Mohamed Abdel Hakim Amer ( arz, محمد عبد الحكيم عامر, ; 11 December 1919 – 13 September 1967) was an Egyptian military officer and politician. Amer served in the
1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, and played a leading role in the
military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
that overthrew
King Farouk
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...
in 1952. After leading Egyptian forces in the
1956 Suez war, he was appointed Minister for Defense by President
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
and was Egyptian Vice President between 1958 to 1965.
Early life and education
Amer was born in
Samalut
Samalut ( ar, سمالوط, from ''t-Semulot)'' is a city and a municipal division in the Minya Governorate in Egypt. It is located on the west bank of the Nile, a few hours by train south of Cairo.
The earliest known reference to the city of ...
, in the
El Minya
MinyaAlso spelled '' el...'' or ''al...'' ''...Menia, ...Minia'' or ''...Menya'' ( ar, المنيا ; ) is the capital of the Minya Governorate in Upper Egypt. It is located approximately south of Cairo on the western bank of the Nile River ...
on 11 December 1919.
He was from an affluent family, and his father was a land owner and village mayor.
His uncle served as the minister of war during the reign of
King Farouk
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...
.
[
After finishing school, Amer attended the ]Egyptian Military Academy
The Egyptian Military Academy ( ar, الكلية الحربية) is the oldest and most prominent military academy in Egypt. Traditionally, graduates of the Military Academy are commissioned as officers in the Egyptian Army. However, they may se ...
and graduated in 1938.[ He was commissioned into the Egyptian Army in 1939.
]
Military career
Amer served in the 1948 Arab–Israeli War
The 1948 (or First) Arab–Israeli War was the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. It formally began following the end of the British Mandate for Palestine at midnight on 14 May 1948; the Israeli Declaration of Independence had ...
, took part in the 1952 Revolution and commanded the Egyptian Army in the Suez Crisis
The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...
, the North Yemen Civil War
The North Yemen Civil War ( ar, ثورة 26 سبتمبر, Thawra 26 Sabtambar, 26 September Revolution) was fought in North Yemen from 1962 to 1970 between partisans of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom and supporters of the Yemen Arab Republic. The ...
and the Six-Day War
The Six-Day War (, ; ar, النكسة, , or ) or June War, also known as the 1967 Arab–Israeli War or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab states (primarily United Arab Republic, Egypt, S ...
.
Amer played a leading role in the military coup
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare
War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...
that overthrew King Farouk
Farouk I (; ar, فاروق الأول ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1 ...
in 1952 and brought General Muhammad Naguib
Mohamed Bey Naguib Youssef Qutb El-Qashlan ( ar, الرئيس اللواء محمد بك نجيب يوسف قطب القشلان, ; 19 February 1901 – 28 August 1984), also known as Mohamed Naguib, was an Egyptian revolutionary, and, along ...
and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
to power. The following year, Amer was promoted straight from major to major-general, bypassing four military ranks, and was made Egypt's Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff.
List
* Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff ( United States)
* Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia)
* Chief of General Staff (Af ...
. In 1956, Amer was appointed commander-in-chief of the joint military command established by Egypt and Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
. He also led Egyptian forces against both Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
i and allied British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
- French forces during the 1956 Suez war. After the fighting ended, Amer accused Nasser of provoking an unnecessary war and then blaming the military for the result. As Nasser's representative in Syria, Amer was detained by rebels during the 1961 Syrian coup d'état and sent back to Cairo.
In March 1964, Amer was made first vice-president to Nasser and deputy supreme commander, with the power to rule for 60 days if the president was incapacitated.[ Amer's distinguished career came to a sudden end after Egypt's crushing defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War of June 1967. Many historians, including Hazem Kandil, have stated that much of the responsibility for the Egyptian military's failure in the 1967 war can be laid at the feet of Amer.] This was because Amer's control of the Egyptian military establishment was in line with President Gamal Abdel-Nasser's general policy of making different government institutions fiefdoms to those most loyal to him. In addition, the proxy war Egypt (with Soviet backing) fought against the Saudis, Western powers and Israelis in the North Yemen Civil War
The North Yemen Civil War ( ar, ثورة 26 سبتمبر, Thawra 26 Sabtambar, 26 September Revolution) was fought in North Yemen from 1962 to 1970 between partisans of the Mutawakkilite Kingdom and supporters of the Yemen Arab Republic. The ...
