Mohamed Hussein Tantawi

Mohamed Hussein Tantawi Soliman (محمد حسين طنطاوى سليمان, ; born 31 October 1935) is an Egyptian field marshal and former statesman. He was the commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces and, as Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, was the de facto head of state from the ouster of Hosni Mubarak on 11 February 2011 to the inauguration of Mohamed Morsi as President of Egypt on 30 June 2012. Tantawi served in the government as minister of defense and military production from 1991 until Morsi ordered Tantawi to retire on 12 August 2012.

Military career
Tantawi, who is of Nubian origin, received his commission as a military officer on 1 April  1956 serving in the infantry. Later that year he took part in the Suez War (or the Tripartite Aggression as it is often known in Egypt). Later in his career he was involved in the Six-Day War of 1967, the War of Attrition of 1967–1970, and the October or Yom Kippur War of 1973. He held various command and staff appointments including both the Chief of Staff and then Commander of the Egyptian Second Army. Additionally he has served as the military attaché to Pakistan, an important role given the two countries political and military links. Tantawi has served as Commander of the Republican Guard, and Chief of the Operations Authority of the Armed Forces. In 1991, he also commanded an Egyptian Army unit in the U.S.-led Gulf War against Iraq to force Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait, which it invaded in 1990.

On 29 May 1991, following the dismissal of Lt. General Youssef Sabri Abu Taleb, Tantawi was appointed as minister of defense and military production and commander-in-chief of the Egyptian Armed Forces. He was also appointed as Field Marshal. It is believed that Tantawi would have succeeded Mubarak as president of Egypt, had the assassination attempt in June 1995 been successful. Early in 2011, Tantawi was seen as a possible contender for the Egyptian presidency.

2011–2012 Egyptian Revolution
On 11 February 2011, when President Hosni Mubarak resigned, after 18 days of protests from the Egyptian people, Tantawi transferred authority to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, headed by himself. The council, overseeing issues with the Chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court, Farouk Sultan, dissolved the Egyptian parliament, overseen the referendum over temporary constitutional amendments took place on 19 March, and presided over the accountability of Mubarak and many of the former regime's top figures summons to justice.

On a personal level, Tantawi kept a relatively low profile since the handing over of power to the Council, only making a first public appearance in an address to mark the graduation of a batch at the Police Academy on 16 May 2011. He opted to leave most public speeches and press releases to other senior members in the council, he also appointed  Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and his cabinet. Tantawi also received a number of foreign officials, including British Prime Minister David Cameron and then US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

After a new series of protests in November 2011, that escalated by 22 November to over 33 dead and over 2,000 injured in the wake of the use of force by the police to quell protests at Tahrir Square and its vicinity, Tantawi appeared on Egyptian national television to pledge the speeding up of presidential elections – the principal demand of protesters – and that the armed forces "are fully prepared to immediately hand over power and to return to their original duty in protecting the homeland if that's what the people want, through a popular referendum if necessary.

On 12 August 2012, Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi ordered Tantawi to retire as head of the armed forces and defence minister. Tantawi has been decorated with the Order of the Nile and appointed, instead, as an advisor to Morsi; there is speculation that his removal is part of a pre-arranged withdrawal by the military from political power in exchange for immunity from prosecution for earlier actions.

Criticism
Criticism of Tantawi in Egypt has been manyfold, including many chants in Tahrir for him to leave. Chants against Tantawi have included "Tantawi stripped your women naked, come join us." According to The Telegraph, protesters have also "demanded the execution of Tantawi."

Nabeel Rajab, the head of Bahrain Centre for Human Rights, criticized Tantawi for his reception for king of Bahrain, Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa in October 2011. "This is a very bad message from the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces to the international community, the Egyptian and Bahraini people", he said. "Continuing this path threatens Egypt's democratic future", he added.