{{short description|Former chief of staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces}} {{Use dmy dates|date=September 2023}} {{Infobox officeholder | name = Sami Hafez Anan | image = Sami Hafez Anan.jpg | caption = Anan in 2012 | office = Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces of Egypt | 1blankname = Chairman | 1namedata = Mohamed Hussein Tantawi | term_start = 11 February 2011 | term_end = 30 June 2012 | predecessor1 = Omar Suleiman {{small|(Vice President)}} | successor1 = Sedki Sobhi | office3 = Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces | president3 = Hosni Mubarak<br />Mohamed Hussein Tantawi {{small|(Acting)}}<br />Mohamed Morsi | 1blankname3 = Commander | 1namedata3 = Mohamed Hussein Tantawi | term_start3 = 2005 | term_end3 = 12 August 2012 | predecessor3 = Hamdi Weheiba | successor3 = Sedki Sobhi | office4 = Commander of the Egyptian Air Defense Command | term_start4 = 19 July 2001 | term_end4 = 30 October 2005 | predecessor4 = Mohammed Elshahat | successor4 = Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen | president4 = Hosni Mubarak | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1948|2|27|df=y}} | death_date = | birth_place = Salamoun El Qamash, Dakahlia Governorate, Kingdom of Egypt | death_place = | placeofburial = | party = Arabism Egypt Party | allegiance = {{flag|Egypt}} | branch = {{Air defence force|Egypt}} | service_years = 1968–2012 | rank = 25px Lieutenant General | commands = SA-6 Missile Battery Commander (1973–76)<br />Battalion Commander (1981–1985) (SAM (SA-3) and (SA-6))<br /> Brigade Commander (1985–90)<br />Defense Attaché in Morocco (1990–93) <br />Brigade Commander (1993–96)<br />Air Defense Forces Division Commander (1996–98)<br />Chief of Air Defense Forces operation department (1998–2001)<br />Air Defense Forces Commander-in-Chief (2001–05)<br /> Chief of Staff of Egyptian Armed Forces (2005–12) | unit = | battles = War of Attrition<br />Yom Kippur War<br />Sinai insurgency | awards = Merit Of Distinguished Service<br /> Medal of Long Service and Good Example | laterwork = }}
Lieutenant General '''Sami Hafez Anan''' ({{langx|ar|سامى حافظ عنان}}, {{IPA|arz|ˈsæːmi ˈħɑːfezˤ ʕæˈnæːn, -ʕeˈnæːn|IPA}}; born 27 February 1948) is a retired Egyptian military officer. He was the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces from 2005 until August 2012 when his retirement was announced by President Mohamed Morsi.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2012/08/201281215511142445.html|title=Crowds in Cairo praise Morsi's army overhaul|work=Al Jazeera|date=13 August 2012|access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref> In January 2018, he announced himself as a candidate in the 2018 Egyptian presidential election, though he was arrested and later released.
==Early career== He commanded a brigade from 1992. From 1990 to 1993 he was the Egyptian Defence Attaché to Morocco. From 1996 to 1998 he reportedly commanded the 5th Air Defence Division. More recently he served as the Commander of the Egyptian Air Defence Forces from 2001 to 2005. He served as Deputy Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces.
==2011 events== When the 2011 Egyptian Revolution began in January 2011, Anan was in Washington, D.C. "for a week of meetings with senior American officers". Cutting his visit short, he returned to Egypt on 28 January.<ref name=VOA>{{cite web|url=https://www.voanews.com/a/us-egypt-military-relationship-might-impact-crisis-114979569/134324.html|title=US-Egypt Military Relationship Might Impact Crisis|author=Al Pessin|date=30 January 2011|access-date=22 December 2019|work=Voice of America}}</ref> As the commander of an army of 468,000 troops, he was considered likely to play a crucial role in the political uncertainty surrounding the protests.<ref>[http://www.thenews.com.pk/TodaysPrintDetail.aspx?ID=3652&Cat=13&dt=1/30/2011 Lt-Gen Sami Anan will have the final say], ''The News International'', 30 January 2011</ref> On 1 February 2011, the UK's Channel 4 News reported that the United States was pressing for Anan to play a role in coordinating interim arrangements for government in Egypt after Hosni Mubarak.<ref>Jonathan Rugman, Channel 4 News, 1 February 2011</ref>
As the protests built momentum into their second week, there was considerable speculation whether Enan, on one hand, was "'too close to Mubarak to stay,' [per ...] Gawdat Bahgat, a professor at National Defense University in Washington who has worked extensively with Egyptian officers attending the school," or, on the other, "a trusted partner. Retired Army Lt. Gen. R. Steven Whitcomb, who oversaw joint exercises with the Egyptian military while stationed in the Middle East, invited Enan and his wife to his home at Fort McPherson in Atlanta for a private dinner in 2007. According to Whitcomb, Enan complained about the effect that budget cuts were having on the military as the Mubarak administration dealt with political and economic problems."<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/02/04/AR2011020407140.html|title=Where Egypt military's loyalties lie remains unclear|date=5 February 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|access-date=22 December 2019|author1=Craig Whitlock|author2=Greg Jaffe}}</ref>
The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces is the body of 18 senior military men, including Anan, to which the power to govern was handed by departing President Mubarak on 11 February 2011. Only Hussein Tantawi ranked ahead of Anan on the armed forces website and in the Council at that time, according to Al Jazeera.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/articles/111640/20110211/egypt-high-military-council-egypt-supreme-council-of-armed-forces.htm#ixzz1FHFcE9Bk|title=Who is in Egypt's High Military Council?|date=11 February 2011|access-date=22 December 2019|work=International Business Times|author=Staff reporter}}</ref>
