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BREADCRUMB

 1. Home >
 2. Countries of the World >
 3. Egypt


EGYPT | FACTS & INFORMATION

Updated September 9, 2022 | Infoplease Staff
 * Egypt Profile
 * History
 * News and Current Events

Infoplease has everything you need to know about Egypt. Check out our
country profile, full of essential information about Egypt's geography,
history, government, economy, population, culture, religion and languages. If
that's not enough, click over to our collection of world maps and flags.

Map of Egypt


FACTS & FIGURES

 * President: Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2014)
   
   Prime Minister: Mostafa Madbouly (2018)
   
   Land area: 384,344 sq mi (995,451 sq km); total area: 386,662 sq mi
   (1,001,450 sq km)
   
   Population (2022 est.): 107,770,524 (growth rate: 1.68%); birth rate:
   21.46/1000; infant mortality rate: 17.7/1000; life expectancy: 74.45
   
   Capital and largest city (2022 est.): Cairo, 21.750 million
   
   Other large cities: Alexandria, 5.484 million; Bur Sa'id, 764,000 (2022)
   
   Monetary unit: Egyptian pound
   
   National name: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah
   
   Current government officials
   
   Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by
   educated classes
   
   Ethnicity/race: Egyptian 99.6%, other 0.4% (2006 census)
   
   National Holiday: Revolution Day, July 23
   
   Religions: Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 90%, Christian (majority Coptic
   Orthodox, other Christians include Armenian Apostolic, Catholic, Maronite,
   Orthodox, and Anglican) 10% (2012 est.)
   
   Literacy rate: 71.2% (2017 est.)
   
   Economic summary: GDP/PPP $1,223,040,000,000 (2020 est.); per capita $12,000.
   Real growth rate: 4.2%. Inflation: 9.3%. Unemployment: 7.86%. Arable land:
   2.8%. Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables;
   cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats. Labor force: 24.113 million (2020);
   agriculture 25.8%, industry 25.1%, services 49.1% (2015 est.). Industries:
   textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons,
   construction, cement, metals, light manufactures. Natural resources:
   petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum,
   talc, asbestos, lead, zinc. Exports: $40.1 billion (2020 est.): crude oil and
   petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals. Major
   trading partners (exports): United States 9%, United Arab Emirates 6%, Italy
   6%, Turkey 6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, India 5% (2019). Imports: $72.48 billion
   (2020 est.): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products,
   fuels. Major trading partners (imports): China 15%, Russia 7%, United States
   6%, Saudi Arabia 6%, Germany 5%, Turkey 5% (2019).
   
   Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 9,858,331 (2020); mobile
   cellular: 95,357,427 (2020). Broadcast media: mix of state-run and private
   broadcast media; state-run TV operates 2 national and 6 regional terrestrial
   networks as well as a few satellite channels; about 20 private satellite
   channels and a large number of Arabic satellite channels are available via
   subscription; state-run radio operates about 70 stations belonging to 8
   networks; 2 privately owned radio stations operational (2019). Internet
   hosts: 200,430 (2012). Internet users: 73,680,770 (2020).
   
   Transportation: Railways: total: 5,085 km (2014). Roadways: total: 65,050 km;
   (2018 est.). Waterways: 3,500 km; note: includes Nile River, Lake Nasser,
   Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in delta; Suez Canal
   (193.5 km including approaches) navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to
   17.68 m (2018). Ports and harbors: Alexandria, Damietta, El Dekheila, Port
   Said, Suez, Zeit. Airports: 83 (2021).
   
   International disputes: Sudan claims but Egypt de facto administers security
   and economic development of Halaib region north of the 22nd parallel
   boundary; Egypt no longer shows its administration of the Bir Tawil trapezoid
   in Sudan on its maps; Gazan breaches in the security wall with Egypt in
   January 2008 highlight difficulties in monitoring the Sinai border; Saudi
   Arabia claims Egyptian-administered islands of Tiran and Sanafir.
   
   Major sources and definitions

GEOGRAPHY

 

Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered
on the west by Libya, on the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea
and Israel. It is nearly one and one-half times the size of Texas. Egypt is
divided into two unequal, extremely arid regions by the landscape's dominant
feature, the northward-flowing Nile River. The Nile starts 100 mi (161 km) south
of the Mediterranean and fans out to a sea front of 155 mi between the cities of
Alexandria and Port Said.

 

GOVERNMENT

 

Republic.

HISTORY

 

Egyptian history dates back to about 4000 B.C., when the kingdoms of upper and
lower Egypt, already highly sophisticated, were united. Egypt's golden age
coincided with the 18th and 19th dynasties (16th to 13th century B.C.), during
which the empire was established. Persia conquered Egypt in 525 B.C., Alexander
the Great subdued it in 332 B.C., and then the dynasty of the Ptolemies ruled
the land until 30 B.C., when Cleopatra, last of the line, committed suicide and
Egypt became a Roman, then Byzantine, province. Arab caliphs ruled Egypt from
641 until 1517, when the Turks took it for their Ottoman Empire.

Napoléon's armies occupied the country from 1798 to 1801. In 1805, Mohammed Ali,
leader of a band of Albanian soldiers, became pasha of Egypt. After completion
of the Suez Canal in 1869, the French and British took increasing interest in
Egypt. British troops occupied Egypt in 1882, and British resident agents became
its actual administrators, though it remained under nominal Turkish sovereignty.
In 1914, this fiction was ended, and Egypt became a protectorate of Britain.

