Abdel Fattah Saeed Hussein Khalil El-Sisi (, , ;, born 19 November 1954) was an Egyptian military commander who was Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces, as well as Minister of Defence, from 12 August 2012 until 26 March 2014. As head of the armed forces, he played the leading role in ousting Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, following mass protests against Morsi and his government. El-Sisi was subsequently appointed as First Deputy Prime Minister, while remaining Minister of Defense. El-Sisi confirmed on 26 March 2014 that he will run for president in the 2014 presidential election.

Early life and military education[link]

He graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy in 1977. He attended the following courses: General Command and Staff Course, Egyptian Command and Staff College, 1987; General Command and Staff Course, Joint Command and Staff College, United Kingdom, 1992; War Course, Fellowship of the Higher War College, Nasser's Military Sciences Academy, Egypt, 2003; War Course, US Army War College, United States, 2006; Egyptian Military Attaché in Riyadh, KSA; Basic Infantry Course, USA.

Career[link]

Main command positions[link]

Minister of defense[link]

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 of 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. On 27 January 2014, he was promoted to the rank of field marshal.

2013 Egyptian coup d'état[link]

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".

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.

Egyptian presidential election, 2014[link]

On 6 December 2013, El-Sisi was named the 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.''".

On 6 December 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.''".

"Kamel Gemilak" or (Complete your kindness) and "El-Sisi for president" are campaigns that 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 including Egyptians and non-Egyptians 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, the Free Egyptians Party, The Revolutionary Forces Bloc, and the Russian president Vladimir Putin. However, Hamdeen Sabahi may run against him in a future presidential race. Subsequently, Sabahi has issued criticisms of Sisi and his potential candidacy by expressing doubt about Sisi's commitment to democracy, arguing that the general bears a measure of direct and indirect responsibility for the human rights violations carried out during the period of the interim government, and denouncing what he deems to be the transitional government's hostility toward the goals of the revolution.

Kamel Gemilak has claimed to have collected 26 million signatures asking Sisi to run for president.

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

In 6 February 2014, the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Seyassah has announced that El-Sisi will run for president saying that he had said that no alternative but to meet the wishes of the Egyptian people for him to run. Colonel Ahmed Ali the Egyptian army's spokesperson later denied the news saying that it's not accurate through his official Facebook page.

El-Sisi confirmed on 26 March 2014 that he will run for president in the 2014 presidential election. Shortly after his announcement, a popular hashtag, which translates as "vote for the pimp" has been tweeted hundreds of thousands of times. It became one of the methods used against al-Sisi and against his candidacy.

Call for mass demonstrations[link]

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

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 action 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 El-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". 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 3 August 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[link]

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 [the Egyptian people] would feel pain". He also compared the Egyptian army to the Pyramid, saying that "it cannot be broken".

Personal life[link]

According to Sherifa Zuhur, a professor at the War College, when El-Sisi attended, many American officers expressed doubts that Muslims could be democratic, which he disputed, and he and others were critical of decisions made in Iraq. Zuhur also had the impression that El-Sisi supported gradual move towards pluralism.

Medals and decorations[link]

See also[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

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