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Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

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Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt
Incumbent
Assumed office
16 July 2013
PresidentAdly Mansour
Prime MinisterHazem Al Beblawi
Preceded byMomtaz El Saeed
44th Minister of Defence
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 August 2012
PresidentMohamed Morsi
Adly Mansour (acting)
Prime MinisterHesham Qandil
Hazem Al Beblawi (interim)
Preceded byMohamed Hussein Tantawi
Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Egypt
Incumbent
Assumed office
12 August 2012
PresidentMohamed Morsi
Adly Mansour (acting)
Prime MinisterHesham Qandil
Hazem Al Beblawi (interim)
Preceded byMohamed Hussein Tantawi
Personal details
BornAbdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi
(1954-11-19) 19 November 1954 (age 70)
Cairo
Political partyIndependent
Military service
Allegiance Egypt
Branch/serviceEgyptian Army
Years of service1977–present
Rank Field Marshal
UnitInfantry
CommandsMinister of Defense and Military Production
Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance
Northern Military Region
23rd Mechanized Division (Suez)
Battles/wars

Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil el-Sisi (Template:Lang-ar, ‘Abd al-Fattāḥ Sa‘īd Ḥusayn Khalīl al-Sīsī, IPA: [ʕæbdel.fætˈtæːħ sæˈʕiːd ħeˈseːn xæˈliːl esˈsiːsi]; more commonly known as General Sisi), (born 19 November 1954) is an Egyptian Field Marshal who has been Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, as well as Minister of Defence, since 12 August 2012. As head of the armed forces, he played the leading role in ousting Islamist President Mohamed Morsi, following mass protests against Morsi and his government. El-Sisi was subsequently appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister, while remaining Minister of Defense.

Early life and military education

El-Sisi was born in Cairo on 19 November 1954. He graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy in 1977. He attended the following courses:

Career

El-Sisi received his commission as a military officer in 1977 serving in the mechanized infantry, specializing in anti-tank warfare and mortar warfare. He became Commander of the Northern Military Region-Alexandria in 2008 and then Director of Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance. El-Sisi was the youngest member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt. On 12 August 2012, Egyptian president Mohamed Morsi made a decision to replace Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, with el-Sisi, and promoted him to the rank of General. El-Sisi also took the post of Minister of Defense and Military Production in the Qandil Cabinet. On January 27, 2014, he was appointed to the rank of field marshall.

Main Command Positions

  • Commander, 509th Mechanized Infantry Battalion.
  • Chief of Staff, 134th Mechanized Infantry Brigade.
  • Commander, 16th Mechanized Infantry Brigade.
  • Chief of Staff, 2nd Mechanized Infantry Division.
  • Chief of Staff, Northern Military Zone.
  • Deputy Director, Military Intelligence and Reconnaissance Department.

Minister of Defense

After el-Sisi was appointed as Minister of Defense on 12 August 2012, there were concerns in Egypt regarding rumors that General el-Sisi was the hand of the Muslim Brotherhood in the army, though el-Sisi has always declared that the Egyptian army stands on the side of Egyptian people. On 28 April 2013, during celebrations for Sinai Liberation Day, el-Sisi said that, "the hand that harms any Egyptian must be cut". This statement was taken by Morsi opponents as a clarification that the Army is in support the people. However, the statement was interpreted by Morsi supporters as a warning to Morsi opponents that el-Sisi would not allow an overthrow of the government. He remained in office under the new government, formed after the coup that deposed Morsi, and led by Hazem Al Beblawi. He was also appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt.

July 2013

Main articles: Egyptian Revolution of 2013 and 2013 Egyptian coup d'état

On 30 June 2013, in response to the Tamarod movement, mass demonstrations took place in Tahrir Square and Heliopolis Palace in Cairo as well as in other Egyptian cities including Alexandria, Port Said and Suez.

Clashes took place around Egypt. Soon afterwards, the Egyptian Army issued a 48-hour ultimatum which aired on television that gave the country's political parties until 3 July to meet the demands of the anti-Morsi demonstrators. The Egyptian military also threatened to intervene if the dispute was not resolved by then.

On 2 July 2013 the presidency rejected the Egyptian Army's 48-hour ultimatum and Morsi made a late speech declaring that he would "defend the legitimacy of his elected office with his life and he won't step down".

