Ahmad Ismail Ali
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Ahmad Ismail Ali أحمد إسماعيل علي | |
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Minister of Defence of Egypt | |
In office 1973–1973 | |
President | Anwar El-Sadat |
Preceded by | Mohammed Ahmed Sadek |
Succeeded by | Abdel Ghani el-Gamasy |
Director of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate | |
In office 1971–1972 | |
President | Muhammad Naguib, Gamal Abdel Nasser |
Preceded by | |
Succeeded by | |
Personal details | |
Born | Cairo, Egypt | 14 October 1917
Died | 26 December 1974 London, United Kingdom | (aged 57)
Military service | |
Allegiance | ![]() ![]() ![]() |
Branch/service | ![]() |
Years of service | 1938–1974 |
Rank | ![]() |
Unit | 16th Infantry |
Commands | Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces |
Battles/wars | Second World War 1948 Arab–Israeli War |
Ahmad Ismail Ali (Arabic: أحمد إسماعيل علي) (14 October 1917 – 26 December 1974) was the Commander-in-Chief of Egypt's army and minister of war during the October War of 1973, and is best known for his planning of the attack across the Suez Canal, code-named Operation Badr. Ali's mother was of partial Albanian descent.
Military career[]
- Graduated from Egypt's Royal Military Academy in 1938.
- Commissioned in an Infantry regiment.
- Served with the Allies in the Western Desert against the Axis during the Second World War
- Fought as an infantry battalion commander in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
- Later received training in Great Britain
- Saw active service during the 1956 Suez Crisis, and undertook further training in the Soviet Union
- Served as a division commander during the 1967 Six-Day War of 1967
- Head, Military Operations Authority
- Appointed Chief of the General Staff in March 1969, but was dismissed by President Nasser in September 1969 following successful Israeli raids during the War of Attrition. Nasser's successor as President, Anwar Al-Sadat, however, named him chief of intelligence in September 1970.
- From 1971 to 1972 he served as head of the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate.
In October 1972, Ali accompanied Prime Minister Aziz Sidqi on a visit to Moscow, and, on his return, stifled a coup attempt against President Sadat. That same month, he replaced the anti-Soviet general Mohammed Ahmed Sadek as Minister of Defence, and was promoted to full general. His skill as a strategist, and his success in reviving the morale of the Egyptian army became evident in the October War of 1973. Following the war, he was made a Field Marshal in November 1973.
Death[]
Ali died in December 1974 from advanced cancer in London, at the age of just 57.[1]
References[]
- ^ Fouad Saleh al-Sayed (2015). The greatest contemporary events (1900–2014) (in Arabic). Al Manhal. p. 537. ISBN 9796500148564.
External links[]
- 1917 births
- 1974 deaths
- People from Cairo
- Field marshals of Egypt
- Defence Ministers of Egypt
- Egyptian people of the Yom Kippur War
- Egyptian Military Academy alumni
- Egyptian people of World War II
- Deaths in Greater London
- Directors of the General Intelligence Directorate (Egypt)
- Deaths from cancer in England