Mohamed Fawzi ( ar, محمد فوزي; 5 March 1915 – 16 February 2000) was an Egyptian general and politician who served as minister of defense.

Early life and education

Fawzi was born in Abbasiya, Cairo, on 5 March 1915. He attended the Egyptian Royal Military Academy and graduated in 1936. He also held a master's degree, which he received from the same institution in 1952.

Career

During the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...

, Fawzi first met

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

and served as the commander of anti-aircraft artillery in

Deir Suneid Dayr Sunayd ( ar, دير سنيد) was a Palestinian Arab village in the Gaza Subdistrict, located northeast of Gaza. Situated at an elevation of along the southern coastal plain of Palestine, Deir Sunayd had a total land area of 6,081 dunams ...

. In 1957, Fawzi was appointed by President Nasser as commander of the Military Academy. In 1961, Fawzi headed the Egypt's military mission as part of the UN forces in Congo. He became military secretary-general of the

Arab League The Arab League ( ar, الجامعة العربية, ' ), formally the League of Arab States ( ar, جامعة الدول العربية, '), is a regional organization in the Arab world, which is located in Northern Africa, Western Africa, E ...

in March 1964. He was also made chief of staff that month, a post he occupied until the

Six-Day War The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 ...

in June 1967. After the war, Fawzi resigned from his office and was replaced by Abdel Moneim Reiad in the post. On 11 June 1967 he was appointed general commander, replacing

Abdel Hakim Amer Mohamed Abdel Hakim Amer ( arz, محمد عبد الحكيم عامر, ; 11 December 1919 – 13 September 1967) was an Egyptian military officer and politician. Amer served in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, and played a leading role in the m ...

in the post.Kandil, 2012, pp. 85, 87, 90. Amer and his allies protested the move and immediately afterward, 600 officers loyal to Amer besieged army headquarters demanding Amer's reinstatement and threatening to oust Fawzi. Tensions between Amer, who was a plotting a coup to be launched on 27 August, and Nasser mounted. A plan to apprehend Amer was made, and Nasser managed to convince him to meet in his home. While Amer was at Nasser's home, Fawzi led an army takeover of Amer's villa, confiscating all of thirteen truckloads of his weapons. Nasser and Riad at war front, 1968

In January 1968, Fawzi was appointed defense minister. He also became one of the members of the Supreme Executive Committee of Egypt the same year. Fawzi continued to serve as defense minister during the era of next President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

. However, Fawzi and six other ministers resigned from office in May 1971. These individuals who were close to Nasser are called the May Group. Mohammed Sadek replaced Fawzi as defense minister.

Arrest and sentence

Immediately after his resignation, Fawzi was arrested due to his alleged role in a coup plot. In May 1971, Sadat announced that Fawzi had been under house arrest. Fawzi was tried and sentenced to life imprisonment. His sentence was reduced to 15 years at hard labor by Sadat in December 1971. Fawzi was pardoned in 1974 due to health concerns and his military background.

Later years and death

In his later years, Fawzi published books on military affairs and gave lectures. He also published a biography. He joined

Arab Democratic Nasserist Party The Arab Democratic Nasserist Party ( ar, الحزب العربي الديمقراطي الناصري, al-Hizb al-'Arabi al-Dimuqrati al-Nasseri) is a Nasserist political party in Egypt, styling itself as the ideological successor of the old Arab ...

, being a member of its political bureau. Fawzi died on 16 February 2000 in Heliopolis in Cairo.

References

Bibliography

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External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Fawzi, Mohamed 20th-century Egyptian politicians 1915 births 2000 deaths Defence Ministers of Egypt Egyptian generals Egyptian Military Academy alumni Chiefs of the General Staff (Egypt) Politicians from Cairo Egyptian politicians convicted of crimes Egyptian prisoners sentenced to life imprisonment