On 3 July 2013, the Egyptian Army declared that as the political parties had failed to meet the deadline and Morsi had failed to build a national consensus for his leadership, they had to overthrow Morsi. The Egyptian Army then installed Adly Mansour as the interim head of state in his place, and ordered the arrest of many members of the Muslim Brotherhood on charges of "inciting violence and disturbing general security and peace." El-Sisi announced on television that the president had "failed to meet the demands of the Egyptian people" and declared that the constitution would be suspended, which was met by acceptance from anti-Morsi demonstrations and condemnation from pro-Morsi supporters in Rabia Al-Adwyyiah. Many Islamist movements, such as the Muslim Brotherhood, Al-Wasat Party and al-Gama'a al-Islamiyya, rejected the change of regime as a military coup, which they described as "illegitimate" and "anti-democratic".Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page).

In November 2013 Morsi claimed to have been kidnapped by the Armed Forces and held at the Republican Guard headquarters a day before the army announced his removal; he claimed that he had been kept there until 5 July and forcibly moved again to a naval base where he spent the next four months. The Egyptian Armed Forces later gave Catherine Ashton the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy for the European Union permission to meet him. Ashton later stated that Morsi was doing well.

The new Prime Minister Hazem Al Beblawi decided to split the Ministry of Defense and Military Production into two ministries. El-Sisi retained the defense portfolio, while Air Marshall Reda Hafez received the military production portfolio until El-Sisi got it back again on 3 December 2013 following Hafez's death. Beblawi also named el-Sisi as First Deputy Prime Minister of Egypt. He was sworn in on 16 July 2013.

El-Sisi as a popular hero

The anti-Morsi demonstrators on the streets welcomed el-Sisi's overthrow of Morsi with celebrations and carried posters of el-Sisi, chanting "The Army and the People are one hand" and supporting General el-Sisi. On social networks, thousands of Egyptians changed their profile pictures to pictures of el-Sisi, while others started campaigns requesting that el-Sisi be promoted to the rank of field marshal, while others hoped he would be nominated in the next presidential elections.

Cupcakes, chocolate and necklaces bearing the "CC" initials were created, restaurants in Egypt named sandwiches after him, blogs shared his pictures, and columns, op-eds, TV shows and interviews discussed the "new idol of the Nile valley" in the Egyptian mainstream media.

On December 6, 2013, el-Sisi was named "Time Person of the Year" in Time magazine's annual reader poll. The accompanying article noted "Sisi’s success reflected the genuine popularity of a man who led what was essentially a military coup in July against the democratically elected government of then President Mohammed Morsi.".

Presidential campaign

"Kamel Gemilak" or (Finish your favor) along with "A nation's demand" and "El-Sisi for president" are campaigns were started aiming to gather signatures in order to press el-Sisi, who has said he has no desire to govern, to run. Many politicians and parties had announced their support for el-Sisi in the event of his running for president, including the National Salvation Front, Tamarod, Amr Moussa, the previous candidate for the presidency, Hamdeen Sabahi, Abdel-Hakim Abdel-Nasser (son of President Gamal Abdel Nasser), unsuccessful presidential candidate Ahmed Shafik, Prime Minister Hazem Al Beblawi, Naguib Sawiris and the Free Egyptians Party.

In January 21, 2014 Kamel Gemilak organized a mass conference call in Cairo International Stadium to call on el-Sisi to run for president.

Call for mass demonstrations

On 24 July, during a speech at a military parade, General el-Sisi called for mass demonstrations to grant the Egyptian military and police a “mandate” to crack down on “terrorism”. Some interpreted this to mean that el-Sisi felt the need of the people to prove to the world that it wasn't a coup but the popular will, while the statement was seen by others as contradicting the military’s pledges to hand over power to civilians after removing Mr. Morsi and as indicating an imminent crackdown against Islamists.

The reactions to el-Sisi's announcement ranged from open support from the Egyptian presidency and the Tamarod movement to rejection, not only by the Muslim Brotherhood, but also by the Salafi Al-Nour Party, the moderate Strong Egypt Party, the revolutionary April 6 Youth Movement and Egyptian human rights groups.

However, on Friday July 26, 2013, millions rallied across Egypt, responding to el-Sisi's call which was described as "the largest crowds in 2½ years of upheaval" and even bigger numbers than June 30, 2013 demonstrations.