Egyptian nationalism, led by Zaghlul Pasha and the Wafd Party, forced Britain to
relinquish its claims on the country. Egypt became an independent sovereign
state on Feb. 28, 1922, with Fu'ad I as its king. In 1936, by an Anglo-Egyptian
treaty of alliance, all British troops and officials were to be withdrawn,
except from the Suez Canal Zone. When World War II started, Egypt remained
neutral.

 

EGYPT BECOMES A REPUBLIC

 

Tensions grew between the Wafd Party and the monarchy following independence,
and in 1952, the army, led by Gen. Mohammed Naguib, seized power. Three days
later, King Farouk abdicated in favor of his infant son. The monarchy was
abolished and a republic proclaimed on June 18, 1953, with Naguib becoming
president and prime minister. He relinquished the prime ministership in 1954 to
Gamal Abdel Nasser, leader of the ruling military junta. Nasser also assumed the
presidency in 1956.

Nasser's policies embroiled his country in continual conflict. In 1956, the U.S.
and Britain withdrew their pledges of financial aid for the building of the
Aswan High Dam. In response, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and expelled
British oil and embassy officials. The Soviet Union then agreed to finance the
dam and would come to exert increasing influence over Egypt in the coming
decade. Israel, barred from the canal and exasperated by terrorist raids,
invaded the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Britain and France, after
demanding Egyptian evacuation of the canal zone, attacked Egypt on Oct. 31,
1956. Worldwide pressure forced Britain, France, and Israel to halt the
hostilities. A UN emergency force occupied the canal zone, and all troops were
evacuated in the spring of 1957.

From 1956 to 1961, Egypt and Syria united to form a single country called the
United Arab Republic (UAR). Syria ended this relationship in 1961 after a
military coup, but Egypt continued to call itself the UAR until 1971.

 

TENSIONS BETWEEN EGYPT AND ISRAEL ERUPT IN THE SIX-DAY WAR

 

In 1967, border tensions between Egypt and Israel led to the Six-Day War. On
June 5, Israel launched an air assault, and within days had annexed the Sinai
Peninsula, the East Bank of the Jordan River, and the Golan Heights. A UN
cease-fire on June 10 saved the Arabs from a complete rout. Nasser declared the
1967 cease-fire void along the canal in April 1969 and began a war of attrition.
On Sept. 28, 1970, Nasser died of a heart attack. Anwar el-Sadat, an associate
of Nasser and a former newspaper editor, became the next president.

The fourth Arab-Israeli War broke out on Oct. 6, 1973, during the Jewish holiday
of Yom Kippur. Egypt swept deep into the Sinai, while Syria strove to throw
Israel off the Golan Heights. A UN-sponsored truce was accepted on Oct. 22. In
Jan. 1974, both sides agreed to a settlement negotiated by the U.S. that gave
Egypt a narrow strip along the entire Sinai bank of the Suez Canal. In June,
President Nixon made the first visit by a U.S. president to Egypt and full
diplomatic relations were established. The Suez Canal was reopened on June 5,
1975.

In the most audacious act of his career, Sadat flew to Jerusalem at the
invitation of Prime Minister Menachem Begin on Nov. 20, 1977, to discuss a
permanent peace settlement. The Arab world reacted with fury. Egypt and Israel
signed a formal peace treaty on March 26, 1979. The pact ended 30 years of war
and established diplomatic and commercial relations.

By mid-1980, two-thirds of the Sinai had been transferred back to Egypt, but
Sadat halted further talks with Israel in Aug. 1980 because of continued Israeli
settlement of the West Bank. On Oct. 6, 1981, Sadat was assassinated by
extremist Muslim soldiers at a parade in Cairo. Vice President Hosni Mubarak, a
former air force chief of staff, succeeded him. Israel completed the return of
the Sinai to Egyptian control on April 25, 1982. Israel's invasion of Lebanon in
June brought a marked cooling in Egyptian-Israeli relations, but not a disavowal
of the peace treaty.

 

EGYPT BEGINS FIGHTING ISLAMIC EXTREMISTS

 

The government has concentrated much of its time and attention in recent years
on combating Islamic extremists, who have in particular targeted Copts (Egyptian
Christians). In 1997, a terrorist attack on foreign tourists killed 70. During
the 1990s, about 26,000 Islamic militants were imprisoned and dozens were
executed.

Egypt and Sudan resumed diplomatic relations in March 2000, which had broken off
in 1995 after Egypt accused Sudan of attempting to assassinate Hosni Mubarak.
Human rights activists have increased their criticism of Egypt for its
heavy-handed crackdown on potentially disruptive Islamic groups, and for the
harassment of intellectuals advocating greater democracy.

In July 2005, President Mubarak announced he would seek a fifth six-year term.
Earlier in the year Mubarak had amended the constitution to allow for multiparty
elections, the first in Egyptian history, and on Sept. 6, Mubarak was reelected
with 88.6% of the vote. Turnout was 23%.

In March 2007, voters overwhelmingly endorsed changes to the Constitution that
strengthened the presidency. Voter turnout was low, at about 27%, and opposition
groups claimed the vote was rigged.

