Hazrat Umar (ra) before accepting Islam

Prior to the advent of Islam, learning to read and write was not common practise among the Arabs. At the advent of the Holy Prophet (sa), only 17 people among the Quraish knew how to read and write. Hazrat Umar (ra) had also learnt to read and write in that era.

(Sheikh Shah Moinuddin Ahmad Nadvi, Siyar al-Sahabah, Vol. 1 [Karachi, Pakistan: Dar al-Isha‘ah, 2004], p. 133)

Hazrat Umar (ra) was among the nobles of the Quraish. Prior to Islam, he was the designated envoy of the Quraish; it was the practise of the Quraish that whenever there would be feuds among them or with others, they would send Hazrat Umar (ra) as their representative.

(Ali Ibn al-Athir, Usd al-Ghabah fi Ma‘rifat al-Sahabah, Vol. 3, Umar (ra) bin al-Khattab [Beirut, Lebanon: Dar al-Kutub al-‘Ilmiyyah, 2003], p. 642)