Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed (
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
: ) (3 March 1952 – 3 December 2013) was the commander of the
Egyptian Air Force. Mohamed was also the minister for military production in the interim cabinet led by
Prime Minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
Hazem Al Beblawi
Hazem El Beblawi (also spelled ''el Beblawy'' ar, حازم عبد العزيز الببلاوى ; born 17 October 1936) is an Egyptian economist and politician who was interim prime minister of Egypt from 2013 until 1 March 2014. Previousl ...
.
Biography
Reda Mahmoud Hafez Mohamed graduated from the
Egyptian Air Academy
The Egyptian Air Academy (Arabic: الكلية الجوية المصرية) is a college in Bilbeis, Sharqia Governorate, Egypt, tasked with training officer candidates for the Egyptian Air Force. Established in 1951, the Egyptian Air Academy is ...
in 1972 with a bachelor's degree in aviation and military Sciences. The following year he saw active service in the October or
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 ...
. He has flown several aircraft including the
Aero L-29 Delfín
The Aero L-29 Delfín ( en, Dolphin, NATO reporting name: Maya) is a military jet trainer developed and manufactured by Czechoslovakian aviation manufacturer Aero Vodochody. It is the country's first locally designed and constructed jet airc ...
,
MiG-17
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 w ...
,
MiG-19
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-19 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-19; NATO reporting name: Farmer) is a Soviet second generation, single-seat, twinjet fighter aircraft, the world's first mass-produced supersonic aircraft. It was the ...
,
MiG-21
The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickn ...
and the
McDonnell-Douglas F-4 Phantom II
The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American tandem two-seat, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic jet interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed by McDonnell Aircraft for the United States Navy.Swanborough and Bow ...
.
In 1991, Mohamed was appointed
Chief of Staff on the No. 242 Air Wing which flew the
F-16 Fighting Falcon. This appointment was short lived and Mohamed took up post as Second-in-Command of No 232 Air Wing (also equipped with the F-16) in 1992. Two years later, Mohamed received a command appointment as the Commander of No. 272 Wing which was another F-16 unit.
After his extensive experience on F-16 units, Mohamed was posted to the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
as an Egyptian Air Force
liaison officer
A Liaison officer is a person who liaises between two or more organizations to communicate and coordinate their activities on a matter of mutual concern. Generally, liaison officers are used for achieving the best utilization of resources, or empl ...
. Returning to Egypt, Mohamed was appointed the Deputy Chief of Armament Department in 2001 followed by a brief spell as the Deputy Commander of the
Air Force Academy
An air force academy or air academy is a national institution that provides initial officer training, possibly including undergraduate level education, to air force officer cadets who are preparing to be commissioned officers in a national air for ...
in 2002. It was also in 2002 that Mohamed attended the High War College.
Now ready for higher command, Mohamed was the Chief of Staff at the Eastern Air Zone headquarters in 2002/03 before becoming the Southern Air Zone Commander in 2003. He became the Eastern Air Zone Commander in 2004 and was made the Chief of the Air Force's Training Department in 2005. On 1 July 2007 he became Chief of the Operations Department and towards the end of the year he was appointed Air Force
Chief of Staff. Only three months later he replaced
Magdy Galal Sharawi as the Commander of the Air Force, taking up his appointment on 20 March 2008.
It was while Mohamed was in command that Air Force F-16s overflew the protesters in
Tahrir Square
Tahrir Square ( ar, ميدان التحرير ', , English: Liberation Square), also known as "Martyr Square", is a major public town square in downtown Cairo, Egypt. The square has been the location and focus for political demonstrations in Cai ...
during
2011 Egyptian revolution
The 2011 Egyptian revolution, also known as the 25 January revolution ( ar, ثورة ٢٥ يناير; ), began on 25 January 2011 and spread across Egypt. The date was set by various youth groups to coincide with the annual Egyptian "Police ho ...
, although no attempt was made to attack the demonstrators.
Mohamed was a member of the
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces which, after
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 ...
had departed the presidency, has carried out the executive function within the Egyptian state.
He was replaced by
Younes Hamed
Air Marshal Younes Hamed Al-Masri ( ar, يونس حامد; born 15 August 1959) is the Minister of Civil Aviation, and was the Commander of the Egyptian Air Force from 2012 until 2018.
Hamed graduated from the Egyptian Air Academy on 16 Decemb ...
as Commander of the Air Force in August 2012.
In July 2013 Hafez was appointed as Minister of Military Production by
Hesham Qandil
Hesham Mohamed Qandil (also spelled: ''Hisham Kandil''; ar, هشام محمد قنديل ; born 17 September 1962) is an Egyptian engineer and civil servant who was Prime Minister of Egypt from 2012 to 2013. Qandil was appointed as Prime ...
(Mohammed Morsi's Prime Minister). Hafez kept his ministerial position during and after the
2013 Egyptian coup d'état
The 2013 Egyptian coup d'etat took place on 3 July 2013. Egyptian army chief General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi led a coalition to remove the democratically elected
President of Egypt, Mohamed Morsi, from power and suspended the Egyptian constitu ...
. In the Autumn of 2013 Hafez began to suffer from severe heart problems and he died at the International Medical Centre hospital on 3 December 2013.
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Mohamed, Reda Mahmoud Hafez
1952 births
2013 deaths
Egyptian Air Force air marshals
Members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces
Military production ministers of Egypt
Egyptian Air Academy alumni