Zakaria Mohi al-Din

Zakaria Abdul Majid Mohi ed-Din was born on July 5, 1918 in the village of Kafr al-Shukr, Mit-Gamr, Kalyubiya province in a wealthy family and was a cousin of another famous Egyptian politician Khaled Mohi ed-Din ^[2] . He received his primary education in a village school, then graduated from Abbasia Elementary School and Fuad College I. Having chosen a military career, 18-year-old Zakaria Mohi ed-Din entered the Royal Military Academy in Cairo on October 6, 1936 ^[3] .

Military career. Between Islamism and the “Free Officers”

In the mid-1930s, people from the middle classes began to be accepted into the military academy, and a year later cadets who had to play leading roles in the history of Egypt came to its walls. Along with Zakaria Mohi ed-Din, Gamal Abdel Nasser , Anwar Sadat , Abdel Hakim Amer , Kamal ed-Din Hussein and other future leaders of the Free Officers movement were now studying. During his training, Zakaria himself sympathized with the Islamic ideas of the Muslim Brotherhood Association, which, after signing the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, carried out active work among cadets of the Military Academy and students of Al-Azhar University ^[1] .

On February 6, 1938, Mokhi al-Din graduated from the academy, received the rank of junior lieutenant, and was sent to serve in the infantry battalion in Alexandria ^[3] . He broke off contacts with the "Brotherhood" and in the future for a long time did not adjoin any of the political parties ^[4] . But in 1939, Mokhi al-Din was transferred to the south of the country, to the garrison of Mankabad (near Asyut ), where he met closely with Gamal Abdel Nasser ^[3] , who studied at the academy a course younger than him, and with a liaison officer Anwar Sadat. They say that in Mankabad on Mount Jebel al-Sheriff, the three of them vowed to give their lives in the struggle for the liberation of Egypt from British occupation, to reorganize the Egyptian army ^{[5] [note 1]} . The following year, Mohi al-Din, like Nasser, was transferred to Anglo-Egyptian Sudan , where Lieutenant Abdel Hakim Amer joined his circle of acquaintances ^[3] .

A few months later, a fast-moving young staff officer was sent to Cairo for teaching. In 1940-1943, captain Zakaria Mohi al-Din taught tactics at the Military Academy, and after the end of World War II continued to improve his skills at Headquarters College. The end of his training in 1948 coincided with the beginning of the First Arab-Israeli War and Mohi ed-Din immediately went to the theater of operations in Palestine ^{[3] [4]} . At the metropolitan station, he met with Nasser and Amer and together they reached Al-Arish. Commanding the battalion ^[6] , and then being the chief of staff of the 1st Brigade, Mohi al-Din participated in the battles of Ashkelon , Iraq al-Manshiya, Suweidan, Deir Sinade and Beit Guvrin . Together with Salah Salem, he was engaged in the supply of food and medicine for the besieged four thousandth Egyptian group in Al-Fallujah ^[3] . After failing to transport cargo using aircraft, Mohi ed-Din contacted Muslim Brotherhood volunteers, and they managed to break into trucks to blocked units. Together they held three convoys of cargo in Al-Fallujah ^[1] . For his courage and distinction, Lt. Col. Zakaria Mohi ed-Din was awarded the “Fuad Star” ^[7] and the Mehmet Ali Gold Medal.

After the ceasefire, he returned to Cairo, where since 1950 he continued to teach tactics at the Military School, and in 1951 he became a professor at the Military Academy (Staff College) ^[3] . There, his colleagues were the majors Gamal Abdel Nasser, his old acquaintance, and Kamal al-Din Hussein, an artilleryman closely associated with the Muslim Brotherhood ^{[8] [7]} . Zakaria Mohi al-Din still eschewed politics, but with Nasser and Hussein he was united by the fact that all three had good relations with Abdel Moneim Abdel Rauf, Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, head of the military organization Sheikh Hassan al-Banna , who recruited officers to the Brotherhood ^{[1] [9]} . But when, in 1949, his cousin Khaled Mohi ed-Din, Lt. Col. Abdel Rauf, and academy colleagues Nasser and Hussein joined the Constituent Committee of the Free Officers organization ^[10] , Zakaria himself did not join this movement.

