Mohamed Hassanein Heikal (September 23, 1923 – February 17, 2016) was an Egyptian journalist and historian. He began his journalistic career when Egypt was a monarchy. After the July 23 Revolution, he developed a close relationship with the Free Officers and Gamal Abdel Nasser, remaining closely informed of political developments in Egypt for over fifty years. [2] He was editor-in-chief of Al-Ahram newspaper.