Sami Hafez Anan

Sami Hafez Anan
Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt
In office
11 February 2011 – 30 June 2012
Chairman Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Preceded by Omar Suleiman (Vice President)
Succeeded by Sedki Sobhi
Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces
In office
2005 – 12 August 2012
President Hosni Mubarak
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (Acting)
Mohamed Morsi
Commander Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Preceded by Hamdi Weheiba
Succeeded by Sedki Sobhi
Commander, Egyptian Air Defense Command
In office
19 July 2001 – 30 October 2005
President Hosni Mubarak
Preceded by Mohammed Elshahat
Succeeded by Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen
Personal details
Born (1948-02-02) 2 February 1948
Dakahlia Governorate, Egypt
Political party Arabism Egypt Party
Awards Merit Of distinguished service
Medal of Long Service and Good Example
Military service
Allegiance  Egypt
Service/branch Air Defense Forces
Years of service 1968–2012
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands SA-6 Missile Battery Commander (1973-76)
Battalion Commander (1981-1985)SAM (SA-3)and (SA-6)
Brigade Commander (1985-90)
Defense Attaché in Morocco (1990-1993)
Brigade Commander (1993-1996)
Air Defense Forces Division Commander (1996-1998)
Chief of Air Defense Forces operation department (1998-2001)
Air Defense Forces Commander-in-Chief (2001-2005)
Chief of Staff of Egyptian Armed Forces (2005-2012)
Battles/wars War of Attrition
Yom Kippur War
Sinai War on Terror

Lieutenant General Sami Hafez Anan or Enan (Arabic: سامى حافظ عنان‎, IPA: [ˈsæːmi ˈħɑːfezˤ ʕæˈnæːn, -ʕeˈnæːn]; born 2 February 1948) is an Egyptian military officer. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces from 2005 until August 2012, until his retirement was announced by President Mohamed Morsi.[1] In January 2018 he announced himself as a candidate in the Egyptian presidential election, 2018[2] before being arrested.[3][4]

Early career

He commanded a brigade from 1992. From 1990 to 1993 he was the Egyptian Defence Attaché to Morocco. From 1996 to 1998 he reportedly commanded the 5th Air Defence Division. More recently he served as the Commander of the Egyptian Air Defence Forces from 2001 to 2005. He served as Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.

2011 events

When the 2011 Egyptian Revolution began in January 2011, Anan was in Washington, D.C. "for a week of meetings with senior American officers".[5] Cutting his visit short, he returned to Egypt on 28 January.[5] As the commander of an army of 468,000 troops, he was considered likely to play a crucial role in the political uncertainty surrounding the protests.[6] On 1 February 2011, the UK's Channel 4 News reported that the United States was pressing for Anan to play a role in coordinating interim arrangements for government in Egypt after Hosni Mubarak.[7]

As the protests built momentum into their second week, there was considerable speculation whether Enan, on one hand, was "'too close to Mubarak to stay,' [per ...] Gawdat Bahgat, a professor at National Defense University in Washington who has worked extensively with Egyptian officers attending the school," or, on the other, "a trusted partner. Retired Army Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb, who oversaw joint exercises with the Egyptian military while stationed in the Middle East, invited Enan and his wife to his home at Fort McPherson in Atlanta for a private dinner in 2007. According to Whitcomb, Enan complained about the effect that budget cuts were having on the military as the Mubarak administration dealt with political and economic problems."[8]

The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is the body of 18 senior military men, including Anan, to which the power to govern was handed by departing President Mubarak on 11 February 2011. Only Hussein Tantawi ranked ahead of Anan on the armed forces website and in the Council at that time, according to Al Jazeera.[9]

Assessing U.S. views of Anan thereafter, particularly by way of the WikiLeaks releases, The Guardian newspaper saw Anan "as more amenable to personal ties" than the older, change-resistant and standoffish Tantawi. Also, the story said, the Muslim Brotherhood "has described [Anan] as incorruptible and as one of its cleric[s] put it: 'He can be the future man of Egypt … I think he will be acceptable.'" As the newspaper saw it, this gave the "Soviet-trained" general an unusual span of support in the post-Mubarak government".[10] On 12 August 2012, President Mohamed Morsi announced Anan's retirement, and his replacement by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi.On 2 October 2012, the Egyptian public prosecutor announced that Anan would be investigated for corruption, the first such investigation against a military figure.[11]

Elections

Anan formed the Arabism Egypt Party in 2014,[12] which ran in the Egyptian 2015 parliamentary election.[13]

Anan accepted his nomination from the Egypt Arabist Democratic party to run for the March 2018 Egyptian presidential election.[2] On 23 January 2018 he was arrested by the military, with the explanation that as he was a member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, he had to either resign from the army or receive their permission to run for the presidency, but did neither.

References

  1. ↑ Egypt's Morsi fires defence minister Tantawi, Al Jazeera English, 12 August 2012.
  2. 1 2 "Ex-army chief to run in Egypt's presidential elections". Fox News. 2018-01-12. Retrieved 2018-01-13.
  3. ↑ Egypt election: Retired general and candidate Sami Anan arrested, BBC News, 23 January 2018
  4. ↑ [https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/middleeast/egypt-arrests-presidential-candidate/index.html Egypt arrests presidential candidate], CNN, 23 January 2018
  5. 1 2 US-Egypt Military Relationship Might Impact Crisis, Voice of America, 31 January 2011
  6. ↑ Lt-Gen Sami Anan will have the final say, The News International, January 30, 2011
  7. ↑ Jonathan Rugman, Channel 4 News, 1 February 2011
  8. ↑ Whitlock, Craig and Greg Jaffe, "Where Egypt military's loyalties lie remains unclear", Washington Post, February 4, 2011. Second Web page. Retrieved 2011-02-06.
  9. ↑ "Who is in Egypt's High Military Council?", International Business Times, February 11, 2011 12:50 PM EST. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  10. ↑ Borger, Julian and James Ball, "WikiLeaks cables: Egyptian military head is 'old and resistant to change'", The Guardian, 14 February 2011 10.41 GMT. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  11. ↑ النائب العام يحيل بلاغًا ضد الفريق سامي عنان إلى «الكسب غير المشروع» Al-Masry Al-Youm, October 2, 2012.
  12. ↑ "Anan will officially declare new political party". Cairo Post. 14 June 2014. Retrieved 10 July 2014.
  13. ↑ "حزب "سامى عنان": تقديم أوراق إشهارنا للجنة شئونالأحزاب خلال أيام". Youm7. 29 September 2014. Retrieved 21 October 2014.
Military offices
Preceded by
Mohammed Elshahat		 Commander of the Egyptian Air Defence Forces
19 July 2001 – 30 October 2005		 Succeeded by
Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen
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