Hussein Mahmoud Hassan el-Shafei ( ar, حسين محمود حسن الشافعي) (8 February 1918 – 18 November 2005), was a member of

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

's 1952 revolutionary leadership council and served as

vice president A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on t ...

under two Egyptian presidents,

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

Anwar 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 ...

. He was one of the nine men who had constituted themselves as the committee of the Free Officers Movement, led the country's

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...

corps during the uprising and was one of only three living members of the Revolutionary Command Council at the time of his death.

Early life and education

Born in

Tanta Tanta ( ar, طنطا ' , ) is a city in Egypt with the country's fifth largest populated area and 658,798 inhabitants as of 2018. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia ...

in 1918, el-Shafei graduated from the Egyptian Military Academy in 1938.

Career

El-Shafei was appointed

minister of war A defence minister or minister of defence is a cabinet official position in charge of a ministry of defense, which regulates the armed forces in sovereign states. The role of a defence minister varies considerably from country to country; in som ...

in 1954 and served as Egypt's

minister of labor Minister of Labour (in British English) or Labor (in American English) is typically a cabinet-level position with portfolio responsibility for setting national labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, traini ...

and social affairs during Egypt's merger with

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 served as vice-president under

in 1961. During his tenure as minister of social affairs, el-Shafei introduced social insurance reforms considered radical at the time, including pensions to widows. His Winter Charity campaign provided Egypt's poor with basic necessities. Some Egyptian celebrities took part in the "mercy trains" which delivered the goods, including actress Faten Hamama.

appointed el-Shafei as vice-president of Egypt's new government in 1971 and he was succeeded by

Hosni Mubarak Muhammad Hosni El Sayed Mubarak, (; 4 May 1928 – 25 February 2020) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Before he entered politics, Mubarak was a career officer in t ...

in April 1975.

Death

El-Shafei died on 18 November 2005. Mubarak was among the senior officials at el-Shafei's

state funeral A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of Etiquette, protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive ...

Honour

Order of the Nile

Foreign honour

* Poland: Grand Cross of the

Order of Polonia Restituta The Order of Polonia Restituta ( pl, Order Odrodzenia Polski, en, Order of Restored Poland) is a Polish state decoration, state Order (decoration), order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on al ...

(1965) * Malaysia: Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (1965)

References

External links

* 1918 births 2005 deaths Free Officers Movement (Egypt) Egyptian revolutionaries Vice-presidents of Egypt Egyptian Military Academy alumni Egyptian nationalists People from Tanta Arab Socialist Union (Egypt) politicians Recipients of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Social affairs ministers of Egypt Labour ministers of Egypt War ministers of Egypt Planning ministers of Egypt Endowments Ministers of Egypt Grand Crosses of the Order of Polonia Restituta {{Egypt-politician-stub Egyptian colonels