Prominent politician, lawyer and professor of constitutional law Yahia El-Gamal passed away Monday at the age of 86 after a struggle with illness.

El-Gamal was born in 1930 in Menoufeya government and studied law at Cairo University, receiving his PhD in 1967 from the same university. He was considered one of Egypt's most prominent constitutional experts. 

El-Gamal held a number of academic positions, including the dean of the Law Faculty at Cairo University, as well as governmental positions including deputy prime minister under the cabinet of Ahmed Shafik and Essam Sharaf in 2011, but resigned in July of that year.

In 1974, El-Gamal served as Minister of State and Administrative Reform in Mohamed Hegazy's cabinet under president's Anwar El-Sadat.

El-Gamal also penned a number of political and legal books, including his autobiography An Ordinary Life Story, which was published in 2011.

El-Gamal established along with politician Ossama El-Ghazaly Harb and other politicians the Democratic Front political party in 2007, of which he served as president.