Born in Jerusalem in 1960, Mr El-Sherif comes from a publishing family. His father, the late Mahmoud El-Sherif, published Al Manar Arabic daily, The Jerusalem Star English-language daily and Ad-Dustour Arabic daily.

Osama El-Sherif studied journalism in the United States and Britain and joined The Jerusalem Star newspaper in Amman in 1982 as editor. He became chief editor of The Jerusalem Star weekly in 1984 and in 1988 he became chief editor of Ad-Dustour Arabic daily in Amman.

In 1989 he founded The Star, Jordan’s only English-language weekly, and in 1994 he co-founded Arabian Communications and Publishing (ACP), an Arab media house specializing in IT related publications. He served as publisher until 1998. He published BYTE Middle East, first IT publication under licence from US; Al Jadeed, under licence from Popular Science magazine; Al Taqnieh Wal Amal, in cooperation with the Financial Times IT supplement.

He became editor of The Gulf Today English daily in Sharjah, UAE in 1998 and returned to Amman in 1999 to become chief editor of Arabia.com, the Arab world’s largest portal.

He is currently managing The Star newspaper and mediaarabia, a private media consultancy.

Osama El-Sherif writes weekly political columns in Arabic and English and is syndicated in Jordanian, Arab and American newspapers.