Salvator Cicurel

Salvator Cicurel was a Sephardic Jew who was a leader in the Cairo Jewish community in the first half of the 20th century. Educated in Switzerland, he became Egyptian national épée fencing champion in 1928 and was also an elite golfer in Egypt. He was President of the Cairo Sephardic Jewish Community Council from 1946-57. Cicurel became a storeowner in Cairo, operating Les Grands Magasins Cicurel & Oreco S.A.E., which was a favored shopping destination for the Egyptian royal family, moving Cicurel into the elite class, on good terms with the royals.

Because of this, during the 1948 Israeli War, his store was not placed under government administration, as was done with most Jewish businesses. After a military coup ousted King Farouk in July 1952, the Cicurel store still enjoyed a high level of protection because of his affiliation with members of the Free Officers due to his reputation and accomplishments. The Free Officers even helped rebuild the store after the Cairo Fire of January 1952. This changed during the 1956 Suez Crisis, and the store was placed under government control. After the war, Cicurel was forced to sell his interest to Egyptian Muslims and he emigrated to France in 1957.