Author of the July Revolution War Plan

On the political arena of Lieutenant Colonel Zakaria Mohi al-Din, the elections to the Officers Club Board took place on January 3, 1952, which took place against the will and interests of King Farouk. The lecturer at the Military Academy was supported by the “Free Officers” and joined the Club’s Governing Body along with Hassan Ibrahim, Ibrahim Atef and Rashad Mehanna . These elections were the beginning of the now-well-hidden conflict between the king, who wanted to see Brigadier General Hussein Sirry Amer at the head of the club, and the officer corps, who had succeeded in electing General Mohammed Nagib to this post ^[11] . In April of that year, Mohi ed-Din was openly involved in the Nasser organization ^[3] and almost immediately became a member of the Cairo Committee of “Free Officers” ^[12] . He has not yet been included in the steering committee of the movement. But after the king dissolved the Governing Body of the Officers Club on July 17 and the officers decided to speak on July 19, it was the experienced staff officer, Lieutenant Colonel Mokhi ed-Din Nasser, who was commissioned to develop a plan for a military operation in Cairo. This plan was ready by the morning of July 21 ^[8] and on July 22 at the apartment of his cousin Khaled Zakarii Mohi al-Din read it by the leader of the movement ^[13] .

The conspirators' confidence in their new comrade was quite high, and on the night of July 23 he was sent to the armored units of the cavalry command, where Khaled Mohi al-Din served. Zakaria arrived there before the start of the performance and at first he was not even allowed into the location of the unit. Only the secret password “Victory” (Nasr) opened the door in front of him ^[14] . Here the task of the lieutenant colonel was the dispatch of several armored cars to raise the spirit to the 13th infantry battalion of Colonel Ahmed Shauki ^[15] and this ended his direct participation in hostilities in Cairo. But already at night on July 24, the Council of the Revolutionary Command , which had gathered in the General Staff building in Kubri al-Kubba, decided to depose the king, and Zakaria Moha al-Din was instructed to develop a plan for the military operation now in Alexandria ^[16] . This second plan was also developed quickly, and in the morning of July 25, its author on a plane arrived in the summer capital of Egypt together with General Nagib, Yusef Seddyk, Anwar Sadat, Gamal Salem and Hussein al-Shafi . There, at his suggestion, the operation was postponed for a day, as the loyal SRK troops had to put themselves in order after moving from Cairo. The lieutenant colonel took command of these units, however, he did not need to carry out the entire plan of establishing military control over the city: the resistance of the units loyal to the king ceased after a short skirmish ^[3] . Mohi ed-Din was one of the three members of the Council in Alexandria (along with Gamal Salem and Abdel Moneim Amin) who advocated the trial of the king and his execution ^{[17] [note 2]} , but this position did not find support from other members of the leadership of the movement .

At the head of special services

On August 15, 1952, Lieutenant Colonel Zakaria Mohi al-Din, among the 5 officers who made the most significant contribution to the success of the speech, was included in the Council of the Revolutionary Command ^{[18] [19]} . Thus, this teacher of military tactics, who until the last moment refused to join the organization, immediately ended up in the first echelon of the leaders of the “Free Officers” movement. But he, a specialist in military planning and command and control, was blamed not for military issues, but for security issues. As a member of the NRC, he oversaw the Ministry of Internal Affairs, army intelligence and counterintelligence, and was also responsible for continuing the guerrilla war in the Suez Canal zone. This area was now divided by Mokhi al-Din into operational sectors, each of which was responsible for the Egyptian officers appointed by it ^{[20] [1] [3]} . At the same time, he controlled the administration of the confiscated property of the royal dynasty ^[21] .

In June 1953, Zakaria Mohi al-Din objected to the appointment of his longtime acquaintance, Major Abdel Hakim Amer, as commander in chief of the Egyptian army. Nasser did not listen to Mohi al-Din, but he did not change his opinion and later told Ahmed Hamrush that with this appointment the role of members of the IBS fell ^[22] . This conflict reduced the possibility of an alliance between the army and special services, and soon Nasser decided to entrust Mohi al-Din with the post of Minister of the Interior, which he personally held. In the absence of President Naguib on October 5, 1953, the Council of the Revolutionary Command adopted a decision ^[23] . Then the new minister led the charge of the newly created Revolutionary Tribunal ^[24] .

