Atef Muhammad Ebeid (Arabic: عاطف محمد عبيد‎, IPA: [ˈʕɑːtˤef mæˈħæmmæd ʕeˈbeːd]) (14 April 1932 – 12 September 2014) was an Egyptian politician, who served in various capacities at the governments of Egypt.

Ebeid was born in Tanta, Gharbiya governorate, on 14 April 1932. He graduated from Cairo University in 1955 and received a PhD from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1962.

Career

Ebeid was professor of business at Cairo University until joining politics. In the 1980s he was the minister of cabinet affairs. He served as the minister for domestic development under the Sedki government, and then as minister of planning in the Ganzouri government. He served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 5 October 1999 to July 2004. He was sworn in on 5 October 1999, replacing Kamal Ganzouri. He resigned on 9 July 2004, amid increasing pressure from part of the business community demanding more rapid privatization and less state regulation. Ahmed Nazif replaced him in the post.

Ebeid served as the acting president of Egypt from 20 June 2004 to 6 July 2004, a period during which President Hosni Mubarak was receiving medical treatment in Germany. He was also an economic advisor to Mobarak.

Then Ebeid headed the Arab International Bank, a popular post with former Egyptian prime ministers. In April 2011 he was removed from office by the then prime minister Essam Sharaf due to corruption allegations. He also wrote for the Akhbar Alyoum.

Ebeid was sentenced to ten years in prison on 1 March 2012 for squandering public funds. His assets were also frozen previously. In early January 2013 the Egypt's Court of Appeal overturned the verdict and ordered the ex-PM's retrial, which was held at late January 2013. The court again acquitted him of fraud charges in land case.