Sisi or Sissi, Abdul Fattah El- [key], 1954–, Egyptian military officer and government official, b. Cairo, grad. Egyptian Military Academy (1977), U.S. Army War College (M.A., 2006). Sisi served in the infantry and rose to become commander of an infantry division and then (2008) commander of the northern region of Egypt. After the ouster of President Mubarak (2011), Sisi was named director of military intelligence and appointed to the interim military government. In 2012 newly elected President Morsi named Sisi defense minister and commander of the armed forces. When Morsi's policies led to increasing demonstrations that sought to force the president from power, Sisi kept the military neutral and then issued an ultimatum for negotiations days before ousting Morsi (July, 2013). In the subsequent interim government, headed by Adly Mansour, Sisi was named deputy prime minister and defense minister. He was promoted to field marshal in Jan., 2014, but resigned from the military and cabinet two months later in order to run for president. He easily won the election (May), but the vote was boycotted by many Islamists, liberals, and secular activists. He was easily reelected in 2018; significant opponents were intimidated into not running or arrested.
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