Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala

Mohammad Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala
Minister of Defence of Egypt
In office
1981–1989
President Anwar Sadat
Hosni Mubarak
Prime Minister
Preceded by Ahmed Badawi
Succeeded by Youssef Sabri Abu Taleb
Personal details
Born (1930-01-15)15 January 1930
Beheira, Egypt
Died 6 September 2008(2008-09-06) (aged 78)
El-Galaa' Military Hospital, Egypt
Political party Independent
Military service
Allegiance  Egypt
Service/branch Army
Years of service 1948/1950 – 1989
Rank Field Marshal
Commands Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces
Battles/wars Suez Crisis
Six-Day War
Yom Kippur War

Mohamed Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala (1930–2008) (محمد عبد الحليم أبو غزاله) was Defense Minister of Egypt from 1981 to 1989. Abu Ghazala was seated next to Anwar Sadat when the president was assassinated.

Early life and education

He was born in Zuhur Al Omara Village, Dilingat, Behera governorate, in February 1930.[1] His family descended from "Awlad Aly" tribe. After completing his secondary education, he joined the Egyptian Royal Military Academy, then he received the battalion command diploma from Stalin Academy in the Soviet Union in 1949. He also graduated from Nasser Academy for higher military education (Cairo 1961). On the civilian studies side, he received a bachelor's degree from the faculty of commerce, Cairo University. Abu Ghazala received the diploma of honor from the National War College in the U.S., thus being the first non-American to receive such an award.[2]

Besides his native Arabic, Abu Ghazala was also fluent in fluent in English, French and Russian.[3]

Career

Field Marshal Abd al-Halim Abu Ghazala was the artillery commander in chief during October War of 1973. When Minister of defense and military production, Ahmad Badawi, died along with 12 senior officers in a helicopter crash on 2 March 1981\ Anwar Sadat appointed Abu Ghazala minister of defense and military production.[4]

He did not participate in the Six-Day War of 1967 as he was serving in the Western Desert.

He was also involved with Gust Avrakotos and Charlie Wilson in supplying weapons to the Afghan Mujahideen during the Soviet Afghan war. The CIA bought the weapons and passed them through Pakistan's ISI to the Afghan rebel groups. Items included .303 ammo for Lee–Enfield rifles, limpet mines, and urban terrorist devices like bicycle bombs. There were also a number of rockets that some believe was the Katyusha.[5]

Project T and removal

The project T is part of the tri-national program with Argentina, and Iraq to develop a two-stage solid and liquid propellant missile with a range of 900 kilometres (560 mi). This program was referred to in Argentina as the Condor 2, and in Iraq as the Badr 2000.

The Project T missile is a Scud-B variant, whose payload was probably reduced in order to extend its range.[6]

2005 elections

In 2005, Abu Ghazala was briefly rumored to be a presidential candidate for the powerful but illegal Muslim Brotherhood.[7] He finally did not run, and the Muslim Brotherhood did not field a candidate in the first contested Egyptian presidential elections. The Muslim Brotherhood offered him to run as their presidential candidate, but he refused due to their different ideological backgrounds.

Death

Abu Ghazala died on 6 September 2008 at El-Galla Military Hospital in Cairo at the age of 78, from throat cancer.[8]

References

  1. ↑ "Abu Ghazala, Abdel Halim". Rulers. Retrieved 13 March 2013.
  2. ↑ "الأخبار - وفاة المشير أبو غزالة وزير الدفاع المصري السابق عربي". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
  3. ↑ https://www.theguardian.com/world/2008/sep/30/egypt
  4. ↑ "Milestones". Time. 16 March 1981. Retrieved 1 February 2013.
  5. ↑ Charlie Wilson's War: The Extraordinary Story of the Largest Covert Operation in History, George Crile III, 2003, Grove/Atlantic.
  6. ↑ Jane's Defence Weekly, and AMI International's "Missile System of the World"
  7. ↑ Namatalla, A., Newsreel, Egypt Today, August 2005. URL: https://web.archive.org/web/20080914032526/http://www.egypttoday.com/article.aspx?ArticleID=5610. Archived from the original on 14 September 2008. Retrieved 21 July 2008. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  8. ↑ Joffe, Lawrence, September 2008. Obituary: Abdel-Halim Abu Ghazala The Guardian.
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