Edition: U.S. / Global

In Upheaval for Egypt, Morsi Forces Out Military Chiefs

CAIRO — President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt forced the retirement on Sunday of his powerful defense minister, the army chief of staff and other senior generals, moving more aggressively than ever before to reclaim political power that the military had seized since the fall of Hosni Mubarak last year.

Egyptian Presidency, via Associated Press

President Mohamed Morsi of Egypt, right, accepted the oath of office from his new defense minister, Gen. Abdul-Fattah el-Sisi. General Sisi’s predecessor was unexpectedly ousted on Sunday.

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Sheriff Abd El Minoem/Egyptian Presidency, via Associated Press

Mr. Morsi talking last month with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi. The field marshal, who had led Egypt for more than a year until Mr. Morsi’s election, was pushed into retirement.

Mr. Morsi also nullified a constitutional declaration, issued by the military before he took office on June 30, that had gutted the authority of his office. On Sunday, he replaced it with his own declaration, one that gave him broad legislative and executive powers and, potentially, a decisive role in the drafting of Egypt’s still unfinished new constitution.

The maneuvers by Mr. Morsi, a former leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, cemented a major shift in power that began with his election in the face of intense opposition from the military. It received a decisive push this month after 16 Egyptian soldiers were killed in northern Sinai, deeply embarrassing the generals and weakening them politically.

Still, it was unclear on Sunday whether the generals would accept Mr. Morsi’s latest moves. One top general said the reshuffle was made in “consultations” between Mr. Morsi and the military. There was no sign of a backlash by the military on Sunday night, as the president’s supporters held large rallies in Cairo. And other figures from across the political spectrum hailed Mr. Morsi’s decision.  

“We had been chanting, ‘Down, down with military rule,’ ” said Shady el-Ghazaly Harb, a liberal political activist. “Today it came true.”

Officials in Washington have been closely watching the confrontation between Mr. Morsi’s civilian government and military leaders, saying that negotiations over how to share power were going on behind closed doors. Neither the White House nor the State Department offered any immediate reaction to the command shake-up ordered by Mr. Morsi.

An Obama administration official said the United States was not warned that it was coming.

In a fiery speech on Sunday at an event celebrating a Muslim holy day, Mr. Morsi said his decisions were not meant to “embarrass” the military or its leaders and that he was acting in “the best interests of this nation.”

“Today, this nation returns — this people return — with its blessed revolution,” he said.

The retirements announced on Sunday swept away the most prominent names in the military power structure. Most stunning for many observers was the retirement of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the defense minister. A crucial ally of Mr. Mubarak, the field marshal had served in the post for more than 20 years.

More than any other military leader, Field Marshal Tantawi was seen as the symbol, if not the architect, of the military’s bid for increasing power after the 2011 uprising. As the leader of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, known as SCAF, he was the country’s de facto leader before Mr. Morsi’s election. At 76 years old, he was expected to retire soon, though no date had been announced, and Mr. Morsi had just reappointed him as defense minister.

The army chief of staff who was forced to retire, Sami Hafez Anan, was seen by many analysts as a potential successor to Field Marshal Tantawi. Both men were kept on as presidential advisers with undisclosed roles. Mr. Morsi also pushed out the chiefs of the navy, the air force and the air defense branch.

As analysts struggled to tell whether the shake-up represented a break between Mr. Morsi and the military, or a carefully brokered deal, many looked for clues in the replacements named for the retired generals.

For two major posts, Mr. Morsi chose officers from the supreme military council, suggesting that he had possibly struck a deal with younger officers. Some saw the way that the retirements were announced — not as voluntary actions by the officers, but as referrals by the president — as evidence that they were a surprise. But that was far from clear.

Steven Lee Myers contributed reporting from Washington, David D. Kirkpatrick from New York, and Mayy El Sheikh from Cairo.

This article has been revised to reflect the following correction:

Correction: August 12, 2012

An earlier version of this article contained a picture caption that incorrectly identified the location in a photo of the Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi. He was standing on the right, not the left.