Kyiv Hilton manager Hassan Ragab dies at 46 (UPDATED)

Hassan Ragab, the general manager at the Hilton Kyiv, died on Aug. 14, hotel staff confirmed on Aug. 15

Galyna Petrenko, the director of business development at Hilton Kyiv, confirmed the news but didn’t give any further details. Ragab was 46.

Ragab had worked at the Hilton Kyiv since its opening in March 2014, the month after the end of EuroMaidan Revolution that ended President Viktor Yanukovych’s rule. He received the Hilton Leadership Award in 2014.

Located in the H-Tower residential complex, the 262-room Hilton 5-star hotel was the first hotel of the Hilton Hotels & Resorts network to open in Ukraine.

Before managing the Hilton in Kyiv, the Egyptian-born Ragab worked at Resta Hotels & Resorts in Cairo and for other Hilton hotels in Egypt and the Arabian Peninsula.

Ragab was a consistent supporter of the Kyiv Post, with the newspaper holding numerous events, such as conferences and CEO breakfasts, at the venue.

The following is the quote Ragab said about what the newspaper means to him and Ukraine in honor of the Kyiv Post’s 20th anniversary in 2015.

“When I took over the position of general manager at Hilton Kyiv in Ukraine, it was very important for me to stay updated with all local news,” Ragab said. “I can confidently say that the Kyiv Post became a personal insiders’ guide to the Ukrainian political and economic situation.”

Tributes to Ragab soon appeared on social media.

Ragab’s school classmate from Cairo, Ahmed Mohye, said to the Kyiv Post that when they were small, Ragab was energetic, friendly, and always laughing. They last saw each other in 1989, but reconnected via Facebook recently.

“Today we mourn you, my childhood friend, and we shall miss you,” Mohye said in a post on Facebook.

“Although I didn’t see you for years, you were always in my mind and heart, and I remember our chats and tricks when we were at school.”

Ragab’s funeral will take place in a mosque in Giza, Egypt on Aug. 16, according to Haitham Nassar, the general manager at Hilton Worldwide.