Ibrahim Abdel Ghafour El Orabi ( ar, إبراهيم عبد الغفور العرابي , ); 20 May 1931 – 18 September 2019) was an Egyptian Army

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

and the 13th and former Chief of Staff of the

Egyptian Armed Forces The Egyptian Armed Forces ( arz, القُوّات المُسَلَّحَة المِصْرِيَّة, alquwwat almusalahat almisria) are the military forces of the Arab Republic of Egypt. They consist of the Egyptian Army, Egyptian Navy, Egyptia ...

. He was a member of the Free Officers Movement, as defined by the Egyptian revolution of 1952. He served as the 7th Chief of Operations of the Armed Forces, the commander of the

Second Field Army The Second Field Army (第二野战军), initially known as the Central Plains Field Army (中原野战军) or the Liu-Deng Army, was a major military formation of the Chinese Communist Party during the last stages of the Chinese Civil War. The ...

, commander of the 21st Armored Division, Commander of the Arab Forces in Iraq, and as the commander of the Egyptian Armoured Corps, which were deployed 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 ...

. As the chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Orabi was formerly the second highest-ranking military officer in all of the

Early life

Orabi was born in Gharbia in 1931 into a politically influential family. He was the relative of Ali Zaki El Orabi

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitar ...

, former Minister of Public Knowledge and Minister of Transportation and Communications and head of the

Parliament of Egypt The Parliament of Egypt is the bicameral legislature of the Arab Republic of Egypt. It is composed of an upper house (the Senate) and a lower house (the House of Representatives). The Parliament is located in Cairo, Egypt's capital. Under t ...

in the period (7 May 1942 – 19 Dec 1944) and (17 June 1950 – 10 Dec 1952) during the reign of King Farouk I of Egypt, and brother of Nabil El Orabi, former Egypt's ambassador to the

Russian Federation Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

, and the relative of

Mohamed Orabi Mohamed Orabi (Arabic: محمد العرابي, born 1951) is an Egyptian diplomat and politician who was the Foreign Minister of Egypt in Essam Sharaf's cabinet from 18 June 2011 to 18 July 2011. Career Orabi worked in the Egyptian Army befor ...

, former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Egypt.

Education

He received a Bachelor of Military Science from 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 ...

in 1950, Master of Science from

M. V. Frunze Military Academy The M. V. Frunze Military Academy (russian: Военная академия имени М. В. Фрунзе), or in full the Military Order of Lenin and the October Revolution, Red Banner, Order of Suvorov Academy in the name of M. V. Frunze (rus ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, and a Master of Science from the College of Military Commanders and Staff, as well as a PhD in military science from

Nasser Military Academy Nasser Military Academy ( ar, أكادمية ناصر للعلوم العسكرية; Nasser Academy for Military Science) or Nasser Higher Military Academy (NHMA) is a higher military academy inaugurated in March 1965 after a republican decree was ...

, Fellow of the Higher War College.

Personal life

General Orabi was married to his family relative sweetheart, Leila. They had three children: Khadija, Khaled, and Tarek. The sons have served in the Egyptian General Intelligence. Tarek remains on active duty. Ibrahim and Leila have nine grandchildren.

Military education

*1950 Bachelor of Military Science degree,

, Heliopolis, Cairo *1961 Master of Military Art and Science degree, M.V. Frunze Military Academy, Moscow, Soviet Union *1972 PhD of Military Science, Joint Command and Staff College, Cairo, Egypt *1977 Fellowship of the Higher War College, Nasser's Military Sciences Academy, Egypt

Dates of rank

Career

In 1950, Orabi began his service in the Armored Corps, then he joined the Free Officers Movement and participated in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. From 1963 to 1967, Orabi served as Commander of the Arab Forces in Iraq and Commander of the Armored Corps in Yemen war and then was appointed to the Field Marshal's Office. In end 1968, Orabi was distributed on training branch, then he was promoted to assume the position of vice president of operations of the Second Field Army, and then suddenly he was appointed commander of the 21st Armored Division. From 1977 to 1981, Orabi was promoted to the rank of major general and was appointed assistant commander of the second field army. He next served in the Second Field Army, where he was assigned to chief of staff, and then as commander of the

. On 4 March 1981, General Orabi was nominated by President

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 ...

to serve as chief of operations of the Armed Forces. He was next appointed assistant minister of defense in 1982. President

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 ...

nominated Orabi to be the

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 ...

on 16 July 1983, and was promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

. He has been confirmed by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. He took over from Army General Abd Rab El Naby Hafez on 16 July 1983. He serves with Gen. Salah Abd El Halim, former commander of the Second Field Army, who has become the next chief of operations of the Armed Forces. In 1987, Orabi became chairman of the

Arab Organization for Industrialization The Arab Organization for Industrialization (AOI) ( ar, الهيئة العربية للتصنيع) is an Egypt-based Arab military organization established in 1975 by Egypt, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar to supervise the collecti ...

(AOI) until 1995, when he retired.

Military participations

* Suez Crisis *

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 states (primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan) from 5 to 10 Ju ...

War of Attrition The War of Attrition ( ar, حرب الاستنزاف, Ḥarb al-Istinzāf; he, מלחמת ההתשה, Milhemet haHatashah) involved fighting between Israel and Egypt, Jordan, the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and their allies from ...

Yom Kippur War The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by E ...

Awards and decorations

Orabi is the recipient of the following awards:

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orabi, Ibrahim El 1931 births 2019 deaths Egyptian Sunni Muslims Egyptian generals Egyptian Military Academy alumni Free Officers Movement (Egypt) Egyptian revolutionaries Frunze Military Academy alumni Egyptian people of the Yom Kippur War Members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Chiefs of the General Staff (Egypt)