Tantawi was defence minister for nearly 21 years
Egypt's former military ruler Tantawi dies
Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, who led the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that ruled Egypt for a year and half after the removal of Hosni Mubarak, dies at the age of 85.
Tuesday 21/09/2021
Tantawi was defence minister for nearly 21 years
CAIRO - Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, former head of the military council that ruled Egypt temporarily after the 2011 uprising, died at the age of 85, Egypt's presidency said on Tuesday.
Tantawi, a decorated veteran of wars against Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973, was a defence minister for nearly 21 years old.
He led the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that ruled Egypt for a year and half after the removal of the long term President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.
Tantawi was sacked as a defence minister in August 2012, a few weeks after the late Islamist President Mohamed Mursi took power in what was described as the first free and fair elections in Egypt's modern history.