Osman Ahmed Osman - Osman The Politician

Osman The Politician

Politically, Osman was a staunch supporter of Anwar Al Sadat. Like Sadat, Osman believed in free-market principles and open-door policies with trade, with certain restrictions. He believed that the private sector should be allowed to thrive; only certain sectors, like utilities, should be public. He denounced Nasser's socialist agenda as merely a ploy to gain support of the masses. For example, Nasser guaranteed jobs for all university graduates. Osman said that this policy was a trick to gain support of the people, but that the policy itself was not sustainable or practical. In his book, he warns graduates from accepting the default government position, saying that the government would not be able to provide such a large number of jobs. Osman argued that the "owner of any private project is interested in expanding it along with his wealth, and expansion of the project can only mean increased production and job opportunities".

Like Sadat, Osman also believed that it was in Egypt's (and the region's) best interest to try and tackle the Israeli-Arab conflict diplomatically. Osman believed that by doing so, the Arab countries would be able to win over the rest of the world. Osman accompanied Sadat on his visit to Israel in 1977 to speak at the Knesset.

Osman believed that for developing a country, business and economic development were a form of national duty far more important than many political issues.