Ministry of Defense (Egypt)

Ministry of Defense

وزارة الدفاع
Coat of arms of Egypt
Agency overview
Formed	1879
Jurisdiction	Government of Egypt
Headquarters	The Octagon, New Administrative Capital
Minister responsible	General Abdel Mageed Saqr
Website	http://www.mod.gov.eg

The Egyptian Ministry of Defense is the ministry responsible for the Egyptian Armed Forces organization and manages its affairs and maintains its facilities. It also handles the affairs of colleges and military recruitment, mobilization and management of veterans and military factories in Egypt through the Armed Forces Management and Administration Agency.

It was established in 1879 by Khedive Isma'il Pasha and was then called the Ministry of War, until it was renamed to the Ministry of Defense on 14 May 1971. Egypt's Ministry of Defense is based in Cairo and the headquarters is called The Octagon, located in the New Administrative Capital. ^[1]

List of ministers

The following is a list of ministers of Defence of Egypt since the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The position was known until 14 May 1971 as the Minister of War. The Minister direct the Egyptian Armed Forces. Article 201 of the Constitution of Egypt states that the Minister is the Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, and shall be appointed from among its officers. ^[2]

No.	Portrait	Minister	Title	Took office	Left office	Time in office	Defence branch	Ref.
1		Naguib, MohamedMajor General Mohamed Naguib (1901–1984)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief (1952) Minister of War and the Navy, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief (1952–1953)	24 July 1952	18 July 1953	359 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
2		Boghdadi, Abdel LatifWing Commander Abdel Latif Boghdadi (1917–1999)	Minister of War	8 July 1953	7 April 1954	273 days	Egyptian Air Force	[3]
3		Amer, Abdel HakimMajor General Abdel Hakim Amer (1919–1967)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	7 April 1954	31 August 1954	146 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
4		el-Shafei, HusseinLieutenant Colonel Hussein el-Shafei (1918–2005)	Minister of War	17 April 1954	31 August 1954	45 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
(3)		Amer, Abdel HakimField Marshal Abdel Hakim Amer (1919–1967)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief (1954–1956) Vice President of the Republic, Minister of War, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief (1956–1962)	31 August 1954	29 September 1962	8 years, 29 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
5		el-Beshry, Abdel Wahab Abdel Wahab el-Beshry	Minister of War	29 September 1962	10 September 1966	3 years, 346 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
6		Badran, Shams Shams Badran (1929–2020)	Minister of War	10 September 1966	10 June 1967	273 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
–		el-Beshry, Abdel Wahab Abdel Wahab el-Beshry Acting	Minister of War	19 June 1967	22 July 1967	33 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
7		Howeidi, Amin Amin Howeidi (1921–2009)	Minister of War	22 July 1967	24 February 1968	217 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
8		Fawzi, MohamedGeneral Mohamed Fawzi (1915–2000)	Minister of War, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	24 February 1968	14 May 1971	3 years, 79 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
9		Sadek, Mohammed AhmedGeneral Mohammed Ahmed Sadek (1917–1991)	Minister of War, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	14 May 1971	26 October 1972	1 year, 165 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
10		Ali, Ahmad IsmailGeneral Ahmad Ismail Ali (1917–1974)	Minister of War	26 October 1972	28 December 1974 †	2 years, 63 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
11		el-Gamasy, Mohamed Abdel GhaniGeneral Mohamed Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy (1921–2003)	Minister of War, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	28 December 1974	4 October 1978	3 years, 280 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
12		Ali, Kamal HassanGeneral Kamal Hassan Ali (1921–1993)	Minister of Defense and Military Production, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	4 October 1978	13 May 1980	1 year, 222 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
13		Badawi, AhmedLieutenant General Ahmed Badawi (1927–1981)	Minister of Defense and Military Production, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	14 May 1980	3 March 1981 †	293 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
14		Ghazala, Abd Al-Halim AbuField Marshal Abd Al-Halim Abu-Ghazala (1930–2008)	Minister of Defense and Military Production, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	4 March 1981	15 April 1989	8 years, 42 days	Egyptian Army	[3] [4] [5]
15		Abu Taleb, Youssef SabriLieutenant General Youssef Sabri Abu Taleb (1929–2008)	Minister of Defense and Military Production, Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief	15 April 1989	20 May 1991	2 years, 35 days	Egyptian Army	[3]
16		Tantawy, Muhammad HusseinField Marshal Muhammad Hussein Tantawy (1935–2021)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Minister of Defense and Military Production	20 May 1991	12 August 2012	21 years, 84 days	Egyptian Army	[3] [6]
17		el-Sisi, Abdel FattahField Marshal Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (born 1954)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Minister of Defense and Military Production	12 August 2012	26 March 2014	1 year, 226 days	Egyptian Army	[3] [7]
18		Sobhy, SedkiGeneral Sedki Sobhy (born 1955)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Minister of Defense and Military Production	27 March 2014	14 June 2018	4 years, 79 days	Egyptian Army	[3] [8]
19		Zaki, Mohamed AhmedGeneral Mohamed Ahmed Zaki (born 1956)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Minister of Defense and Military Production	14 June 2018	2 July 2024	6 years, 18 days	Egyptian Army	[9]
20		Saqr, Abdul MajeedGeneral Abdel Mageed Saqr (born 1955)	Armed Forces Commander-in-Chief, Minister of Defense and Military Production	3 July 2024	Incumbent	248 days*	Egyptian Army	[10]

* Incumbent's time in office last updated: 8 March 2025.

Timeline

Agencies and departments

• Armed Forces Armaments Authority
• Armed Forces Engineering Authority
• Armed Forces Finance Authority
• Armed Forces Logistics Authority
• Armed Forces Management and Administration
• Armed Forces Training Authority
• Military Operations Authority
• Military justice
• Morale Affairs

See also

• Egypt portal

• Cabinet of Egypt
• Egyptian Armed Forces
• Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces (Egypt)

References

1. "Egypt's New Ministry Of Defense Complex (The Octagon)". The Drive. 10 September 2019.
2. Unofficial translation of the 2014 constitution
3. "Former Ministers of War and Defense". mod.gov.eg. Egyptian Ministry Of Defense. Retrieved 9 November 2019.
4. "Mubarak Ousts Defense Chief, Making Him Aide". New York Times. 16 April 1989. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
5. "Defense Chief in Egypt Is Moved Aside". Los Angeles Times. 16 April 1989. Retrieved 30 January 2013.
6. "Egypt leader Mursi orders army chief Tantawi to resign". BBC. 12 August 2012. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
7. "Egypt's El-Sisi bids military farewell, says he will run for presidency". Ahram Online. 26 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
8. "Sedki Sobhi sworn in as Egypt's new military chief". BBC. 27 March 2014. Retrieved 27 March 2014.
9. "Egypt's Sisi reshuffles key government posts".
10. "President El-Sisi Promotes Major General Abdel-Meguid Sakr to the Rank of General". presidency.eg. 3 July 2024. Retrieved 6 August 2024.

External links

• Egypt's Cabinet Database