Egypt's army leadership was reshuffled in mid-August 2012 by President Mohammed Morsi who sidelined key officers sitting on the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), an interim governing body that took power after the ouster of former president Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

The most monumental decision was the retirement of Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi, head of the army and Mubarak’s defense minister since 1992.


Morsi’s move against the most powerful man in Egypt could not have happened without an agreement with Tantawi’s subordinates in the SCAF.

Tantawi’s retirement marks another shift in the relationship between the elected civilian authorities and the military. Although the army retains significant power, it has consciously moved away from playing a central political role, a development which could accelerate the transition to full civilian rule.

New Appointments: Who is Who in Egypt’s Army

Along with Tantawi, Morsi swept aside Sami Hafez Anan, the army Chief of Staff and Tantawi’s most likely successor. A younger generation of officers has stepped in their shoes, with no disruption to the military’s overall structure of command. Here’s the new “who is who” of Egypt’s military:

• Abdel-Fatah el-Sissi (b. 1954): the new Commander-in-Chief and Minister of Defense, formerly Director of Director of the Military Intelligence and Scouting Agency. As the new head of the army, el-Sissi now shoulders the responsibility for mediating between the interests of the armed forces and the (Islamist) presidency which is pushing for a gradual but full transition of all power to civilian authorities.

• Major General Sedki Sobhi (b. 1955): the new army chief of staff and No. 2 in the military, Sobhi is the youngest SCAF member.
• Major General Mohamed El Assar: The new Assistant Defense Minister, El Assar has been in charge of armament affairs, which makes him a one of key men in Egypt’s relationship with Washington (purchasing US weapons using the $1.3 billion annual US military aid).
• In addition, commanders of the Egyptian Navy, Egyptian Air Defense Forces, Commander of the Egyptian Air Force were all transferred to civilian positions.

The ground for these appointments was prepared a few days earlier, following a public outcry over a deadly militant attack on Egyptian soldiers in the Sinai peninsula. Key Tantawi loyalists were retired:

• General Intelligence Service: Morsi retired Murad Muwafi as the chief of military intelligence, replacing him with General Abd al Wahid Shihata.
• The Republican Guard: The new commander of the 20,000 strong force is General Hamid Zaki, replacing Major General Mohamed Naguib.
• Military Police: Hamdy Badeen retired, his position moved under the authority of the new Defense Minister el-Sissy.

Read more on why the generals wield strong influence in Egypt

Implications: A Gentleman’s Coup

Moreover, Morsi also annulled the army’s constitutional declaration from June 2012, taking back all executive power, assuming control over the budget, and the right to appoint a new constitutional assembly if the current session fails to agree on the new constitution.

However, as noted by Egypt-based blogger Issandr El Amrani, the army’s acquiescence to the changes suggested that “there has been a successful coup within the military, in alliance with Morsi.” According to this reading of the events, a younger generation of officers backed the removal of their boss Tantawi, unhappy with his handling of the post-Mubarak transition.

Indeed, if this was a coup, it looked like very much like a gentleman’s agreement. Most retirees were shifted to civilian positions (Tantawi and Anan became presidential advisors), and the package likely included immunity from possible prosecution over the deaths of protesters during and after the anti-Mubarak uprising.

The key to this amicable parting of the old generation is probably in Morsi’s caution not to cross the army’s “red lines”: there was no mention of curtailing the military’s commercial enterprises or the generals’ control over the distribution of US military aid. For its part, Washington made it clear it had no objections to the changes, as it enjoys good links with all the new appointees (see Washington Post story on this).

There seems to be a good measure of understanding between Morsi and the new military chiefs, but it is impossible to say how long it will last.
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