Adly Mansour

Reviewed by: Wafaa El-houseiny 

Translated by: Zeinab Mohamed 

Adly Mansour

On December 23, 1945, Counselor Adly Mahmoud Mansour was born to a simple family whose roots go back to the countryside and Upper Egypt. His father was from the Menoufia Governorate and his mother was from the Beni Suef Governorate. He was also the son of an Azhar scholar who worked in the Egyptian Ministry of Endowments. He was Sheikh Mahmoud Mansour, who died when his son, Adly, was thirteen years old. Adly Mansour entered the Weapon Primary School, and due to his academic excellence, he took the primary exam when he was in the fourth year of primary school. Then Adly Mansour joined the New Helmeya Preparatory School. He was ten years old when he joined the preparatory stage to transfer to another school. It is noteworthy that he was proficient in the Arabic language since his childhood, so much so that he was chosen to give a farewell speech to one of the teachers of Al-Helmeya Preparatory School to transfer him to another school. When the crowded ceremony was about to end, and his speech was ignored, he insisted on giving his speech, and his insistence motivated the school principal to give a speech. The student's speech brought tears to the eyes of the audience due to its eloquence. He then completed secondary school, and from there he moved to the world of law and joined the Faculty of Law, obtaining a bachelor’s degree it in 1967. The June 1967 setback caused the postponement of the exams for two subjects. The defeat also caused despair for the main character of this biography, and he received a high good rating of 75%, which is, slightly less than a very good rating.


In 1969, Adly Mansour obtained a postgraduate diploma in public law from the Faculty of Law at Cairo University. He also obtained a postgraduate Diploma in Administrative Sciences from the Faculty of Law, Cairo University, in 1970.


The workforce chose him, like his generation, to work there, and from there he moved to one of the public sector companies, but he could only see himself sitting on the bench of the judge. He applied to work in the Public Prosecution Office, but for some reason, his appointment was ruled out, until the State Council announced its need to appoint assistant delegates. In January 1970, he took a written exam at Cairo University, Faculty of Law, and was the first among ten individuals chosen to be appointed. Due to a dispute between the President of the State Council, Shalabi Youssef, and the Minister of Justice, their appointment was delayed. Due to the insistence of the President of the State Council, the first was appointed, Adly Mansour, who quickly gained fame. He was great as a distinguished judge, which made many Egyptian institutions seek help from him, such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Legislative Secretariat of the Council of Ministers, and the National Research Center. He joined the work as a member of the Fatwa and Legislation Department of the Presidency of the Republic and the governorates, in 1970. Then he joined the work as a member of the Fatwa and Legislation Department of the Ministries of Education and Higher Education, in 1972. He then joined the work as a member of the Fatwa and Legislation Department of the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Justice, in 1972, and during the period from September 1975 to January 1977, he obtained a scholarship to the Institute of Public Administration in Paris. After his return, he joined the Technical Office of the Advisor to the President of the State Council, in 1977. In 1978, he joined the Fatwa and Legislation Department of the Ministries of Endowments, Health, Social Affairs, and Al-Azhar Affairs. In 1992, he worked as a member of the Supreme Constitutional Court. Perhaps fate was what shaped his acquaintance with these institutions into a bigger picture of Egypt and its problems.



In 1975, Mansour was appointed Deputy Category B. In 1976, he was appointed Deputy Class A. In 1977, he was appointed Assistant Counselor, Category B. In 1980, he was appointed Assistant Counselor, Category A. In 1984, he was appointed as an advisor to the State Council. In 1990, he was appointed Undersecretary of the State Council. In 1992, he was appointed Vice-President of the State Council. In 1992, he was appointed Vice President of the Supreme Constitutional Court. Finally, he was appointed President of the Supreme Constitutional Court, in 2013.

In 1973, he was assigned to work as a legal advisor (a) to the General Authority for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Buildings Transformation Fund during non-official working hours. He was assigned to work as a legal advisor to the National Research Center outside of official working hours, in 1974, and also from 1977-1983. He was appointed as a member of the judicial committees for agricultural reform for the judicial year 1980-1981. In 1982, he was seconded as an advisor to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Legislative Secretariat) outside of official working hours until the secondment began in 1983. He was seconded to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia as a legal advisor to the Ministry of Commerce during the period from 1983 to 1990. He was then assigned as an advisor to the General Secretariat of the Council of Ministers (Legislative Secretariat) during non-official working hours, from 1990-1992.


Chosen by constitutional jurist Awad Al-Murr; President of the Constitutional Court, a judge of the Constitutional Court, and participated in many of the court’s famous rulings; Counselor Adly Mansour chaired the constitutional hearings in 2012 that abolished the “political isolation” law. It also prohibited members of the former regime from competing in elections. He issued several rulings. The most important of which is the previous oversight of the Presidential Elections Law, and the unconstitutionality of the text of Article 1 of the draft law, which relates to the start of the electoral campaign for presidential candidates, in addition to the unconstitutionality of text of Article 6 bis, added to the law prohibiting members of the Presidential Elections Commission from assuming executive leadership positions.


On May 19, 2013, the General Assembly of the Supreme Constitutional Court approved the appointment of Counselor Adly Mansour. The First Deputy President of the Court was its President, succeeding Counselor Maher El-Behairy, until Counselor Adly Mansour was chosen to serve as President of the Arab Republic of Egypt. This came after the statement delivered by General Abdel Fattah El-Sisi - Minister of Defense and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces at the time - on the evening of Wednesday, July 3, 2013. The constitution was temporarily suspended and the President of the Constitutional Court took over the administration of the country’s affairs for a transitional period.