Satirist and TV host Bassem Youssef shared his happiness with the public early on Tuesday, tweeting, “Proud to be chosen by the Harvard Institute of Politics as a resident fellow.”
Youssef will be joining the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University for a semester. As a resident fellow he will, among other activities, lead a study group, audit classes, attend different seminars and promote academic and political exchanges through informal interactions with both students and faculty members at the university. Other notable former resident fellows include former prime minister of Greece, George Papandreou and former UK prime minister, Gordon Brown.
Youssef has had a colorful career to date. After working as a cardiac surgeon for several years, he delved into political satire and launched his show Al-Bernameg on YouTube in May 2011. A few months later, the privately-owned TV channel ONTV offered to host his show.
In November 2012, Youssef joined the CBC channel. The channel ended its contract with Youssef a year later, however, presumably for mocking the pro-military government and former Interim President Adly Mansour.