U.S. President Obama spoke of forming an alliance with Muslims during a visit to
Cairo, Egypt in June 2009. He called for "a new beginning between the United
States and Muslims around the world," asking for new alliances based on mutual
respect and common interests.

 

MUBARAK RESIGNS UNDER INTENSE PRESSURE FROM PROTESTERS

 

Unrest spread throughout the Middle East in January 2011. First, Tunisia's
president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali stepped down amid widespread protests against
corruption, unemployment, and the repressive police state. Demonstrations
followed in Yemen and Algeria. In Egypt, opposition groups and activists calling
for reform began their protests on January 25—what they called "a day of rage,"
which coincided with Police Day. The movement, organized using cell phones and
social media sites, spread, and protesters took to the streets in several
cities, including Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez, demanding the resignation of
Mubarak, who had been in power for 30 years. The aging president had taken steps
for his son, Gamal, to succeed him in upcoming elections.

The protests continued and grew in size and intensity over the next several
days, with protesters and police engaged in violent battles. On January 28,
Mubarak ordered his government to resign and reshuffled his cabinet, which had
no effect on the protests. Mubarak, however, remained in office, and in an
apparent move to cement the support of the military, he appointed military
intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as vice president. He deployed the military
to help police quell the protests, but days later—in a blow to Mubarak—the
military said it would not use force against the protesters. On February 1,
hundreds of thousands of protesters assembled in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Mohamed
ElBaradei, the Egyptian Nobel laureate and former director general of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, returned to Egypt and emerged as the leader
of the opposition. He urged Muburak to resign and allow the formation of a
"national unity government." Wael Ghonim, an Egyptian executive at Google, was a
leading force in organizing the protests; he used an anonymous Facebook page and
YouTube videos to rally support for the movement. He was jailed for 12 days, and
became an unwitting hero of the movement when he acknowledged his role in an
emotional television interview after his release.

On Feb. 1, Mubarak announced that he will serve out the remainder of his term
but not run for reelection in September. In response, President Barack Obama
said an "orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must
begin now." A day later, however, the situation in Cairo deteriorated abruptly
as counter-protests broke out and supporters and opponents of Mubarak faced off
in and around Tahrir Square, hurling rocks and wielding sticks. Many observers
suspected Mubarak organized and encouraged his supporters to take to the streets
in an attempt to further destabilize the country, allowing him to cling to
power.

The opposition remained undaunted by the violent counter-protests and continued
their demonstrations. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest and most
influential opposition movement, had been largely absent from the protest
movement until it issued a statement on Feb. 4 calling for the resignation of
Mubarak. In response to the continued unrest, the government made a series of
conciliatory gestures: it announced that Suleiman would oversee the planning of
upcoming elections and the attendant transition, promised a 15% pay increase for
government employees, and proposed constitutional reforms. The opposition
dismissed the gesture as wildly inadequate, and Mubarak's stubborn insistence on
remaining in office emboldened the opposition. Mubarak ultimately gave in to the
uprising. On Feb. 11, he announced his resignation and handed power of the
country over to the military. Cairo erupted in joyous celebration, with crowds
chanting, "Egypt is free!"

 

SEVERAL MILESTONES SIGNAL TRANSITION TO DEMOCRACY

 

After assuming control of the country, the military dissolved Parliament and
suspended the Constitution. It then presented a roadmap for a six-month
transition to civilian rule. Plans included drafting constitutional amendments,
a referendum to vote on them, and elections. Opposition supporters continued to
gather in Tahir Square to call for further reform. On March 3 Prime Minister
Ahmed Shafiq resigned, giving in to the demands of protesters. He was replaced
by Essam Sharaf, a former government minister and a supporter of the opposition.
Another milestone was achieved on March 20, when 77.2% of voters approved a
referendum on constitutional amendments that lays the groundwork for upcoming
legislative and presidential elections. One of the amendments establishes
presidential term limits. The amendments were put into effect on March 31, when
the ruling military council introduced an interim constitution. The council also
said it would cede legislative power after November's parliamentary elections
and executive control after presidential elections, which are schedule for
November. On April 13, Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were taken into
police custody to be questioned about corruption and abuse of power.

In May, prosecutors charged Mubarak with murder and attempting to murder
protesters. He and his sons Alaa and Gamal were charged with corruption. All
were ordered to stand trial. Mubarak's trial began on Aug. 3 in Cairo. He
appeared in court lying in a hospital bed in a caged area of the courtroom.

Tensions flared between Israel and Egypt in August and September 2011, when
militants attacked the Israeli resort town of Eilat, on the Egypt-Israel border.
Eight Israelis were killed and 30 were wounded. Six Egyptian border guards were
also killed in the shootings. Israeli authorities blamed the attacks on the
Popular Resistance Committees, a group that has worked with Hamas, and said they
believed the attackers crossed into Israel from Egypt. Egypt in turn blamed
Israel for the deaths. Israel responded with several airstrikes on Gaza, killing
the Popular Resistance Committees' commander among others. Egyptian officials
denied that the attackers crossed through Hamas also denied Israel's
accusations. The cross-border attacks threatened the decades of peace between
Israel and Egypt. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired several rockets into
Israel from Gaza, killing one civilian and wounding six others. Hamas, which
controls Gaza, took credit for the rockets fired into Israel.

