Mohamed Hussein Tantawi has been the de facto ruler of Egypt since Mubarak's departure in February 2011. A field marshal, he is the chairman of Egypt's armed forces. A veteran of the Suez Crisis, the Six-Day War, the Yom Kippur War, and the Gulf War, he has been Egypt's Minister of Defence since 1991 and was a close Mubarak ally. He controls the military government that is in place until elections can install a successor.
In an intercepted Wikileaks cable, an American official said Tantawi was "aged and change-resistant". However, it is important to note that the army under Tantawi's control protected Tahrir Square rather than suppressing the protests.. On the other hand, a main demand of the protesters was the end of the emergency law in effect since 1981; this remains in force and was amended after a recent bombing.
For more information, see http://bbc.in/eCZtBD
No comments:
Post a Comment