(1962–1970), with Nasser supporting the Yemen Arab Republic against the Western and Saudi Arabian backed Royalists, is also viewed as being key to Egypt's defeat in the 1967 Middle East war; as nearly half of the Egypt's Western-trained officer-corps (mostly in Britain
Britain most often refers to:
* The United Kingdom, a sovereign state in Europe comprising the island of Great Britain, the north-eastern part of the island of Ireland and many smaller islands
* Great Britain, the largest island in the United King ...
at Sandhurst) were in Yemen at the time of the initial Israeli attack on Egypt.
When Amer heard of the fall of Abu Ageila
Abu Ageila is a road junction and dam in the north of the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, which, because of its proximity to Egypt's border with the State of Israel, is strategically important. Located approximately 25 kilometres from Auja al-Hafir, a ...
to Israel, he was said to have panicked and ordered all units in the Sinai to retreat. This order effectively meant the defeat of Egypt. On 17 June 1967 shortly after the Six Day War ended, Amer was relieved of all his duties and forced into early retirement.
Arrest and contested cause of death
In August 1967, Amer, along with over 50 Egyptian military officers and two former ministers, including Shams Badran, were arrested for allegedly plotting a coup to overthrow Gamal Abdel Nasser. Amer was kept under house arrest
In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
at his villa in Giza
Giza (; sometimes spelled ''Gizah'' arz, الجيزة ' ) is the second-largest city in Egypt after Cairo and fourth-largest city in Africa after Kinshasa, Lagos and Cairo. It is the capital of Giza Governorate with a total population of 9.2 ...
.
According to the official Egyptian position, Amer was rushed to hospital on 13 September 1967 in an attempt to save his life after he attempted suicide by swallowing "a large amount of poison pills" upon the arrival of Egyptian officers to question him. After surviving and being taken home, he managed to evade his guards and swallow more pills he kept hidden under an adhesive plaster on his leg. Later, Cairo radio announced his burial in his home village of Astal.
Another version of the circumstances surrounding Amer's death held that Amer was approached at his house on 13 September by high-ranking Egyptian officers and given a choice: to stand trial for treason, which would inevitably have ended with his conviction and execution, or to die an honourable death by taking poison. Amer chose the latter option and received a full military burial. Anwar Al Sadat
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...
, who later became President of Egypt
The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyp ...
, expressed his opinion that if he was in Amer's position, he would have done the same soon after the Six-Day War.[p. 381]
In September 2012, Amer's family filed a case to investigate his death. They claimed that he was murdered. Also, in a statement translated from ''Al-Masry Al-Youm
''Al-Masry Al-Youm'' ( ar, المصري اليوم ', , meaning ''The Egyptian Today'') is an Egyptian privately owned Daily paper, daily newspaper that was first published in June 2004. It is published in Modern Standard Arabic, Arabic as is it ...
'' published on 5 May 2015, the family's lawyer cited reports confirming that Amer's death was not self-inflicted, including an interview with Anwar Sadat's widow published on 26 April of that year.
Foreign awards and honours
* :
** Recipient of the Hero of the Soviet Union
The title Hero of the Soviet Union (russian: Герой Советского Союза, translit=Geroy Sovietskogo Soyuza) was the highest distinction in the Soviet Union, awarded together with the Order of Lenin personally or collectively for ...
(1964)
* :
** Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...
(SMN (K)) - Tun (1965)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Amer, Abdel Hakim
20th-century Egyptian politicians
1919 births
1967 suicides
Defence Ministers of Egypt
Egyptian Military Academy alumni
Egyptian revolutionaries
Field marshals of Egypt
Foreign Heroes of the Soviet Union
Free Officers Movement (Egypt)
Heroes of the Soviet Union
People from Minya Governorate
People of the Suez Crisis
Suicides by poison
Recipients of the Order of Lenin
Honorary Grand Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm
Vice-presidents of Egypt
Chiefs of the General Staff (Egypt)
Egyptian people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War