Egypt or the Arab Republic of Egypt has long been known as a place full of pyramids and famous for its ancient civilization. It has also played a key role in Middle Eastern politics in the modern era. The establishment of the Office of the Presidency in 1953 marked the beginning of the president's rule. The Egyptian president is considered to be the head of the state of Egypt and also serves as the Supreme Commander of the armed forces. Here is a list of all leaders who have served as the president of Egypt in its modern history.
- Muhammad Naguib was the first to become President of Egypt. He came to power on June 18, 1953, and resigned in less than a year on November 14, 1954. Following his resignation there was a period of Revolutionary Command Council that remained in place from Nov. 14, 1954, to June 23, 1956.
- The next president was Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser who became Prime Minister in 1954 and then President of Egypt. He remained in power for almost 16 years from 1954-1970.
- In 1970, Muhammad Anwar Sadat became the new Egyptian President when the Sinai peninsula was preoccupied with repelling the invasion by Israel. Sinai was liberated during the 1973 war under Sadat's leadership. He remained in power until 1981.
- The next president was Sufi Abu Taleb, who remained in power from October 14, 1981, until October 5, 1987.
- Hosni Mubarak had a career in the air force and went on to succeed Taleb. Mubarak remained the Egyptian president from October 1981 until February 2011.
- Mohamed Hussein Tantawi then took over as the de facto leader of Egypt in Feb. 2011 after Mubarak resigned as president.
- Mohamed Morsi succeeded Tantawi, becoming Egypt’s first democratically elected president on June 30, 2012.
- Adly Mansour joined as the interim president in July 2013 after the ousting of President Morsi by the armed forces.
- The current president Abdel Fattah al-Sisi was elected in May 2014.
Hosni Mubarak
Hosni Mubarak or Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak who was a former military commander, leader, and president of Egypt, remained in power from 1981 until 2011. Mubarak served as an Air Force Commander from 1972 to 1975, after which he became the air force chief marshal. Next, he worked as the vice president of Egypt in 1975 and finally took over as the president in 1981. Mubarak's presidency lasted for almost three decades, making him the longest-serving ruler of this country. Mubarak resigned as the president 18 days after demonstrations of the Egyptian Revolution in 2011.
Mubarak was born in the Nile River Delta and graduated from the Military Academy of Egypt at Cairo in 1949 and graduated from the air academy at Bilbays in 1950. He became a commander in the Egyptian air force from 1966 to 1969 and then the chief commander of the air force in 1972. He became air marshal in 1974 and vice president in 1975. Mubarak has remained active since then in most negotiations held in the Middle East and Arab world.
Mubarak took over as the Egyptian president after the assassination of Sadat in 1981. During Mubarak's reign, a great improvement was seen in the relation of Egypt with other Arab countries and regional powers including Israel. Mubarak also affirmed the peace treaty Egypt shared with Israel and managed to maintain a good relationship with the United States. Mubarak was re-elected as the president of Egypt for six years in 1987. Mubarak led Arab states while supporting the Saudi’s decision to invite the help of a U.S. military coalition for reconquering Kuwait to expel invading Iraqi forces. Mubarak also helped in mediating the bilateral agreement signed between the Palestine Liberation Organization and Israel, which was signed in 1993.
Mubarak was again elected as Egyptian president in 1993, after which there began a phase of guerrilla violence and growing unrest between opposition parties. This led him to start a campaign against fundamentalist Islam. Mubarak managed to escape an assassination attempt in 1995 in Ethiopia. Remaining unopposed, Mubarak was again elected as the president of Egypt in 1999, the fourth time in a row. In 2005, Mubarak managed to win re-election once again.
In January 2011, protestors agitated by corruption, repression, and the economic state of Egypt came out on the streets demanding that Mubarak step down as Egyptian president. Seeing the continued protest and allegations, Mubarak went on TV and announced that he would no longer be competing in the presidential election coming up in September of 2011. On February 11, 2011, Mubarak left for Cairo and a few hours afterward it was announced that Mubarak had resigned as the president of Egypt, giving the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces the authority to govern the country. Seeing Mubarak step down, the protest at Tahrir Square and other places turned to celebration.
After the departure of Mubarak, the government in Egypt began an investigation into the allegations of corruption and other power abuses which allegedly took place during Mubarak’s reign. Finally, after many trials and thorough investigations in May of 2014, Mubarak was sentenced to three years imprisonment by an Egyptian court on the grounds of embezzling public funds, for which his sons were given four years imprisonment as well.
Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi
Currently, retired Field Marshal, Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, is the president of Egypt. He was elected in May 2014. Most Egyptians believed that Mr. Sisi would help in bringing stability to the national security and economic situation in Egypt and he was highly regarded for bringing an end to the autocratic rule of Morsi.
