Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi obituary

Head of the military regime that briefly ruled Egypt after the 2011 uprising and the fall of Hosni Mubarak

Field Marshal Mohamed Tantawi, who has died aged 85, took charge of Egypt from the ousting of its president, Hosni Mubarak, in February 2011 until a return to democracy with the election of Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood in June 2012.

Despite being a pillar of the former regime - Mubarak's poodle" to some - Tantawi was given the job in response to the demands of a huge protest movement. He was respected for his decency and clean human rights record, though he became the focus of anger in his own right when demonstrators returned to the streets to protest against the army's handling of the transition.

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