 

PROTESTERS RETURN TO TAHRIR SQUARE

 

Confidence in the military's leadership began to erode in the fall and hit a low
in October 2011 in response to the military's heavy-handed approach to a
peaceful protest by Coptic Chrisians, who were demonstrating against religious
intolerance and the burning of a church. About 25 Copts were killed and 300
injured in Cairo when security forces fired on the crowd with live ammunition
and ran over protests. Days later, the military council said it would maintain
control over the government after parliamentary elections and cede power only
after a new constitution was adopted and presidential elections. This process
was expected to extend into 2013. The moves sparked fear that the military,
which still includes members of the Mubarak regime, was postponing the
transition to civilian rule in an attempt to retain control and diminish the
influence of the democracy movement.

In November, protesters—representing both Islamists and the liberal
opposition—returned to Tahrir Square to demand the ruling military council step
aside in favor of a civilian-led government. The opposition had little
confidence the military would hand over power and suggested that it was actually
stifling the revolutionary fervor. The demonstrations turned violent with police
firing on crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets. On Nov. 21, as the protests
grew in size and intensity and police were widely criticized for their
crackdown, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and his cabinet resigned. In an agreement
reached with the Muslim Brotherhood, which had stepped back from the protest
movement, the military council vowed to install a civilian prime minister and to
accelerate the transition to a civilian government, with presidential elections
being held by June 2012. Former prime minister Kamal al-Ganzouri was named to
replace Sharaf, and in response to the demands of protesters, the military
council transferred most powers of the president to him. The secular opposition
condemned the Muslim Brotherhood for cooperating with the military, saying the
Islamists were cozying up to the military in a grab for power.

 

ISLAMISTS FARE WELL IN PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS; POLITICAL TURMOIL COMPLICATES
PRESIDENTIAL VOTE

 

Despite the political turmoil and uncertainty, millions of Egyptians voted in
the first round of parliamentary elections on Nov. 28, 2011. The Muslim
Brotherhood fared better than expected, winning about 40% of the vote. Even more
of a shock was the second place finish of the ultraconservative Islamist
Salafists, who took about 25%. The Muslim Brotherhood, however, said it did not
plan to form a coalition with the Salafis—an apparent attempt to calm fears that
it would assemble an Islamist government. In fact, it said that it planned to
form a unity government with secularists and would respect the rights of women
and religious minorities.

The second round of parliamentary elections in mid-December were marred by
violence. Protesters demonstrating against military rule were beat up and troops
assaulted civilians who assembled outside parliament and judges who were
enlisted to supervise the vote counting. In response, the civilian advisory
council, formed to help the military council gain acceptance with the populace,
ceased operations. The move was an embarrassment to the military council. The
reputation of the military was further tarnished in late December, when it beat,
kicked, and stripped several women who were participating in a women's
demonstration against military rule.

After the third and final round of voting, the Muslim Brotherhood emerged as the
clear winner, taking 47% of the seats in parliament. The Salafis won 25%, giving
Islamists more than 70% of the seats. The first democratically elected
parliament in more than 60 years convened in January 2012. Parliament, however,
will remain secondary to the military council until the military hands power to
a civilian government, which is expected after May's presidential election. The
legislative body was charged with forming a committee to write a new
constitution. The Muslim Brotherhood named as many as 70 Islamists, including 50
members of parliament, to the 100-person committee. Given its dominance in
parliament and control over the new constitution, the Brotherhood said it would
not enter a candidate in the presidential election.

About 100,000 protesters gathered in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2012—the first
anniversary of the revolution. Rather than a unified demonstration, the
gathering turned out to be divisive, with some criticizing the military's
continued hold on power, others expressing anger that Muslim Brotherhood's
cooperation with the military.

A series of events in March and April 2012 upset the political landscape in
Egypt. In March, the Muslim Brotherhood rescinded its earlier pledge not to run
a candidate in May's presidential election. The move caused concern in the West,
in Israel, and among liberals in Egypt as observers wondered if the Brotherhood
had abandoned its vow to follow a course of moderation and was instead seeking a
monopoly on power.

Then in early April, a court suspended the work of the constitution-writing
committee. Since the constitution will not be written before presidential
elections, the new president will control the process, certainly adding a new
level of importance to the race. Later in the month, election officials
disqualified ten out of 23 candidates in the presidential elections on technical
grounds, including three leading contenders: Omar Suleiman, Mubarak's spy chief;
Shater; and Hazem Abu Ismail, an ultraconservative Islamist. The first round of
Egypt's first democratic presidential election, held on May 23, was
inconclusive. The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohamed Morsi and former prime minister
Ahmed Shafik faced off in a second round on June 16 and 17.

Two weeks before the run-off election, a smooth transition—or any transition at
all—to a democratically elected government seemed impossible when the military
council reimposed martial law, dissolved Parliament on a technicality, gave the
military legislative and budgetary authority, and released an interim
constitution that further eroded the powers of the president. Many Egyptians and
observers called the moves a coup. However, the military council recognized the
victory of Morsi over Shafik—a sign of hope despite clear challenges ahead.
Morsi won 51.7% of the vote. On July 10th—10 days into his presidency—Morsi
defied the military and ordered that Parliament be reinstated. Legislators met
briefly, and the Supreme Constitutional Court issued a ruling affirming their
decision to dissolve Parliament. The moves signaled a protracted power struggle
between Morsi and the military.

