Sami Hafez Anan

Sami Anan
Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt
Incumbent
Assumed office
11 February 2011
President Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (acting)
Chairman Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces
Incumbent
Assumed office
2005
President Hosni Mubarak
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (acting)
Commander Mohamed Hussein Tantawi
Personal details
Born February 2, 1948 (1948-02-02) (age 64)
Military service
Allegiance  Egypt
Service/branch Air Defense Forces
Years of service 1967-present
Rank Lieutenant General
Commands Battalion Commander (1981-1990)
Defense Attaché in Morocco (1990-1992)
Brigade Commander (1992-1996)
Air Defense Forces Division Commander (1996-1998)
Chief of Air Defense Forces operation department (1998-2000)
Air Defense Forces Chief of Staff (2000-2001)
Air Defense Forces Commander (2001-2005)
Chief of Staff of Egyptian Armed Forces (2005-present)
Battles/wars War of Attrition
Yom Kippur War
Awards Merit Of distinguished service
Medal of Long Service and Good Example

General Sami Hafez Anan or Enan (Arabic: سامى حافظ عنان‎, IPA: [ˈsæːmi ˈħɑːfezˤ ʕæˈnæːn, -ʕeˈnæːn]; born 1948) is the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces. From 1990 to 1992 he was the Egyptain Defence Attaché to Morocco. More recently he served as the Commander of the Egyptian Air Defence Forces from 2001 to 2005. He serves 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 "for a week of meetings with senior American officers".[1] Cutting his visit short, he returned to Egypt on 28 January.[1] 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.[2] 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.[3]

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."[4]

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 February 11, 2011. Only Hussein Tantawi ranked ahead of Anan on the armed forces website and in the Council at that time, according to Al Jazeera.[5]

Assessing U.S. views of Enan thereafter, particularly by way of the Wikileaks releases, The Guardian newspaper saw Enan "as more amenable to personal ties" than the older, change-resistant and standoffish Tantawi. Also, the story said, the Muslim Brotherhood "has described [Enan] 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.[6]

References

  1. ^ a b US-Egypt Military Relationship Might Impact Crisis, Voice of America, 31 January 2011
  2. ^ Lt-Gen Sami Anan will have the final say, The News International, January 30, 2011
  3. ^ Jonathan Rugman, Channel 4 News, 1 February 2011
  4. ^ 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.
  5. ^ "Who is in Egypt's High Military Council?", International Business Times, February 11, 2011 12:50 PM EST. Retrieved 2011-02-28.
  6. ^ 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.

External links

Military offices
Preceded by
Mohammed Elshahat
Commander of the Egyptian Air Defence Forces
2001 - 2005
Succeeded by
Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen