- Farid Ghadry
Farid Ghadry (born on
June 18 , 1954) is the Syrian-born co-founder and current president of theReform Party of Syria , opposition party of "pro-democracy" Syrians who wish to see regime change in Syria. Ghadry has functioned as an American defense contractor and businessman, "Frank Ghadry," who represents himself as being born in Lebanon. ["Farid N. Ghadry," "Sourcewatch", August 10, 2008.]Early life
Ghadry was born in
Aleppo , Syria, but in 1964 his family emigrated toBeirut ,Lebanon because of political turmoil. There he attended the Maristes Brothers School (Champville - Deek-el-Mehdi). In 1975 the Ghadry family, once again, emigrated to the U.S. and settled in the suburbs of Washington DC. Mr. Ghadry graduated from the American University in Washington DC in 1979 with a degree in Finance and Marketing.Entreprenurial interests
He worked at EG&G Intertech Inc., a subsidiary of EG&G Inc., 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. [BizWatch, cited in Sourcewatch, August 10, 2008.] He sold this business in 1989 and has been involved in many entrepreneurial operations since. In 1990, he began buying antiquated Soviet computers and striping them for gold plating. Reportedly, Ghadry left Russia when his business came to the attention of "unsavory types." [Sourcewatch, 8-10-08.] Other businesses have included Hannibal's Coffee Company, a chain of coffee shops that went bankrupt in 1996.Citizenship conflicts
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 In September 2007 Ghadry's Syrian citizenship was revoked by Syrian president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 . [cite web|author=Yoav Stern|year=2007|title=Assad revokes citizenship of politician who visited Knesset|url=http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/903775.html|accessdate=2007-09-15]Activism
In October 2001 Ghadry, along with several Syrian-Americans, launched the Reform Party of Syria.Ghadry and the Executive Committee of RPS are hoping to return to Syria to rebuild the country on the basis of principles of economic and political reforms that will usher democracy, prosperity, freedom of expression, and human rights in addition to lasting peace with
open borders with all of Syria’s neighboring countries including Israel.Ghadry is a member of AIPAC, Israel's main lobbying group in the U.S. [Sourcewatch, August 10, 2008.]
Public appearances
Ghadry has been invited to speak at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, Johns Hopkins University (SAIS), Harvard University, University of Virginia, the European Parliament, the French Parliament, the Israeli Knesset and the Belgian Senate.
Personal life
Farid Ghadry is married to Ahlam Ghadry and 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, MD and headed the Capital Campaign for Crew at St. Albans and National Cathedral Schools. [ [http://diplomacy.shu.edu/news/enews.html MIDEAST DEMOCRACY DISSIDENTS SPEAK OUT] ,
John C. Whitehead School of Diplomacy and International Relations ,4 April ,2007 .]See Also
Elizabeth Cheney Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group References
External links
* [http://www.nationalreview.com/comment/ghadry200509200825.asp "Learning from Walesa"] by Ghadry
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