During the August 2013 Egyptian raids, the Egyptian military under el-Sisi's command joined with the national police in removing camps of Muslim Brotherhood supporters from sit-ins being held throughout the country. This resulted in rapidly escalating violence that eventually led to the deaths of 638 people, of whom 595 were civilians and 43 police officers, with at least 3,994 injured. Some liberal activists who had supported the ousting of Morsi publicly voiced their concerns: "I'm not happy when they use violence. And I'm worried about them using it again," said Gamal Eid, a well-known human rights activist. Robert Fisk described General al-Sisi as at a loss, but that a massacre would go down in history as an infamy. Lee Smith concluded that "Egypt’s New Leader Is Unfit to Rule". El-Sisi's recent decision-making suggests a character that is deeply flawed, rash and dangerous. In a file published by the State Information Services, the government explained the raids by claiming that police went on to use force dispersing the sit-in on 14 August 2013, with the least possible damage, causing hundreds of civilians and police to fall as victims, while Muslim Brotherhood supporters imposed a blockade for 46 days against the people in Al Nahda and Rabaa al-Adawiya squares under the name of sit-in where tens of protests took to the street daily hindered the lives of the Egyptians, causing unrest and the death or injury of many victims as well as damage to public and private properties. A poll by the Egyptian Centre for Public Opinion Research later showed that 67 percent of Egyptians were satisfied concerning the methods by which the Rabaa al-Adaweya and Nahda sit-ins had been dispersed.

On August 3, 2013, el-Sisi gave his first interview since the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi. Speaking to The Washington Post, he criticized the U.S. response and accused the Obama administration of disregarding the Egyptian popular will and of providing insufficient support amid threats of a civil war, saying, “You left the Egyptians. You turned your back on the Egyptians, and they won’t forget that.”

6 October war anniversary

On the 6 October war anniversary, el-Sisi announced that the army was committed to the popular mandate of 26 July 2013: “We are committed, in front of God, to the Egyptian and Arab people that we will protect Egypt, the Egyptians and their free will.”

During the anniversary celebration, General el-Sisi invited the Emirati, Iraqi, Bahraini, Moroccan and Jordanian defense ministers to celebrate with Egypt. During his speech he said in a warning way that the Egyptian people “will never forget who stood with them or against them”. El-Sisi described 6 October as “a day to celebrate for all Arabs”, hoping for the “unification of Arabs”. He also thanked “Egypt's Arab brothers, who stood by its side.” El-Sisi commented on the relationship between the Egyptian army and Egyptian people, saying that it is hard to break. El-Sisi said: “We would die before you would feel pain”. He also compared the Egyptian army to the Pyramid, saying that “it cannot be broken”.

Medals and Decorations

  • 25 April Decoration (Liberation of Sinai).
  • Distinguished Service Decoration.
  • Military Duty Decoration, Second Class.
  • Military Duty Decoration, First Class.
  • Longevity & Exemplary Medal.
  • Liberation of Kuwait Medal.
  • Silver Jubilee of October War Medal.
  • Golden Jubilee of the 23rd of July Revolution
  • Silver Jubilee of The Liberation Of Sinai Medal
  • 25 January Revolution Medal.

