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Mohamed Hussein Tantawi

Khaled Desouki/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Updated: Aug. 12, 2012

Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi was Egypt’s defense minister and chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military group that took power on Feb. 11, 2011, after weeks of unrest directed at President Hosni Mubarak.

For the next 14 months, Mr. Tantawi was the country’s de facto leader. After the election of the country’s new president, Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood, in June 2012, Mr. Tantawi remained as defense minister until Mr. Morsi forced his retirement in August 2012.

Mr. Tantawi’s ouster followed a security crisis in early August when gunmen opened fire on an Egyptian Army checkpoint in the northern Sinai Peninsula, killing 16 soldiers. The gunmen then seized at least one armored vehicle and headed toward Israel. One vehicle exploded at the border, and another was struck by the Israeli Air Force at the Kerem Shalom border crossing. It was deadliest assault on Egyptian soldiers in recent memory.

The purge seemed for the moment to reclaim for civilian leaders much of the political power the Egyptian military had seized since the fall of Hosni Mubarak. The president also removed the army chief of staff, Sami Anan, and several senior generals, and replaced the commanders of the Navy, Air Force and air defense.

Field Marshal Tantawi, 75, had been expected to retire, but no timetable had been set, at least not publicly. Mr. Morsi’s spokesman, Yasser Ali, said that the current chief of military intelligence, Abdul Fattah el-Sisi, would become the country’s new defense minister.

There was no immediate reaction from the military, which traditionally sees itself as the guardian of the Egyptian state and is a fierce defender of its own powers and prerogatives. It remained to be seen whether the shake-up was the result of an understanding between Mr. Morsi and his senior generals or an unexpected maneuver that could draw a sharp response.

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In the aftermath of the attack in the Sinai, Mr. Morsi moved swiftly to assert his newfound authority, firing his intelligence chief and the governor of Northern Sinai Governorate, and replacing several other top security officials. However, the shake-up that resulted in the retirement of Field Marshal Tantawi went much further. He led the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, the military leadership panel that took power after President Mubarak was toppled in 2011. The generals then fought to restrict the power of Mr. Morsi and the Muslim Brotherhood. Before Mr. Morsi was elected, the generals dissolved the Parliament, where Brotherhood members held about 50 percent of the seats.

While the leadership shuffle was proceeding, the Egyptian military pressed its campaign against the Islamists thought to have carried out the Sinai attack, killing at least five gunmen in a village in Northern Sinai, according to security officials and witnesses cited by Reuters. Strewn about the rubble were chemicals for making explosives, rocket-propelled grenades and machine guns, the officials said.

Background

Before Mr. Tantawi visited the United States in 2008, the American Embassy in Cairo sent a cable to Washington describing him as “aged and change-resistant,” while also “charming and courtly.” The cable, obtained by WikiLeaks and since made public, said that Mr. Tantawi was “mired in a post-Camp David military paradigm that serves his cohorts’ narrow interests for the past three decades.”

The cable also reported that mid-level officers in the Egyptian Army referred to Mr. Tantawi as “Mubarak’s poodle” — incompetent and archaic but intensely loyal.

At a time when Mr. Tantawi refused public explanations or interviews, the cables provided some insight into the American Embassy’s perception of his priorities, his loyalties and his values, perhaps helping explain his actions.

“In the cabinet, where he still wields significant influence, Tantawi has opposed both economic and political reforms that he perceives as eroding central government power,” one said. “He is supremely concerned with national unity, and has opposed policy initiatives he views as encouraging political or religious cleavages within Egyptian society.”

But he was also portrayed by some senior American officers who knew him personally as a shrewd operator who played a significant role in the relatively nonviolent ouster of his patron. 

According to Mr. Tantawi’s official Web page, he was born in 1935 and received his officer’s commission in 1956. His first command was an infantry battalion, and he took part in the wars of 1956, 1967 and 1973.

Taking Power

Until it seized power, Egypt’s powerful military had sought to finesse a growing crisis as unrest swept the country in early 2011. The military  mostly stayed on the sidelines, trying not to alienate a restive public while delaying as long as possible a break with Mr. Mubarak, who had put all of the military’s top leaders into their positions, including Mr. Tantawi. But a key turning point in the protest came on Feb. 1, when the military announced that it would not fire on demonstrators.

On Feb. 4, Mr. Tantawi visited Tahrir Square, the epicenter of the protests, to inspect the troops stationed around the Egyptian Museum. It was the first appearance there by any of the country’s top officials, and protesters and military experts took it as a signal to plainclothes supporters of Mr. Mubarak not to assault the square again.

The military consolidated its control over what it called a democratic transition from nearly three decades of authoritarian rule, dissolving the feeble parliament, suspending the constitution and calling for new elections.

The initial euphoria with which Egyptians greeted the military takeover cooled considerably, especially among those who had been most active in the protests. In April, tens of thousands of angry demonstrators turned out in Tahrir Square for one of the largest demonstrations since Mr. Mubarak stepped down in February. For the first time, Mr. Tantawi personally and publicly became the focus of the crowd’s ire as speakers called him a dictator and demanded that he resign.

