CAIRO — Former Head of Egypt's Supreme Council Defense Minister Field Marshal Mohammad Hussien Tantawi died at the age of 86, Egyptian Presidency announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, the presidency mourned one of its most loyal sons and military symbols. Tantawi has participated in most of Egypt's wars, including the wars of 1956 and 1967, the War of Attrition, and the 1973 October war.

Tantawi died on Tuesday after battling health complications since July 2021, announced the Egyptian Presidency. A source close to the family reported Tantawi passed away at a hospital in Cairo following age-related health complications.

“Egypt has lost one of its most loyal sons and military symbols,” mourned President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi in a press release. On behalf of himself and Egypt, he expressed his sincere condolences to the late marshal’s family.

Tantawi was born on Oct. 31 in 1935, and graduated from Egypt’s Military College in 1956. He participated in the Six-Day Arab-Israeli war of 1967, and later in the October war of attrition in 1973. He served as Minister of Defense and Military for 21 years, before becoming General Commander of the Armed Forces in 1995.

As head of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces Tantawi assumed sovereignty of Egypt in February of 2011 after the resignation of former President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak.

After handing over the presidency and taking a constitutional oath under former president Mohamed Morsi in 2012, Tantawi was pushed into resignation by the Muslim Brotherhood.

Tantawi’s career within the Egyptian military began with a commission as an army infantry officer.

The field marshal came under intense criticism for his handling of a protest that took place in Cairo's Tahrir Square, a flashpoint in the protests against Mubarak and the Egyptian revolution.

He controlled Egypt for a period of 17 months until the inauguration of Egypt's first democratically elected leader, Morsi. After Morsi took power, Tantawi was fired from his defense minister position in August 2012, but was awarded the Order of the Nile upon his exit.

Tantawi's death follows the passing of Mubarak, which occurred 19 months prior. — Agencies