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 List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning the North Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via a land bridg ...

'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 ...

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-r ...

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 in ...

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 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 1938.

Career

El-Shafei was appointed minister of war in 1954 and served as Egypt's minister of labor 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

widow A widow (female) or widower (male) is a person whose spouse has died. Terminology The state of having lost one's spouse to death is termed ''widowhood''. An archaic term for a widow is "relict," literally "someone left over". This word can so ...

s. 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 Faten Ahmed Hamama ( ar, فاتن حمامه ; 27 May 1931 – 17 January 2015) was an Egyptian film and television actress and film producer. She was the first wife of Ezz El-Dine Zulficar. She made her screen debut in 1939, when she was ...

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 ...

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 protocol, held to honour people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of ...

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 order established 4 February 1921. It is conferred on both military and civilians as well as on foreigners for outstanding achievemen ...

(1965) * Malaysia: 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 ...

(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