In late July Morsi named Hesham Kandil, an engineer who served as head of the
Ministry of Water Resources and Irrigation during the interim government, as
prime minister. Kandil is a Muslim but not a member of the Muslim Brotherhood.
Morsi's cabinet, seated in early August, is composed of several former ministers
and members of the Muslim Brotherhood, which deflated hopes that the new
government would introduce swift change and raised concern that the Brotherhood
would attempt to exclude other parties from governance.

 

MUBARAK SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON

 

On June 2, 2012, a three-judge panel sentenced Mubarak to life in prison for
being an "accessory to murder" in the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters
in early 2011. The former president and his sons were acquitted of corruption.
However, the panel cleared several of Mubarak's security officials who were
responsible for ordering the attacks on protesters. Thousands of demonstrators
poured into the streets of Cairo after the verdict was announced to protest what
they considered a weak verdict. Mubarak appealed, and in January 2013 the Court
of Cassation ordered a retrial. In August 2013, he was transferred from prison
to a military hospital in Cairo and has remained there under house arrest.

 

PROTESTS THREATEN MORSI GOVERNMENT

 

President Morsi faced his first test in early August 2012, when militants shot
and killed 16 Egyptian soldiers at an army checkpoint in Egypt's Sinai
Peninsula, which borders Israel. Several of the militants then drove into
Israel, where their vehicle was destroyed by the Israeli military. Despite
increased jihadist activity and warnings about a potential attack in the Sinai,
the Egyptian Army was caught unprepared. Morsi ordered an airstrike on the
Sinai, which killed about 20 militants. On Aug. 12, Morsi dismissed or
"reassigned" several senior generals and the heads of each service branch of the
Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), an influential force in Egypt that
has effectively been in control since the fall of Hosni Mubarak and recently
been in a power struggle with the new civilian government. Defense minister
Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, a power broker in Egypt, was among the leaders Morsi
stripped of his position. Morsi also voided a constitutional declaration imposed
by the military that limited the role of the president, and implemented a new
order that vastly expanded his power and that of the legislature. The bold move
sent a clear message that the civilian government had taken back control of the
country.

The attack in the Sinai highlighted the importance—and fragility—of the
relationship between Israel and Egypt in dealing with the explosive nature of
the region.

Protests broke out at the U.S. embassy in Cairo in September over the release of
a YouTube film, Innocence of Muslims, which insulted the Prophet Muhammad and
criticized Islam. Demonstrators stormed the walls of the embassy and ripped down
the American flag. President Morsi was slow to respond to the protests and
issued only a tepid condemnation of the violence, prompting a call from
President Barack Obama, who warned that relations between the U.S. and Egypt
will suffer if he fails to take stronger action against anti-American violence.
The protests coincided with similar actions in Yemen, Tunisia, Morocco, Sudan,
Indonesia, and Pakistan. In Libya, the U.S. ambassador, Christopher Stevens, and
three other embassy officials were killed by armed gunmen.

In November 2012 as violence intensified between Israelis and members of Hamas
in the Gaza Strip, President Morsi held indirect talks with Hamas and the
Israeli government in an attempt to prevent further destabilization in the
region. On Nov. 21, Egyptian foreign Mohamed Kamel Amr and U.S. secretary of
state Hillary Clinton announced a cease-fire had been signed.

Any praise that Morsi received for intervening in the Gaza crisis was quickly
overshadowed by a brazen power grab announced on November 22, in which he
declared authority over the courts, thereby removing any check on his actions by
the courts. He said the move was necessary because the judiciary, made up of
Mubarak appointees, was threatening to suspend the constitutional assembly
before it completed the task of drafting a new constitution. Progress on writing
a new constitution had been stalled by members of the opposition on the
committee. Morsi also said the edict would bring "political, social and economic
stability" and remove barriers to a smooth transition of power. The decree was
met with large protests in Tahrir Square, the scene of the uprising against
Mubarak, and international condemnation. It also fueled accusations that one
autocrat had succeeded another.

Days later—on November 26—Morsi seemed to have backtracked in repsonse to the
outpouring of rage, saying only "acts of sovereignty" would be exempt from
judicial oversight. The clarification did little to placate his opponents. Under
threat of being suspended by the courts, the constitutional assembly hastily
approved a draft document on Nov. 29. The constitution satisfied some of the
demands of the revolutionaries by weakening the presidency and strengthening
Parliament and banning torture, however it was criticized for affirming the
power of the military and potentially limiting the rights of women and religious
minorities. The draft constitution passed because Morsi's opponents on the
committee from secular groups and Coptic Christians boycotted the vote.
Thousands of protesters took to the streets to demonstrate against Morsi's power
grab. The protests turned violent when members of the Muslim Brotherhood tried
to break up the crowds. Several people were killed in the fighting between the
opposing sides. Morsi and about a dozen members of the Muslim Brotherhood were
accused of inciting the murder of a journalist and two opposition figures, and
the ordering torture and the illegal detention of protesters. The referendum on
the constitution was held in December, and about 64% of voters approved it.
Turnout, however, was low—less than 33%.

