Sedki Sobhi

Sedki Sobhi Sayyid Ahmed
صدقي صبحي سيد أحمد
45th Minister of Defence[1]
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 March 2014
President Adly Mansour (Acting)
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab
Preceded by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces of Egypt
Incumbent
Assumed office
26 March 2014[1]
President Adly Mansour (Acting)
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Prime Minister Ibrahim Mahlab
Preceded by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces
In office
12 August 2012  26 March 2014
President Mohamed Morsi
Adly Mansour (Acting)
Commander Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Preceded by Sami Hafez Anan
Succeeded by Mahmoud Hegazy
Personal details
Born 12 December 1955
Political party Independent
Religion Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance  Egypt
Service/branch Egyptian Army
Years of service 1976–present
Rank

Colonel General

Battles/wars Gulf War
Sinai Insurgency

Sedki Sobhi (Arabic: صدقي صبحي سيد أحمد  pronounced [ˈsˤedʔi ˈsˤobħi ˈsæj.jed ˈæħmæd]) (born 12 December 1955) is an Egyptian Colonel General who is serving as Minister of Defence and military production after he was sworn in after Abdul Fattah al-Sisi resigned so he could stand for the presidency.[2]

Sobhi previously served as the Chief of the Staff from August 2012 to March 2014 after he was promoted from the rank of Major General to Lieutenant General replacing the former chief of staff Lieutenant General Sami Hafez Anan.[3] Previously he had commanded the Third Army.

Military education

Main commands

Connections with the United States

In 2004-5 Sedki Sobhi studied for a Master's Degree in Strategic Studies at the US Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.[5] While there he wrote a paper recommending that the United States withdraw its military from the Middle East and concentrate instead on socio-economic aid for the region. The paper was posted on a US Department of Defense website, where it was noticed by analyst Issandr El Amrani.[6]

After the 2013 Egyptian coup, Sedki Sobhi spoke by telephone on 4 July 2013 with Martin Dempsey, US Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,[7] and had spoken twice with him by 8 July.[8]

Medals and Decorations

References

Military offices
Preceded by
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt
2014–present
Incumbent
Preceded by
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Commander-in-Chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces
2014–present
Incumbent
Political offices
Preceded by
Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Minister of Defence
2014–present
Incumbent