Ibrahim Abdul Ghafour El Orabi (, ); 20 May 1931 – 18 September 2019) was an

Egyptian Army The Egyptian Army (), officially the Egyptian Ground Forces (), is the land warfare branch (and largest service branch) of the Egyptian Armed Forces. Until the declaration of the Republic and the abolishment of the monarchy on 18 June 1953, it w ...

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

and the 13th former

Chief of Staff The title chief of staff (or head of staff) identifies the leader of a complex organization such as the armed forces, institution, or body of persons and it also may identify a principal staff officer (PSO), who is the coordinator of the supportin ...

of the

Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces () are the military forces of the Egypt, Arab Republic of Egypt. The Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces directs (a) Egyptian Army forces, (b) the Egyptian Navy, (c) Egyptian Air Force and (d) Egyptian Air Defense Forces. ...

. Ibrahim El-Orabi was a member of the Free Officers Movement, as defined by the

Egyptian revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

. He served as the 13th Chief of Operations of the Armed Forces, the commander of the

Second Field Army The Second Field Army (第二野战军), initially known as the Central Plains Field Army (中原野战军) or the Liu-Deng Army, was a major military formation of the Chinese Communist Party during the last stages of the Chinese Civil War. The ...

, commander of the 21st Armoured Division, Commander of the Arab Forces in Iraq, and as the commander of the

Egyptian Armoured Corps The Egyptian Armoured Corps is a branch of the Egyptian Army and the second main Corps responsible for Armoured operations. It was established after the Egyptian Cavalry Corps was converted to use vehicles, after 1930. History In 1922, the Kin ...

, which was deployed in the

North Yemen Civil War The North Yemen civil war, also known as the 26 September revolution, was a civil war fought in North Yemen from 1962 to 1970 between partisans of the Kingdom of Yemen, Mutawakkilite Kingdom and supporters of the Yemen Arab Republic. The war ...

. As the chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Orabi was the second highest-ranking military officer in all of the

Early life

Orabi was born in Gharbia in 1931 into a politically influential family. He was the relative of Ali Zaki El Orabi

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

, former Minister of Public Knowledge and Minister of Transportation and Communications and head of the

Parliament of Egypt The Parliament of Egypt is the Bicameralism, bicameral legislature of the Egypt, Arab Republic of Egypt. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate (Egypt), Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives (Egypt), House of Represent ...

in the period (7 May 1942 – 19 Dec 1944) and (17 June 1950 – 10 Dec 1952) during the reign of King

Farouk I of Egypt Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I of Egypt, Fuad I, in 1936 and reig ...

, and brother of Nabil El Orabi, former Egypt ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...

, and the relative of

Mohamed Orabi Mohamed Orabi (Arabic: محمد العرابي; born 1951) is an Egyptian diplomat and politician who was the Foreign Minister of Egypt in Essam Sharaf's cabinet from 18 June 2011 to 18 July 2011. Career Orabi worked in the Egyptian Army before ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt.

Education

Orabi received a

Bachelor A bachelor is a man who is not and never has been married.Bachelors are, in Pitt & al.'s phrasing, "men who live independently, outside of their parents' home and other institutional settings, who are neither married nor cohabitating". (). Etymo ...

Military Science Military science is the study of military processes, institutions, and behavior, along with the study of warfare, and the theory and application of organized coercive force. It is mainly focused on theory, method, and practice of producing mi ...

from the

Egyptian Military Academy Egyptian Military Academy is the most prominent military academy in Egypt. Traditionally, graduates of the Military Academy are commissioned as officers in the Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces () are the military forces of the E ...

in 1950, Master of Science from M. V. Frunze Military Academy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, and a Master of Science from the College of Military Commanders and Staff, as well as a PhD in military science from

Nasser Military Academy The Military Academy for Postgraduate and Strategic Studies (Egyptian Arabic: الأكاديمية العسكرية للدراسات العليا والاستراتيجية), formerly Nasser Military Academy (Egyptian Arabic: أكاديمية ن ...

, Fellow of the Higher War College.

Personal life

Orabi had three children with his wife Leila: Khadija, Khaled, and Tarek. The sons served in the Egyptian General Intelligence and Tarek remains on active duty. Orabi and his wife have nine grandchildren.

Military education

*1950 Bachelor of Military Science degree,

, Heliopolis, Cairo *1961 Master of Military Art and Science degree, M.V. Frunze Military Academy, Moscow, Soviet Union *1972 PhD of Military Science, Joint Command and Staff College, Cairo, Egypt *1977 Fellowship of the Higher War College, Nasser's Military Sciences Academy, Egypt

Dates of rank

Career

In 1950, Orabi began his service in the

Armored Corps An armoured corps (also mechanized corps or tank corps) is a specialized military organization whose role is to conduct armoured warfare. The units belonging to an armoured corps include military staff, and are equipped with tanks and other armou ...

, then he joined the Free Officers Movement and participated in the

Egyptian Revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

. From 1963 to 1967, Orabi served as Commander of the Arab Forces in Iraq and Commander of the Armored Corps in Yemen war and then was appointed to the Field Marshal's Office. In the year of 1968, Orabi was dispatched on an training branch. He then assumed the position of vice president of operations of the second field army, and shortly after that, he was appointed commander of the 21st armoured division. From 1977 to 1981, Orabi was promoted to the rank of Major General and was appointed Assistant Commander of the Second Field Army. He next served in the Second Field Army, where he was assigned Chief of Staff, and then as Commander of the

. On 4 March 1981, General Orabi was nominated by President

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar es-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 Assassination of Anwar Sadat, his assassination by fundame ...

to serve as chief of operations of the Armed Forces. He was next appointed Assistant Minister of Defence in 1982. On 16 July 1983, President

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011 and the 41st Prime Minister of Egypt, prime minister from 1981 to ...

nominated Orabi to be the

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afghanistan) * Chief of the General Staff (Albania) * C ...

, and he was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

. He has been confirmed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. He took over from Army General Abd Rab El Naby Hafez on 16 July 1983. He serves with Gen. Salah Abd El Halim, former commander of the Second Field Army , who has become the next Chief of Operations of the Armed Forces. In 1987, Orabi was appointed Chairman of the

Arab Organization for Industrialization The Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) () is a company established in 1975 by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar to supervise the collective development of the Arab defense industry. Following a gradual deterioration ...

(AOI), a position he held till 1995, when he retired.

Military participations

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...

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

War of Attrition The War of Attrition (; ) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from 1967 to 1970. Following the 1967 Six-Day War, no serious diplomatic efforts were made to resolve t ...

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states led by Egypt and S ...

Awards and decorations

Orabi is the recipient of the following awards:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orabi, Ibrahim El 1931 births 2019 deaths Egyptian Sunni Muslims Egyptian generals Egyptian Military Academy alumni Free Officers Movement (Egypt) Egyptian revolutionaries Frunze Military Academy alumni Egyptian people of the Yom Kippur War 20th-century Egyptian military personnel Members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Chiefs of the General Staff (Egypt)