Kamal Rifaat ( ar, كمال الدين رفعت; 1 November 1921 – 13 July 1977) was an Egyptian military officer and one of the members of the Free Officers movement. He held several government posts after the Egyptian revolution in 1952.

Early life and education

Kamal Rifaat was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

on 1 November 1921. His father was an engineer. After completing primary and secondary education in Cairo Kamal Rifaat graduated from the military academy.

Career

Kamal Rifaat joined the Egyptian army in 1941 and served there until 1945. He was part of the Iron Guard along with Captain Mustafa Kamal Sidqi 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 ...

which was composed of the supporters 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 193 ...

. Then he worked in

Khartoum, Sudan Khartoum or Khartum ( ; ar, الخرطوم, Al-Khurṭūm, din, Kaartuɔ̈m) is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 5,274,321, its metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan. It is located at the confluence of the White Nile, flowing nor ...

, in a secret organization to resist the British occupation. Next, he participated in the

1948 Palestine War The 1948 Palestine war was fought in the territory of what had been, at the start of the war, British-ruled Mandatory Palestine. It is known in Israel as the War of Independence ( he, מלחמת העצמאות, ''Milkhemet Ha'Atzma'ut'') and ...

during which he met

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 ...

. Rifaat joined the Free Officers movement which carried out the Egyptian revolution in 1952. He was part of the first cell of the movement founded by Nasser. He was among those who had Marxist views in the group and had a

Titoist Titoism is a political philosophy most closely associated with Josip Broz Tito during the Cold War. It is characterized by a broad Yugoslav identity, workers' self-management, a political separation from the Soviet Union, and leadership in the ...

leaning. Rifaat became a member of the 14-member Revolution Command Council following the 1952 revolution. However, he was among the non-voting members of the council. Rifaat was made acting minister of social affairs on 12 October 1961 when Syrian ministers vacated their posts in the cabinet. When a cabinet was formed on 18 October he was permanently appointed to the post and remained in office until September 1962. On 27 September 1962 a new constitution was accepted and then, a presidential council was formed under the presidency of Nasser. Rifaat was one of the members of this council. In addition, he served in various posts, including the minister of labor (June 1967–November 1970), director of ideological development within the Workers' Bureau of the Arab Socialist Union and the government publishing houses as well as the director of the modernization" program at

Al Azhar University , image = جامعة_الأزهر_بالقاهرة.jpg , image_size = 250 , caption = Al-Azhar University portal , motto = , established = *970/972 first foundat ...

. Between 1971 and 1973 Kamal was the ambassador to the United Kingdom. In 1976 Rifaat co-founded the

National Progressive Unionist Party The National Progressive Unionist Party ( ar-at, حزب التجمع الوطني التقدمي الوحدوي, Ḥizb al-Tagammu' al-Watani al-Taqadomi al-Wahdawi, commonly referred to as Tagammu) is a socialist political party in Egypt. Origi ...

with

Khaled Mohieddin Khaled Mohieddine ( arz, خالد محيى الدين, ; August 17, 1922 – May 6, 2018) was an Egyptian revolutionary, politician, and military officer. As a member of the Free Officers Movement (Egypt), Free Officers Movement, he participated ...

, another member of the Revolution Command Council, known as Free Officers Movement.

Death and honors

Kamal Rifaat died on 13 July 1977. He was the recipient of the Order of the Republic and several decorations from Cameroon, Morocco, Yugoslavia and Tunisia.

References

External links

Kamal Rifaat interview in 1973
''

Pathé News Pathé News was a producer of newsreels and documentaries from 1910 to 1970 in the United Kingdom. Its founder, Charles Pathé, was a pioneer of moving pictures in the silent era. The Pathé News archive is known today as British Pathé. Its coll ...

'' {{DEFAULTSORT:Rifaat, Kamal 20th-century diplomats 20th-century Egyptian politicians 1921 births 1977 deaths Ambassadors of Egypt to the United Kingdom Egyptian communists Egyptian military leaders Free Officers Movement (Egypt) Labour ministers of Egypt Politicians from Alexandria Egyptian political party founders Egyptian people of the 1948 Arab–Israeli War National Progressive Unionist Party politicians Egyptian Military Academy alumni