Violent protests erupted throughout Egypt on January 25, 2013, the second
anniversary of the revolution. Demonstrators focused their ire on the Muslim
Brotherhood and President Mohamed Morsi's government, frustrated that the
country was headed on an ideologically conservative path under the Islamists and
that Morsi has failed to bolster the economy or fulfill promises to introduce
broader civil liberties and social justice. As the protests continued and dozens
of people were killed in the violence, Morsi declared a state of emergency in
three large cities: Suez, Ismailia, and Port Said. The violence was particularly
gruesome in Port Said after 21 people were sentenced to death for their role in
the deadly brawl at a Feb. 2012 soccer match that resulted in the death of about
75 people. Defying the state of emergency and attendant curfew, rioters, who
were upset with the verdict, wreaked havoc throughout the city, attacking police
stations, a power plant and a jail. At least 45 people died in Port Said alone.
News reports indicated the victims were shot by police. Police also reportedly
shot live ammunition and tear gas at protesters in other cities, including
Cairo.

In March 2013, Morsi called for early parliamentary elections, to be held in
April. The main opposition coalition, the National Salvation Front, said it
would boycott the vote, claiming the elections would not be free or fair. A
court, however, cancelled the election in early March, saying Morsi did not
clear the election schedule with the his cabinet or the prime minister.

 

MORSI DEPOSED BY MILITARY AFTER ONE YEAR IN OFFICE

 

Massive anti-government protests took place on June 30, 2013, the first
anniversary of Morsi's inauguration. As many as one million people took the
streets in the planned demonstrations and called for the president to step down.
Protesters ranged from the poor to anti-Islamists to the wealthy and middle
class. Their complaints against Morsi were far-reaching: the dismal state of the
economy (high inflation, poverty and unemployment), Morsi's installation of
members of the Muslim Brotherhood into many positions of power, his failure to
stem the sectarian divide between Sunnis, Shiites, and Christians, among other
issues. The protests continued on July 1, and the military issued a statement
saying they would step in if Morsi did not respond to the protesters in 48
hours. On July 4, the military deposed Morsi and suspended the constitution,
saying the move was an attempt at "national reconciliation" rather than a coup.
Morsi, however, called it a "complete military coup.” He was arrested and taken
into custody and several members of his inner circle were placed under house
arrest. Adli Mansour, the chief justice of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was
sworn in as interim president and Mohamed ElBaradei, diplomat and opposition
leader, became vice president. Mansour dismantled the Shura Council, the only
functioning body of parliament. Thousands of Morsi supporters took to the
streets of Cairo on July 5 in protests organized by the Muslim Brotherhood.
Troops and police fired on protesters during morning prayers on July, killing
more than 50 Morsi supporters and wounding more than 300. Reports in the news
media said the attack was unprovoked. However, the military said soldiers were
fired at first. About 650 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were arrested. The
violence escalated the political crisis.

The day after the violence—the worst since the revolution began in 2011—the
interim military government named Hazem el-Beblawy, a respected economist who
supported the ouster of Mubarak, as prime minister and said a new constitution
would be drafted and elections would be held within six months. The Muslim
Brotherhood, however, rejected both the apppointment of Beblawy and the
timeframe for a return to a civilian government. Most members of the opposition,
ranging from liberals to conservative Islamists, called the timeframe
unrealistic and poorly planned. On July 16, an interim government took office.
It's composed mostly of left-leaning technocrats and three Christians and two
women were given posts. Notably, there are no Islamists in Beblawy's cabinet.
Gen. Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, who organized the coup, was named deputy prime
minister and retained his post as head of defense. The Muslim Brotherhood and
the Nour party, which had backed the coup, rejected the new government. The
government faces the overwhelming tasks of shoring up the economy, shepharding
the country back to civilian rule, writing a new constitution, and holding
elections within six months.

 

MILITARY BRUTALLY CRACKS DOWN ON PROTESTERS

 

At the urging of Gen. Sisi, who wields more influence over the country than the
interim government, hundreds of thousands of protesters took to the streets on
July 26 to show support for the military and to demand that the country
"confront terrorism." The next day, members of the Muslim Brotherhood staged
their own demonstration—a sit-in—in Cairo in support of Morsi, and police opened
fire, killing more than 80 people and wounding several hundred. Despite the
escalating violence, the Islamists continued the sit-ins and set up protest
camps. On August 14 riot police raided the camps. They opened fire and used
armored bulldozers, tear gas, snipers, and helicopters to clear the camps.
Protesters threw rocks and burned tires in response. More than 500 people were
killed, and the government declared a state of emergency. Mohamed ElBaradei
resigned as vice president in protest of the military's action. President Barack
Obama canceled joint military exercises between Egypt and the U.S. that were
scheduled for September in response to the military's repressive and
heavy-handed tactics. “While we want to sustain our relationship with Egypt, our
traditional cooperation cannot continue as usual while civilians are being
killed in the streets,” Obama said.

