Just the Facts: Sami Anan
Lt. Gen. Sami Hafez Anan, former SCAF Deputy Chairman, has gone viral this week, with Egypt’s astute public jumping on the opportunity to wield their Photoshop skillz on what may or may not be leaked campaign photos of the erstwhile military man in *gasp* civilian clothes. Find out more about the man whose face is on everyone’s news feed with this fact sheet.
Background
- Born on Feb. 2, 1948 in Mansoura, Sami Anan is 65-years-old and currently lives in New Cairo.
- Early in his career, he studied in the Soviet Union and France’s War College. He speaks a bit of English and a bit of French.
- Anan is married with three children.
Military Career
- Egyptian Military, since ’67: Anan joined the Egyptian Armed Forces in the Air Defense branch when he was 19-years-old and served until 2012 for a grand total of 45 years in service.
- 1967 – 1981: The public record is largely silent about the early years of his military career. After joining the army, Anan served for 14 years – during which he fought in wars against Israel in 1969 and 1973 – before taking his first command post.
- 1981 – 1996: For the next 15 years, Anan’s military career plateaued. He served as Battalion Commander from 1981-85. He was then promoted to Brigade Commander, serving for about a decade in that position from 1985-96. In between, Anan was sent to Morocco for a two-year stint as a Defense Attache from 1990-92.
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1996 – 2005: After being promoted to Air Defense Forces Division Commander in 1996 for two years, Anan quickly rose up the ranks. He became Chief of Air Defense Forces operation department from 1998-2000, followed by a promotion to Air Defense Forces Chief of Staff from 2000-01. After just one year in this position, Anan was tapped to be Air Defense Forces Commander, a position he held from 2001-05 commanding the entire Air Defense branch of the military, with about 30,000 officers and soldiers and 40,000 conscripts under his authority.
1996 – 2005: After being promoted to Air Defense Forces Division Commander in 1996 for two years, Anan quickly rose up the ranks. He became Chief of Air Defense Forces operation department from 1998-2000, followed by a promotion to Air Defense Forces Chief of Staff from 2000-01. After just one year in this position, Anan was tapped to be Air Defense Forces Commander, a position he held from 2001-05 commanding the entire Air Defense branch of the military, with about 30,000 officers and soldiers and 40,000 conscripts under his authority.- Chief of Staff, Egyptian Armed Forces, 2005-12: Anan was then promoted to be the military’s Chief of Staff, commanding over 468,000 troops. In his seven years in this position, Anan served under former presidents Hosny Mubarak, Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (interim) and Mohamed Morsy.
- Deputy Chairman, Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, 2011-12: Anan took up this position after the Jan. 25 revolution, succeeding Omar Suleiman as the second most important man in the military after Field Marshal Tantawi. He then served until Jun. 30, 2012, when he was dismissed by newly elected president Mohamed Morsy. He was succeeded by Lt. Gen. Sedki Sobhi.
- Senior Advisor to the President, Jun. 30 – Aug. 12, 2012: After being dismissed as Deputy Chairman of SCAF by Morsy, Anan was appointed his Senior Advisor until Aug. 12, when Morsy forced him into retirement, marking the end of his military career.
Known for:
- Being Tantawi’s right-hand man.
- Being in Washington, D.C. when the revolution broke out, meeting with senior U.S. military counterparts. He cut his trip short to return to Egypt and in the aftermath of the revolution, was considered “a crucial link for the United States as it navigates the rocky course ahead with Cairo.”
- In September, announcing his intention to run for Egypt’s presidency, according to pro-military news source Al-Watan, then quickly denying the reports to Al Masry Al Youm.