Repression against yesterday's allies

Zakaria Mohi ed-Din continued the repression launched by Nasser against the Communists, the deposed regime and activists of dissolved political parties. In early March 1954, by order of the Minister, his old friend Major General Abdel Moneim Abdel Rauf and other officers associated with the Brotherhood went to jail. They were followed by Colonel Ahmed Shawki, with whom he interacted on the night of July 23, and a group of Egyptian journalists. On May 31, 202 communists were arrested, and in the summer of 1954, military police uncovered a conspiracy of non-commissioned officers of the cavalry, through which they entered the secret apparatus of the Muslim Brotherhood ^[25] . In 1954, Zakaria Mohi al-Din, on behalf of Nasser, founded and headed the General Intelligence Service of Egypt (Mukhabarat), which was to be responsible for internal and external security of the country ^[26] . Soon after, on October 26, 1954, an assassination attempt was committed on the Channel Channel in Alexandria on Nasser, who already held the post of prime minister of the country. Security forces arrested a member of the Brotherhood, Mahmoud Abd al-Latif, who was accused of shooting the head of government. Now the main task of Zakaria Mokha al-Din has become the fight against the Muslim Brotherhood, long-time like-minded people and recent allies of the Free Officers. The association accused him and government secret services of knowingly provoking, citing a number of inconsistencies and absurdities in the official picture of the assassination attempt, but Mohi al-Din has already begun a war with her to destroy. Members of the organization went to jail for many years, literature published by the association was confiscated and burned, members of the Brotherhood and their relatives were forbidden to take up positions in the army, police and state apparatus, as well as receive appropriate education up to the third knee. Later, documents were published in which the minister suggested that Nasser apply measures to combat the “Brotherhood” at the level of general state policy. Mohi ed-Din recommended tightening control over the press, avoiding unnecessary complimentary statements about religion, changing the content of school curricula, focusing on the propaganda of Arab socialism, etc. ^[1] .

From Minister of the Interior to Vice President

After the defeat of the Islamist opposition, Zakaria Mohi al-Din strengthened for a long time on the political Olympus as a person in charge of all security issues. His position was strengthened by the events of the spring of 1956, when he, together with Kamal Rifaat and Ahmed Lutfi Waked, secretly organized a solemn meeting for Nasser, who was returning from the Bandung Conference , against which the acting president Gamal Salem strongly opposed ^[27] . After this, Salem became ill often and soon left the political arena, the career of the Marxist Waked went down, Rifaat remained on the sidelines, and Mohi ed-Din was the only one who benefited from this incident. Closer to Nasser, on July 24, 1956, he became a member of a narrow meeting of four former members of the RCC discussing the decision to nationalize the Suez Canal. He and other leaders of the “Free Officers” came to the conclusion that the main reaction to this step would most likely not be the Anglo-French invasion, but the Israeli attack ^[28] , and approved the president’s initiative.

The calculation turned out to be erroneous - in the fall all three states applied military force to Egypt. The unfolding Suez crisis caused a shock in the country's leadership, and Zakaria Mohi ed-Din was said to be one of the few members of the former IBS who showed great activity: he was responsible for the internal order and organization of secret resistance to the invasion ^[29] . With the beginning of the landing of the Anglo-French forces, the Minister of the Interior, in violation of his subordination, sent a directive “keep to the end” to military units, but this order was not actually implemented ^[30] . He also said that all political forces can take part in the resistance, except for some former politicians like General Naguib ^[31] , who was placed under house arrest in the south of the country, away from the center of events ^[32] . After the cessation of the military operation and the resolution of the crisis, the Egyptian security forces began the persecution of the Egyptian communists participating in the resistance, but Mohi al-Din later claimed that there was no conflict with the communists at that time. In fact, the domestic policy of the Egyptian government did not change, and the persecution of the opposition continued for the entire period while Mohi al-Din headed the Ministry of the Interior. In 1959, another group of communists was sent to prison ^[33] , in 1961 the special services liquidated the Pan-Arab movement “New Free Officers” by Daoud Eveiss ^[34] , and in the fall of 1965, the Muslim Brotherhood again arrived.

