

His younger brother Mamdouh was a businessman.

Zulfikar excelled in his studies and was an athlete.

While studying in Police Academy, Zulfikar participated in the guerrilla war of Ismailia against the British forces in 1944.

He graduated in 1946.

Salah Zulfikar was appointed to the Menoufia Security Directorate and the Prisons Authority, specifically Egypt Prison, and also worked as a teacher at the Police Academy.

He was one of Egypt's champions in boxing and won the King's Cup in featherweight in 1947.

Besides boxing, he played shooting and he was an active player in the Police Academy football team.

He initially joined the Faculty of Medicine, Alexandria University, to please his father, who wished Zulfikar to become a doctor like his grandfather.

After his father became sick, he transferred his admission to the Police Academy so he could stay in Cairo beside his father.

Zulfikar graduated in 1947, he was assigned immediately in Monufia Governorate Police force.

Afterwards, Zulfikar volunteered in the Battle of Ismailia of 1952, and in the 1956 Suez War.

He was awarded the medal of military duty (first class) from Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser, in appreciation for his efforts in serving his country.

He started his career as a police officer in the Egyptian National Police, before becoming an actor in 1956.

He is regarded as one of the most influential actors in the history of the Egyptian film industry.

Zulfikar had roles in more than a hundred feature films in multiple genres during a 37-year career, mostly as the leading actor.

He was one of the most dominant leading men in Egyptian cinema.

He worked in theater throughout his career, playing celebrated theatrical roles.

Late in his career, he had considerable success in television roles.

After becoming an actor in 1956 and film producer in 1958.

He started his career as a part-time actor with temporary permits from Ministry of Interior.

Later, he went on to be a full time actor in late 1957.

He appeared in feature films, short films, stage, television and radio serials.

Zulfikar is one of the most famous artistic figures in Egypt and the Arab world.

His contributions to film, television and stage as an actor and film producer earned him a worldwide reputation that made him one of the most influential middle eastern and Arab public figures in the 20th century.

He established his first film production corporation with elder brother Ezz El-Dine Zulficar in 1958.

He ran his new business under the trade name of Ezz El-Dine Zulficar Films.

In 1962, he founded Salah Zulfikar Films company and operated in Egypt and the Arab world for almost 16 years.

Through Zulfikar’s two production companies, which he ran throughout his 20-year career as a film producer, he won numerous awards, with the majority of his films being box office successes.

A year later he was assigned in prison of Cairo which was responsible for prisoners including Anwar Sadat (President of Egypt in 1970) in 1947.

His son, Egyptian entrepreneur Ahmed Zulfikar, mentioned in a 1994 press release that his father participated in the guerrilla war in Ismailia against the British in 1944, and his patriotism was without limits.

In 1996, in the centenary of Egyptian cinema, ten of his films as an actor and five of his films as a producer were listed in the top one hundred Egyptian films of the 20th century.

He was one of Egypt's heroes in its battle against the occupation while serving in the police.