President Muhammad Naguib (Khartoum, Sudan, 1901 - Cairo, August 28, 1984) was the first President of the Republic of Egypt. He served as President of Egypt from the declaration of the Republic in June 18, 1953 to November 1953.
Naguib graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Cairo. The general is considered one of Egypt's few heroes from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War and was widely respected. Naguib was recruited as figurehead leader to the revolutionary Free Officers Movement to lend credibility to the group. The Free Officers, led by Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser were young members of the military all under thirty-five and all from peasant or lower middle-class backgrounds. Nasser's goal was to seize power in Egypt from the British-dominated King Farouk I. Nasser was worried that he and his followers would not be taken seriously, and recruited General Naguib.
In the 23 July, 1952 coup d’etat, the Free Officers forced King Faruq to abdicate in favour of his six-month old son King Foud II. Naguib was appointed, first as Commander-in-Chief of Army, in order to keep the armed forces favorable to the coup organized by such junior officers. In September, Naguib was appointed Prime Minister of Egypt and a member of the Royal Regent Council, with Nasser serving in the background as Minister of the Interior.
When the Republic was declared on June 18, 1953, Naguib become the first President of Republic. However, in 1954 Nasser accused Naguib of supporting the recently outlawed Muslim Brotherhood and of harboring dictatorial ambitions and by in November he expelled him from office. A brief power struggle broke out between the Naguib and Nasser for control of the military and of Egypt. Nasser ultimately won the struggle and was sworn in as President of the Republic on February 24, 1954.
Naguib was placed under house arrest, and he remained under supervision in Cairo until his death in 1984.
See also
Last updated: 08-20-2005 07:16:24
