Egypt’s new defense minister

Sedky Sobhy was appointed the new minister of defense and military production by the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) on Wednesday, succeeding Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who yesterday stepped down from the post to enter the race for the presidency.

The 57-year-old military officer ascended to public attention alongside Sisi back in 2012, when the two men were appointed chief army commander and Armed Forces chief of staff by ousted President Mohamed Morsi. Sisi replaced Mohamed Sayed Tantawy, while Sobhy replaced Sami Anan, who, like Tantawy, was of an older generation of officers.

Sobhy is considered a close associate of Sisi, and a representative of a clique of younger officers who have increasingly been taking control over the military.

Sobhy had told the Al-Arabiya Saudi channel in February 2013 that, while the Egyptian Armed Forces is removed from politics, it is a close observer and will be there whenever the people call for its support. The statement was read as one of the initial ultimatums made to Morsi.

The comments were made at a conference in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Sobhy is said to have strong ties in the UAE and to have worked on improving relations following the conflict with the Muslim Brotherhood.

Sobhy served in the Third Field Army, which he commanded until 2009. He graduated from military school in 1976, and pursued further education in Egypt. Like many other military officers, Sobhy spent time pursuing education and receiving training in the United States between 2004 and 2005, including in the Army War College, where Sisi also pursued his studies.

In his time at the US War College, Sobhy wrote a paper, in which, the privately run Arabist blog reported, he called for a withdrawal of American troops from the Middle East and for a focus on economic and social support instead.

"He had a reputation as a dynamic, if rather undisciplined guy in comparison to Sisi," Robert Springborg, an American professor who studies Egypt's military, told Mada Masr.

Springborg added that for people who dealt with him closely, he seemed to project power, "so in that, he and Sisi think alike."

Recently, Sobhy is said to have had an active role in the contentious Sinai question where Egyptian troops have been fighting terrorist cells, as well as the question of arms diversification. He has been on the forefront of efforts to liberate the seven Egyptian soldiers kidnapped in May 2013, weeks before Morsi's ouster.

The privately owned Al-Shorouk daily newspaper published a series of quotes by Sobhy from throughout the last three years, whereby he came out as a strong proponent of stability and opponent of labor actions and protests. For example, weeks after the ouster of former President Hosni Mubarak following the protests of January 25, 2011, Sobhy warned against outside players trying to destabilize Egypt and cultivate sectarianism.

He was also quoted as saying that the gains of the January 25 revolution would be threatened by ongoing strikes and sit-ins.

In his new position, Sobhy will also head SCAF as per a March decree that removed the president from leadership of the council, and put the minister of defense instead in this post. The move appeared to be a balancing act between the military and the presidency, especially if a man of considerable power like Sisi wins the race.

In the shakeup that followed Sisi’s resignation, interim President Adly Mansour issued a decision Thursday to appoint Major General Mahmoud Hegazy as the Armed Forces chief of staff, the state-owned Middle East News Agency reported.

Hegazy is the military intelligence chief and will be replacing Sobhy. Mansour also promoted Hegazy to Field Marshal.

Hegazy is Sisi’s former military academy classmate, and his daughter is married to one of Sisi’s sons.

He replaced Sisi as chief of military intelligence when the latter was appointed by Morsi as defense minister.