The crackdown and protests dragged on for several days, as both the military and
Morsi's supporters vowed to continue their fight. Casualties mounted with more
than 1,000 fatalities, most of whom were Morsi supporters. On Aug. 18, 36
Islamic militants in police custody were killed while being transported to
prison on the outskirts of Cairo, and on Aug. 19 militants killed 24 police
officers in the northern Sinai region. Foreign governments urged the military to
use restraint, a plea largely ignored. While foreign officials deplored the
heavy-handed tactics of the military, they were careful not to imply support for
the protesters, recognizing that the interim government was the only hope for
stability. On Aug. 19, police arrested Mohamed Badie, the Muslim Brotherhood’s
spiritual leader, and charged him with incitement to murder. In addition, on the
same day a court ordered that former president Hosni Mubarak be released from
prison, saying the appeals process had reached an end. He was released from
prison on Aug. 22 and placed under house arrest. The government of Morsi kept
Mubarak in prison during the appeals process by adding new charges—a precedent
Gen. Sisi evidently refused to follow.

By the end of August, the protests had mostly come to an end. After seven weeks
of unrest, about 2,000 people were killed, including about 200 police officers,
and about 1,500 members or sympathizers of the Muslim Brotherhood had been
detained. In September, the Cairo Court for Urgent Matters issued an injunction
barring the Muslim Brotherhood from carrying out any activity in the country and
confiscated its assests, effectively shutting down the organization. The turn of
events called into question whether the 2011 revolution would be in vain.
Indeed, all signs indicated that Egypt was headed back to becoming an
authoritarian regime.

Violence erupted again in early October when members of the Muslim Brotherhood
took the streets in Cairo and their peaceful protests were met with gunfire by
riot police. More than 50 members of the brotherhood were killed. In response to
the continued violent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood, President Obama
announced that the U.S. would temporarily suspend financial and military aid to
Egypt, including Apache helicopters, F-16 warplanes, and $260 million. In an
attempt to maintain a strategic relationship with Egypt, the U.S. will continue
to provide assistance to fight terrorism, train troops, and secure Egypt's
borders and the Sinai.

Morsi's trial on charges of inciting the murder of protesters opened briefly in
early November and was adjorned until January 2014. He denounced the court as
illegitimate and proclaimed himself the leader of Egypt. Fourteen other
defendants also appeared in court, and they as well as Morsi were held in a
caged area of the courtroom. The government declared the Muslim Brotherhood a
terrorist organization in December, following an attack that killed a dozen
people in Mansoura.

 

 

VOTERS APPROVE NEW CONSTITUTION

 

A draft of the new constitution—replacing the one adopted under Morsi—was
released in early December. While it includes provisions that protect citizens,
including a ban on torture, human trafficking, and violence against women, the
constitution expanded the powers of the police and security forces and the
military. It also outlaws religious political parties, which means Islamist
parties such as the Muslim Brotherhood would be banned. The constitution was put
to a referendum on Jan. 14 and 15, 2014, and 98% voted in favor. The Muslim
Brotherhood boycotted the vote. Turnout was 38%, but less than 20% for voters
under age 30.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Cairo on Jan. 25, 2014, the third
anniversary of the uprising against the autocratic former president Hosni
Mubarak, both to commemorate the revolt and to support Gen. Sisi. In other parts
of the city and in surrounding areas, violence broke out between rival
anti-government groups, including Islamists and secularists. About 50 people
were killed.

In February 2014, Mubarak and his sons Alaa and Gamal were charged with using
more than $17 million in state funds for renovations on their private homes.
They were found guilty of embezzlement in May. Hosni Mubarak was sentenced to
three years in prison and his sons four years. They were also fined $3 million
and ordered to pay back the $17 million.

Prime Minister Hazem el-Beblawy and several members of his cabinet resigned
abruptly on Feb. 24, 2014. Beblawy did not give a reason for stepping down. He
had been in office since July 2013, and has dealt with a series of daunting
challenges, including an economy in tatters, continued protests, and labor
strikes. He was replaced by Ibrahim Mehlib, an industrialist who served as
housing minister under Mubarak.

 

MASS DEATH SENTENCES HANDED DOWN IN KILLING OF OFFICER

 

After a two-hour trial, a judge in Matay in Minya Province sentenced 529 people
to death in March 2014 for the killing of a police officer during the protests
against the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in August 2013. About 400
people were sentenced in absentia. It was a stunning verdict that met with
international condemnation. Fearing reprisals from the military-led government,
few Islamists dared to speak out or demonstrate against the verdict. A similar
verdict was rendered by the same court in April, with more than 680 people being
sentenced to death in connection to the police officer's death. Those sentenced
included Mohamed Badie, the spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood. Most of
those sentenced were either members of the Muslim Brotherhood or supporters of
the group. In another ruling in April, a court in Cairo banned the April 6
movement, the liberal group that organized the rebellion that led to the ouster
of Mubarak. Despite these repressive, anti-democratic actions, the U.S.
announced it would resume some aid to Egypt and deliver 10 Apache helicopters to
the Egyptian military.

 

VOTER TURNOUT UNEXPECTEDLY LOW IN PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION

 

Abdul-Fattah Sisi, the influential general who led the ouster of Morsi, resigned
as defense minister in March 2014 and announced his intention to run for
president in the upcoming election.

Voter turnout in May 2014's presidential election was so low that officials
added a third day of voting and declared the added day a state holiday. Sisi won
the election in a landslide, taking 95% of the vote, but the turnout, about 47%,
suggested that Sisi did not have the overwhelming support he had claimed and was
widely reported. This may make it difficult for Sisi to implement economic
reforms that are needed to boost the country's dire financial situation. In the
2012 presidential election, 52% of voters cast ballots. Observers feared that
under Sisi, a military strongman, Egypt would revert to an autocracy as seen in
the Mubarak era.