Assessing U.S. views of Anan thereafter, particularly by way of the United States diplomatic cables leak, ''The Guardian'' newspaper saw Anan "as more amenable to personal ties" than the older, change-resistant and standoffish Tantawi. Also, the story said, the Muslim Brotherhood "has described [Anan] as incorruptible and as one of its cleric[s] put it: 'He can be the future man of Egypt … I think he will be acceptable.'" As the newspaper saw it, this gave the "Soviet-trained" general an unusual span of support in the post-Mubarak government".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/wikileaks-cables-egyptian-military-head|title=WikiLeaks cables: Egyptian military head is 'old and resistant to change'|date=14 February 2011|access-date=22 December 2019|website=The Guardian|author1=Julian Borger|author2=James Ball}}</ref> On 12 August 2012, President Mohamed Morsi announced Anan's retirement, and his replacement by Abdel Fattah el-Sisi. On 2 October 2012, the Egyptian public prosecutor announced that Anan would be investigated for corruption, the first such investigation against a military figure.<ref>[http://www.almasryalyoum.com/node/1151496 النائب العام يحيل بلاغًا ضد الفريق سامي عنان إلى «الكسب غير المشروع»] ''Al-Masry Al-Youm'', 2 October 2012.</ref>
== Elections == Anan formed the Arabism Egypt Party in 2014,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thecairopost.com/news/114858/news/anan-will-officially-declare-new-political-party|title=Anan will officially declare new political party|publisher=Cairo Post|date=14 June 2014|access-date=22 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180622010347/http://thecairopost.youm7.com/news/114858/news/anan-will-officially-declare-new-political-party|archive-date=22 June 2018}}</ref> which ran in the Egyptian 2015 parliamentary election.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www1.youm7.com/story/2014/9/29/%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A8_%D8%B3%D8%A7%D9%85%D9%89_%D8%B9%D9%86%D8%A7%D9%86__%D8%AA%D9%82%D8%AF%D9%8A%D9%85_%D8%A3%D9%88%D8%B1%D8%A7%D9%82_%D8%A5%D8%B4%D9%87%D8%A7%D8%B1%D9%86%D8%A7_%D9%84%D9%84%D8%AC%D9%86%D8%A9_%D8%B4%D8%A6%D9%88%D9%86_%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%A3%D8%AD%D8%B2%D8%A7%D8%A8_%D8%AE%D9%84%D8%A7%D9%84_%D8%A3/1886038|title=حزب "سامى عنان": تقديم أوراق إشهارنا للجنة شئونالأحزاب خلال أيام|publisher=Youm7|date=29 September 2014|access-date=21 October 2014}}</ref>
Anan accepted his nomination by the Arabism Egypt Party to run for the March 2018 Egyptian presidential election.<ref name=Fox>{{Cite news|url=https://www.foxnews.com/world/ex-army-chief-to-run-in-egypts-presidential-elections|title=Ex-army chief to run in Egypt's presidential elections|date=12 January 2018|agency=Associated Press|access-date=22 December 2019|language=en-US|author=Maggie Michael}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Michaelson |first=Ruth |date=23 January 2018 |title=Egypt arrests ex-general who stood for election against Sisi |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jan/23/former-egyptian-general-arrested-by-military-after-announcing-presidential-bid-sami-anan |access-date=18 March 2023 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
Anan was arrested for violating the military rules for announcing his candidacy without seeking the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces approval, which "constituted clear incitement against the armed forces with the intention of driving a wedge between it and the great Egyptian people."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2018/01/23/middleeast/egypt-arrests-presidential-candidate/index.html|title=Egypt arrests presidential candidate|author1=Spencer Feingold|author2=Sarah El Sirgany|website=CNN|date=23 January 2018|access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref> He was also accused of forging documents to falsely indicate his military service was terminated.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-42795008|title=Egypt's army arrests presidential hopeful|date=23 January 2018|work=BBC|access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref> He was released on 22 December 2019.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://madamasr.com/en/2019/12/22/news/u/former-military-chief-of-staff-released-after-near-2-year-term-in-detention/|title=Former military chief of staff released after near 2-year term in detention|date=22 December 2019|work=Mada Masr|access-date=22 December 2019}}</ref>
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== {{commons category}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110625111931/http://www.mmc.gov.eg/Commanders/chos/default.htm Chief of Staff] at the Egyptian Armed Forces *{{Aljazeeratopic|people/sami-hafez-anan}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20110205000431/http://www.silobreaker.com/biography-for-sami-anan-5_2260392001088258270_4 Biography] at silobreaker.com
{{s-start}} {{s-mil}} {{s-bef|before=Mohammed Elshahat}} {{s-ttl|title=Commander of the Egyptian Air Defence Forces|years=19 July 2001 – 30 October 2005}} {{s-aft|after=Abd El Aziz Seif-Eldeen}} {{s-end}}
{{Commanders of the Egyptian Armed Forces}} {{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anan, Sami}} Category:1948 births Category:Living people Category:Egyptian generals Category:Members of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces Category:Egyptian expatriates in Morocco Category:Candidates for President of Egypt Category:People from Dakahlia Governorate Category:Chiefs of the General Staff (Egypt) Category:Egyptian Air Defense College alumni