The military has seen its standing as defender of the revolution called into question by actions that reflect the authoritarian tactics of the past rather than a blueprint for a democratic future, many said. The military’s critics say that it is either unwilling or incapable of ushering in an era of true democratic reform, an end to corruption and the abolition of abusive police practices.

Mr. Tantawi had a long-established record of support for Mr. Mubarak’s priorities, chiefly an emphasis on Mr. Mubarak’s watchword of “stability,” according to government documents and people who say they have worked with him.

In October, members of the military council said they planned to retain full control of the Egyptian government even after the election of a new Parliament. It threatened to delay presidential elections until 2013, and seemed to be working to guarantee itself a permanent special status in any new constitution, outside of civilian control.

In the face of new outbursts of public anger, and the rising power of the Muslim Brotherhood, which captured the most seats in parliamentary elections, the military seemed to swing between concessions and hardline statements.

Bold Action Before Elections

In June 2012, a tumultuous series of events raised questions about the military’s intentions. Days before the presidential runoff election, which pitted a candidate from the Muslim Brotherhood against a former Air Force general who was Mr. Mubarak’s last prime minister, the military reinstated martial law. Then the country’s highest court, dominated by Mubarak-era judges, dissolved Parliament, asserting that as many as one-third of its members — mostly from the Brotherhood — had been elected illegally.

The court also threw out a law passed in May by Parliament that would have barred the former general, Ahmed Shafik, from the presidential contest. Some critics said the measures together amounted to a quiet coup by the military and judiciary.

Mubarak’s Trial

In September 2011, Mr. Tantawi testified at the trial of his onetime patron and colleague, former President Hosni Mubarak, in a closed hearing that disappointed prosecutors who had hoped he would help determine whether the ousted Egyptian leader conspired to order the killing of unarmed demonstrators in his final days in power.

One lawyer said he failed to provide evidence one way or the other about Mr. Mubarak’s role in the crackdown on protesters, saying that he was not present in meetings that could have proven decisive to the prosecutors’ case.

In June 2012, Mr. Mubarak received a mixed verdict, being cleared of direct responsibility for the deaths of protesters and of corruption charges, but being sentenced to life in prison for failing to stop the crackdown. The military government suggested that it would appeal the verdict, and began leaking details of Mr. Mubarak’s failing health in prison, in what was seen as a bid for sympathy for him.

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ARTICLES ABOUT HUSSEIN TANTAWI

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Changes Atop Egypt's Government Create Uncertain Path for United States

Recent developments in Egypt have brought United States policy makers closer than ever to a confronting a situation that has haunted American relations with Egypt for more than 30 years: a government truly controlled by the Islamists of the Muslim Brotherhood.

August 17, 2012
    President Morsi’s Rebalancing Act in Egypt

    While much is obscure about Egyptian politics, the new president seems to be seeking a fine line between an Army accustomed to power and Islamists hungry for it.

    August 16, 2012, Thursday
      Egyptian Military Official’s Paper Criticized U.S.

      Gen. Sedky Sobhi argued that America’s presence in the Middle East and its “one sided” support of Israel had mired it in an unwinnable war with Islamist militants.

      August 16, 2012, Thursday
        Purge Shows Impatience Within Egypt?s Military
        Purge Shows Impatience Within Egypt’s Military

        In his purge of Egypt’s top generals, President Mohamed Morsi leaned on the support of a junior officer corps that blamed the old guard for a litany of problems within the military.

        August 13, 2012, Monday
          In Upheaval for Egypt, Morsi Forces Out Military Chiefs
          In Upheaval for Egypt, Morsi Forces Out Military Chiefs

          President Mohamed Morsi ousted his powerful defense minister, the army chief of staff and several senior generals, seeming for the moment to reclaim power the military had seized.

          August 12, 2012, Sunday
            Egypt and U.S. Step Up Talks on Security Assistance
            Egypt and U.S. Step Up Talks on Security Assistance

            Concerned about a security vacuum in the Sinai region, officials in the United States and Egypt are discussing American aid that would include equipment, training and surveillance.

            August 12, 2012, Sunday
              Egyptian President Morsi Misses Funeral for Soldiers
              Egyptian President Morsi Misses Funeral for Soldiers

              President Mohamed Morsi did not attend the funeral of 16 soldiers killed in the attack by militants in the Sinai Peninsula, leading to criticism.

              August 07, 2012, Tuesday
                New Egyptian Cabinet Includes Many Government Holdovers
                New Egyptian Cabinet Includes Many Government Holdovers

                Prime Minister Hesham Qandil drew heavily from the ranks of creaking state institutions to form his government, lowering expectations of sweeping change.

                August 02, 2012, Thursday
                  In Egypt, Panetta Declares Support for Morsi

                  Leon E. Panetta, the United States defense secretary, says President Mohamed Morsi is “his own man,” the most positive endorsement so far from a member of the Obama administration.

                  July 31, 2012, Tuesday
                    Uncertainty Over Letter Underscores Delicate Ties

                    Egyptian and Israeli officials contradicted each other’s accounts of how or even whether their two presidents had communicated.

                    July 31, 2012, Tuesday

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                      Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces: Statements and Key Leaders

                      Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces statements and key leaders

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