In June 2014, an Egyptian court convicted three Al Jazeera English journalists
of aiding the Muslim Brotherhood and spreading false news during their coverage
of the protests that followed the ouster of President Mohamed Morsi in July
2013. Peter Greste, Mohamed Fahmy, and Baher Mohamed were arrested in December
2013. Greste and Fahmy were sentenced to seven years in prison, and Baher
Mohamed received a 10-year sentence. The extra years were for possessing
ammunition, which amounted to one bullet from the protests he kept as a
keepsake. The prosecution did not present any evidence against the journalists,
and the verdict prompted international condemnation. The White House issued a
statement saying the ruling "flouts the most basic standards of media freedom
and represents a blow to democratic progress in Egypt." The ruling sent a clear
message to journalists and the public that the Sisi government would likely
continue to crack down on freedom of the press and would not tolerate dissent.

 

DANGEROUS JIHADIST GROUP INTENSIFIES ATTACKS ON TROOPS; PLEDGES ALLEGIANCE TO
ISIS

 

In the summer and fall of 2014, the jihadist group Ansar Beit al-Maqdis, the
most virulent militant organization in Egypt, intensified its anti-government
activity with a series of brutal attacks on security troops. At least 20 were
killed in July in western Egypt and more than 30 soldiers were killed in late
October in the Sinai Peninsula. In response, the government evacuated residents
and destroyed nearly 800 homes on the border with Gaza to rid the area of
"terrorist hotbeds" and to create a buffer zone to stop the flow of weapons and
fighters between Egypt and Palestinians. The Sinai-based Ansar Beit al-Maqdis,
which translates to "Supporters of Jerusalem," stepped up its attacks on police
and security forces after the ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in
August 2013. In November, the group pledged allegiance to the Islamic State in
Iraq and Syria (ISIS), the Sunni militant organization that has terrorized Iraq
and Syria in its bid to implement an Islamic state.

In February 2015, a group of Libyan militants aligned with ISIS beheaded 21
Egyptian Coptic Christians who had been kidnapped from Sirte, Libya. Egypt
responded by launching airstrikes on weapons Derna, a militant stronghold in
eastern Libya.

 

COURT DROPS CHARGES AGAINST MUBARAK

 

In November 2014, an Egyptian court dropped all charges against former president
Hosni Mubarak for his role in the killing of hundreds of unarmed protesters in
the Arab Spring protests of 2011. His security chief and several high-ranking
police officials were also cleared. Thousands of people protested the verdict in
Tahrir Square. With another strongman in the role as president, the ruling
largely turned back the clocks on the Arab Spring protests.

 

OBAMA LIFTS FREEZE ON MILITARY AID

 

In March 2015, President Barack Obama lifted the freeze on financial and
military aid to Egypt that was imposed in 2013 following the ouster of President
Mohamed Morsi and the violent crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood by the
military. President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi was a leader in the coup against Morsi
and was in power when the military suppressed Muslim Brotherhood protests. Sisi
has not improved his human rights record or made progress towards
democratization, which Obama said was necessary for a resumption of aid, but the
Obama administration said the move was in the "interest of U.S. national
security." With the rise of ISIS, turmoil in Yemen, and political chaos in
Libya, Egypt, a longtime ally of the U.S., needs to be able to defend itself in
the face of such instability.

 

MORSI RECEIVES SENTENCES OF DEATH AND 20 YEARS IN PRISON

 

In April 2015, Morsi and 14 members of the Muslim Brotherhood were found guilty
of ordering the torture and illegal detention of protesters. They were sentenced
to 20 years in prison. The charges stem from violent protests against Morsi in
December 2012. They were acquitted of inciting the murder of a journalist and
two opposition figures. In May 2015, Morsi was sentenced to death in a separate
case involving a prison break of scores of members of the Muslim Brotherhood in
2011. An Egyptian court upheld Morsi's death sentence in June.

 

INSURGENT ATTACKS INCREASE

 

Egypt's Prosecutor-General Hisham Barakat was killed by a roadside bomb in late
June 2015. He was the highest-ranking official killed since the insurgency
against the government began in 2013. No group claimed responsibility for the
assassination, but Barakat was known for taking a hard line against Islamists.
Days later, a group linked to the Islamic State launched coordinated attacks in
Northern Sinai that killed about 20 soldiers. The attack underscored Sisi's
failure to crack down on Islamist groups. The ongoing violence has thwarted an
economic recovery and discouraged tourism.

 

EGYPT JOINS IN SAUDI-LED FIGHT AGAINST REBELS IN YEMEN; PRIME MINISTER, CABINET
RESIGN

 

Despite the launch of an aggressive Saudi-led campaign on Houthi targets, Houthi
rebels continued to gain ground in Yemen throughout 2015. Saudi Arabia led a
coalition of Middle East nations in the fight. Egypt sent about 800 ground
troops to Yemen in September.

In September, Prime Minister Ibrahim Mehlib and his cabinet resigned amid
widespread allegations of corruption involving Mehlib and several ministers. The
charges include embezzlement and accepting bribes.

See also Encyclopedia: Egypt .
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Egypt

 


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