CAIRO – 7 May 2018: Khaled Mohieddin, a former Free Officer and one of the July 1952 revolution leaders, who overthrew late King Farouk of Egypt, ending the monarchy and establishing the “Republic” of Egypt, passed away at the age of 95.
Mohieddin, who was called the “Honey Jar” by late President Gamal Abdel Nasser, was born in Kafr Shukr city of Qalyubia in 1922. He joined the Egyptian Military Academy in 1936.
Despite the contradictory opinions they held, Nasser said that “flies only land on honey. Khaled is the honey that many flies land on,” apparently referring to bad people and ideas around Mohieddin.
Nasser also called Mohieddin, the “Red Major” due to his leftist ideology. Major is a rank in the Egyptian Army.
Mohieddin had been also called by some of his supporters as the “Democracy knight” reportedly because of his keenness to achieve social equality and his support to the poor and marginalized people. In 1970, Mohieddin was awarded the International Lenin Peace Prize.
Mohieddin objected to some of former President Anwar al-Sadat’s policies. Although both of them were part of the Free Officers movement, a tense relationship between both leaders has grown. Sadat accused Mohieddin of being an agent for Russia and criticized his political party, The National Progressive Unionist Party (Tagammu).
In 2005, Mohieddin refused to participate in the presidential election against former President Hosni Mubarak, claiming that the election will not be fair or credible, and that the regime wants to use him only to legitimate the process.
Before 2005, Parliament, which was controlled by Mubarak’s National Party, was responsible for nominating only one candidate that the people would vote for or against.
However, national and international pressure forced Mubarak, the president at the time, to amend the law, and consequently, Ayman Nour, former head of the Ghad party, got the chance to run for president, becoming the first candidate to run against Mubarak.
Mohieddin joined the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council, which was formed in 1952, to supervise Egypt and Sudan, until the council was disbanded in 1956 after first Egyptian President Mohamed Naguib, who was part of the Free Officers movement, was removed, and then Nasser came to power.
The revolution in 1952 occurred through the Free Officers Movement headed by Nasser and a number of military officers.
The revolution made economic and social achievements that aimed to improve the conditions of the working class who suffered from the lack of social justice in the decades prior to the revolution; in addition to that, it revived women's rights as Rawia Attia, the first female parliamentarian said.
In 1976, Mohieddin established the Leftist Tagammu party. However, he stepped down in 2002, reportedly because of his old age.
At the time, Tagammu was a coalition of leftist parties such as Nasserists, Marxists and Arab nationalist parties. Al-Tagammua defends the goals and principles of the 1952 Revolution and seeks to improve the rights and quality of living for workers and the impoverished.
The Associated Press made an interview with Mohieddin in December 1977 to talk about the Arab-Israeli conflict a month after late President Sadat had paid his historic visit to Israel’s Knesset.
Several days ago, Mohieddin was admitted to Maadi Military Hospital due to age-associated issues. Parliament Speaker Ali Abdel Aal, Prime Minister Sherif Ismail and Palestinian Ambassador in Egypt Diab al-Louh mourned the death of late political figure Mohieddin.
President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi offered his condolences, according to a statement from Presidency Spokesperson Bassam Radi on Sunday.
“The deceased was a symbol for good national political action and he made valuable contributions throughout his political history, since he had participated in the July 1952 Revolution,” the statement read.
Founding the National Progressive Unionist Party, Mohieddin enriched the party and the parliamentary life, President Sisi added.
The leftist party declared on January 27 that it has decided to back Sisi in the 2018 presidential election. The party’s General Secretariat appealed to Egyptians in an official statement to elect President Sisi since he is the leader of the June 30 uprising that removed the Muslim Brotherhood regime from office.
“Sisi proved his patriotism and his solid will to face different challenges in Egypt, defeating corruption, leading economic development projects, and facing all western pressures and attempts to intervene in the Egyptian domestic issues,” Al-Tagammu’s statement read, however, it expressed the party’s reservation on the latest economic procedures that caused the prices’ hike, affecting the citizens’ living standard negatively.
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