Haitham El-Zobaidi, a man who left a huge fingerprint in the media across the Arab world
Haitham El-Zobaidi, CEO of Al Arab Publishing House, has died aged 61
The British-Iraqi media mogul, who was the founder of several news portals, has died in London after a long battle with cancer.
Saturday 17/05/2025
Haitham El-Zobaidi, a man who left a huge fingerprint in the media across the Arab world
LONDON - Haitham El-Zobaidi, the Chief Executive Officer of Al Arab Publishing House, died Saturday aged 61 at a London hospital after a long battle with cancer.
El-Zobaidi came from Iraq to London in 1988 to pursue his postgraduate studies at Imperial College of Science, Technology and Medicine in London.
In 1990, He obtained a Masters Degree in Control Systems at the Faculty of Engineering , then a Ph.D. in Nuclear Engineering from the same university in 1998.
El-Zobaidi’s strong interest in politics landed him a job at Al Arab newspaper in 1991 while he was pursuing his postgraduate studies.
In September 2000, he set up his own news website “Middle East Online” in both Arabic and English.
Middle East Online grew throughout the years to become one of the most followed news portals in the Arab world for covering politics, business, culture, and current events in the Middle East and North Africa.
In 2009, he became a major shareholder in the London-based Al Arab newspaper and became the CEO of Al Arab Publishing House.
In 2014, his ambitious media project continued to grow with the birth of the weekly newspaper “the Arab Weekly” in 2014, his fondness for art and culture drove him to found“Al Jadeed” magazine, a cultural and intellectual Arabic magazine that focuses on contemporary Arab thought, literature, and arts, providing a platform for writers, poets, and intellectuals from across the Arab world.
In 2017, he set up “Ahval News”, an online news website in Turkish which has shot to fame in the first few months thanks to its analysis, commentary, and reporting on politics, society, and culture.
In 2018, he co-founded the Spain-based “Atalayar” news website, which has grown into a respected platform for geopolitical analysis, offering insights into Mediterranean and Arab world affairs, often featuring contributions from diplomats, analysts, and journalists.
El-Zobaidi managed to weather many crises to keep his media group running and was known for his resilience, kindness, modesty and passion for his work.
His legacy will be living on among many of his employees, relatives and friends.