See also

References

  1. Associated Press. Hosted2.ap.org. Retrieved on 2013-08-15.
  2. "Abdel Fattah al Sisi: New commander of the armed forces". Egypt Independent. Retrieved 7 October 2012.
  3. "Profile: Egypt armed forces chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi". BBC. 21 August 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012.
  4. ^ "Profile: Egypt armed forces chief Abdul Fattah al-Sisi". State Information Service. 5 November 2013. Retrieved 5 November 2013.
  5. "Morsy assumes power: Sacks Tantawi and Anan, reverses constitutional decree and reshuffles SCAF". Daily News Egypt. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  6. "Egypt's army chief Abdel Fattah al-Sisi receives a promotion ahead of likely presidency bid". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 27 January 2014. Retrieved 27 January 2014.
  7. "Al-Sisi : The hand that harm any egyptian must be cut".
  8. "Profile: General Abdel Fattah Al Sisi". Al Jazeera. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  9. "Egypt Orders Mass Arrests Of Muslim Brotherhood Members". Al Jazeera. 3 July 2013. Retrieved 3 July 2013.
  10. "Profile: Morsi claims to be kidnapped". The Jerusalem Post. 13 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  11. "Profile: Morsi claims to be kidnapped". Press TV. 14 November 2013. Retrieved 11 December 2013.
  12. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/11/13/morsi-claims-kidnapped_n_4265964.html
  13. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/07/30/catherine-ashton-meets-mohammed-morsi_n_3675740.html
  14. "Cabinet ministers sworn in". Daily News Egypt. 16 July 2013. Retrieved 17 July 2013.
  15. ^ "The Cult of Sisi". Cite error: The named reference "The Cult of Sisi" was defined multiple times with different content (see the help page).
  16. "Catch the Al-Sisi mania".
  17. "http://egyptianchronicles.blogspot.com/2013/10/and-el-sisi-mania-goes-on-and-on.html". {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  18. "httphttp://sisifetish.tumblr.com/". {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  19. "http://thelede.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/10/25/its-sisi-mania-as-nationalist-fervor-sweeps-through-egypt/". {{cite news}}: External link in |title= (help)
  20. Rayman, Noah. "Egypt's Sisi Wins Reader Poll for TIME Person of the Year". Time (magazine). Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  21. Khalil, Ashraf. "How Egypt's Gen. al-Sisi Won TIME's Person of the Year Poll". Time (magazine). Retrieved 2013-12-07.
  22. "Egypt army chief El-Sisi pushed towards presidential run".
  23. "NSF will back Sisi if he runs for president, Badawy says".
  24. "We support Sabahi if Sisi does not run for presidency: Tamarod Founder".
  25. "Moussa urges Sisi to run for president".
  26. "Sabahi to support Al-Sisi if he runs for presidency ".
  27. "Egypt army chief El-Sisi pushed towards presidential run".
  28. "Shafiq will not run for presidency if Al-Sisi nominates himself".
  29. "Mubarak's last PM backs army's Sisi for Egyptian president".
  30. http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/01/23/Egypt-s-PM-backs-Sisi-for-president.html
  31. "Swiris Backs AlSisi".
  32. "Supporters urge Egypt general to run for president".
  33. "Showdown in Cairo: Egyptian general demands permission to take on the 'terrorists'". The Independent. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  34. ^ "Egyptian General Calls for Mass Protests". New York Times. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  35. "Army chief's rally call finds backing in Egypt press". BBC. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  36. "Egypt's presidency calls for protests against 'terrorism'". ahram online. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  37. "'Rebel' endorses El-Sisi's call for Friday demos". ahram online. 25 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  38. "Egypt's Nour Party and 6 April reject El-Sisi's call for Friday rallies". ahram online. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  39. "Egypt's Abol Fotouh warns against army-called rally". Chicago Tribune. 24 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  40. "6 April Youth Movement to stay off the streets on Friday". Daily News Egypt. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  41. "Egypt rights groups voice misgiving about army's call for rallies". ahram online. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  42. "Egypt rights groups voice misgiving about army's call for rallies". AP. 26 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  43. "Army embrace starts to worry some Egyptians". Reuters. 15 July 2013. Retrieved 26 July 2013.
  44. "Death toll from Egypt violence rises to 638: Health ministry". Al-Ahram. 15 August 2013. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  45. Kirkpatrick, David D. (15 August 2013). "Islamists Debate Their Next Move in Tense Cairo". New York Times. Archived from the original on 19 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  46. Fisk, Robert (August 8, 2013). "In Egypt General al-Sisi is at a loss – but a massacre on Eid would bring too much infamy". The Independent.
  47. Smith, Lee (Aug 20, 2013). "Viewpoint: Egypt's New Leader Is Unfit to Rule". Time Magazine.
  48. State Information Services (15 August 2013). "Sit in Dispersal". State Information Services. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
  49. "Poll: 67% of Egyptians satisfied about method of ending pro-Morsy sit-ins".
  50. "Egyptian opinion on sit-in dispersals: Finding truth in reported facts".
  51. "67% of Egyptians are satisfied with dispersal of Brotherhood sit-ins: Baseera".
  52. ^ "Egypt rights groups voice misgiving about army's call for rallies". Daily News Egypt. 7 October 2013. Retrieved 7 October 2013.

External links

Military offices
Preceded byMohamed Hussein Tantawi Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces
2012–present 		Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded byMohamed Hussein Tantawi Minister of Defence
2012–present 		Incumbent
Preceded byMohamed Morsi Supreme Commander of the Egyptian Armed Forces
2013–present 		Incumbent
Commanders of the Egyptian Armed Forces since the Egyptian Revolution of 1952
Ministers of defense &
commanders-in-chief		 Emblem of the Egyptian Armed Forces
Chiefs of staff of
the Armed Forces
Italics indicate interim officeholder
Qandil Cabinet
Beblawi Cabinet

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