Zakaria Mohi al-Din served as Minister of the Interior in the five successive Nasser governments until August 16, 1961, was appointed Vice President for Government Affairs. At the same time, from March 26, 1960, he headed the High Committee of the High Dam , since 1962 he was a member of the Supreme Executive Committee of the Arab Socialist Union and played a leading role in creating its youth organization ^[21] . Zakaria Mohi al-Din was also the president of the Egyptian-Greek Friendship Society, a participant in all pan-Arab and African conferences, as well as conferences of non-aligned countries ^[3] . March 24, 1964, after the adoption of the new provisional constitution, Zakaria Mohi ed-Din was again appointed by Nasser to the post of vice president. The peak of his foreign policy activity occurred in 1965: in April he led the delegation of the United Arab Republic at the tenth anniversary of the first Conference of Asian and African countries, in January and May - at the Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Arab countries ^[3] .

Prime Minister

After the resignation of the government of Ali Sabri was announced on September 29, 1965, it became known that the vice-president of Zakaria, Mohi al-Din, who had not been a member of governments since 1961, would head a new cabinet. The press wrote that with the change of cabinet, the country is entering a “new stage of revolutionary upsurge” and that “wide political changes” will now be carried out. Thus, Mohi al-Din was put on a par with his former successor as intelligence director Ali Sabri, who managed to become the second person in Egypt after Nasser.

The tasks of Zakaria’s Mohi al-Din’s cabinet included the implementation of the Second Five-year Period of the Country’s Economic and Social Development Program, which began in the summer, reorganized and cleaned the state apparatus amid the increasing role of the ACC, which is becoming an avant-garde ruling organization ^[35] , as well as eliminating the consequences Revealed in September Islamist conspiracy. As head of government and interior minister Mohi ed-Din, together with military intelligence led by Shams Badran, gave impetus to a new wave of repression against the Muslim Brotherhood ^[1] . Since Egyptian policy was primarily determined by President Nasser, Zakaria Mohi al-Din, as head of government, was responsible for implementing his course. All-round cooperation with the USSR and industrialization of the country continued, foreign policy based on non-alignment, ideas of Arab unity and orientation towards socialist countries did not change. The Prime Minister took part in the formation of the structures of the Arab Socialist Union, whose bodies began to replace the state apparatus, and played a leading role in the creation of its youth organization ^[21] .

But at the same time, Zakaria Mohi ed-Din opposed the intervention of the ACC in economic issues, for “separating the economy from politics,” which marked the beginning of a fierce polemic with the Ali Sabri group ^[35] . On September 10, 1966, his government resigned due to the completion of the first seven-year plan.

Failed President

The first time after the resignation of Prime Minister Zakaria Mohi ed-Din, who retained the post of vice president, did not often appear on the political arena. In November 1966, he was the representative of the UAR at a session of the Joint Political Leadership of Iraq and the UAR in Baghdad ^[36] and after that remained in the shadows. However, the Six Day War of 1967 suddenly opened up new political opportunities for Mohi al-Din.

The crushing defeat of the Egyptian army caused a deep crisis in the leadership of Egypt. At a meeting held on June 9, 1967, Zakaria Mohi al-Din advocated shared responsibility for the defeat, but was not supported by the generals, who laid almost all the blame on Nasser ^[37] . When the president agreed to take all the blame and resign, he unexpectedly called his successor not Amer, but Mohi al-Din: “Let Zakaria be your president” ^[38] . He did not object and was ready to accept matters from Nasser. With a prepared speech, Zakaria Mohi ed-Din went to the building of radio and television to appeal to the country, but the guards did not let him in. Realizing that the situation was changing, the vice president got into the car and went to Manshiyat al-Bakri to Nasser. As they told later, he put a gun in front of Nasser and said: “Gamal, if you do not immediately take your demand for resignation back, I will shoot myself.” Nasser took a weapon with a smile ^[39] .

This turn of events meant the decline of the political career of Mohi al-Din. He retained a certain confidence of Nasser, however, the political alternative he proposed was rejected by society, which expressed confidence in the former leftist course. But the vice president saw in this “socialist tendency” the main reason for the defeat in the war ^[40] . Mokhi al-Din considered it reasonable to move from socialist to nationalist slogans, focus on the West, support the private sector in the economy and reduce the budget deficit by increasing taxes for all sectors of society ^[41] . In fact, he led the numerous right-wing opposition in the state apparatus of the UAR, which the left called "neo-capitalists" ^[40] .

At the end of 1967, Vice-President Zakaria Mohi ed-Din, his ally, Minister of Planning Abdel Moneim Kaysuni, who had been responsible for the economy and finances in the government for many years, and other opponents of socialism intended to force Nasser to change course during the discussion of economic policy. However, the president was not going to give up Soviet help and transferred the discussion of economic issues to the Supreme Executive Committee of the Arab Socialist Union, where he was supported by Sabri. During this closed discussion, Zakaria Mohi al-Din, in his report on behalf of the group of ministers, proposed economic measures that should lead to a complete rejection of the socialist orientation ^[42] . They envisaged the cessation of the construction of new state enterprises, the privatization of all unprofitable nationalized and newly built enterprises by the state, regardless of their size and importance, and the removal of all restrictions on the development of the private sector. Mokhi al-Din also proposed to free or raise prices for consumer goods. On January 27, 1968, it was actively supported by the economic weekly of the Maine Agency, which claimed that these measures would increase private sector exports during the year by 9 times.

However, Nasser opposed the report of Mohi al-Din and stated that he could accept the recommendations only with the consent of the people. And the vice president, realizing the possible consequences, refused the offer of Nasser to put forward his plans for a nationwide discussion. In February 1968, worker and student demonstrations began in the country in support of socialism, and on March 3, at a meeting in Helwan in the presence of Nasser, the head of the Egyptian Federation of Trade Unions demanded that the influence of the group of "non-revolutionary administrators" be limited. Now the political defeat of the failed president was complete. March 20, 1968 the former government was dismissed, ^[43] . At a press conference soon, Muhammad Hasan al-Zayyat, head of the UAR public information service, said that Zakaria’s vice president, Mohi al-Din, had resigned from all posts and that the president had accepted the resignation. ^[44]

Years Out of Politics

Since December 1968, Zakaria Mohi ed-Din lived a private life and was out of politics ^[41] . Only the death of Nasser in 1970 briefly returned him to the center of political events. Mohi al-Din published an article about his former ally in the Al-Ahram newspaper, and appeared on television during a funeral broadcast. This caused rumors and speculation that the former vice president, as a strong politician, could lead the country in the long run, replacing Anwar Sadat, whose political weight was not appreciated. In the leadership of Egypt, almost a panic began. Holding control levers, a group of Ali Sabri summoned the ACC High Executive Committee to explain to the Minister of Information Mohammed Hasanayn Heykal , who was forced to make excuses. He said that nothing of the kind was meant, and fully supported Sadat’s candidacy for the presidency of Egypt ^[45] . После этого инцидента египетские средства массовой информации избегали упоминаний о некогда влиятельном политике. И после смены политического курса, когда Садат разрешил деятельность групп различной политической направленности, Закария Мохи эд-Дин отказывался вернуться в политику или высказывать своё мнение о ситуации в стране ^[21] . Только в 1979 году он вместе Абдель Латифом аль-Богдади и Камаль эд-Дином Хусейном подписал открытое письмо Садату с осуждением Кэмп-Дэвидских оглашений , обвинив его в предательстве интересов Египта и всех арабских стран ^[46] .

Закария Мохи эд-Дин жил затворником, отказывался общаться с журналистами и писать мемуары ^[21] . После смерти в 2005 году Хусейна аль-Шафеи , он и его двоюродный брат Халед Мохи эд-Дин оставались последними здравствующими членами Совета Революционного командования Египта ^[21] .

Закария Абдул Маджид Мохи эд-Дин скончался 15 мая 2012 года в Каире после долгой болезни. На церемонии прощания в мечети аль-Рашдан в каирском районе Наср-Сити присутствовали председатель правящего Высшего совета Вооружённых сил фельдмаршал Мохамед Хусейн Тантауи , глава временного правительства Камаль аль-Ганзури и другие руководители Египта. Мохи эд-Дин был похоронен с высшими государственными и воинскими почестями в родном Мит-Гамре ^[47] .

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• زكريا محي الدين (زكريا عبد المجيد محي الدين) (unopened) . موسوعة تاريخ أقباط مصر. Date of treatment January 20, 2014.