Zakaria Mohieddin

Prime Minister of Egypt (1965–1966)

Zakaria Mohieddin (زكريا محيي الدين ; 5 July 1918 – 15 May 2012) was an Egyptian military officer, politician, Prime Minister of Egypt and head of the first Intelligence body in Egypt, the Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate.

Mohieddin attended the Military College in 1938 and was a Staff College graduate in 1948. He was the professional army professor of tactics in the Officers Military College from 1940 to 1943 and again from 1950 to 1951. He was also the professor of tactics in the Officers Staff College from 1951 to 1952. In 1967 following the defeat of Egypt in the Six Day War, Mohieddin was appointed by president Gamal Abdel Nasser to take over position of president after Nasser's resignation, an appointment he refused. In 1968, Mohieddin resigned from all positions and quit public life. The same year he was arrested due to his alleged involvement in the coup plans against Nasser. As of 2005, after the death of Hussein El Shafei and until his own death in 2012, Mohieddin and his first cousin Khaled Mohieddin were the last two surviving members of the Revolutionary Command Council. On 15 May 2012, Mohieddin died at the age of 93.

Mohieddin had various assignments within the army. He served with the Egyptian army in Sudan. In 1948, he was the chief of staff of the first brigade which was later besieged at Faluja. One of his outstanding achievements in 1948 was to go back to the besieged brigade, infiltrating enemy lines from Rafah to Faluja. He was rewarded for his bravery at the end of the war with the Mehmet Ali golden award for valour and excellence in duty in the field in Palestine. In 1952, he prepared strategy for army movement and was in charge of operation that led to success of the movement.

Mohieddin died on the morning of 15 May 2012 at the age of 93. His funeral was held at the Aal Rashdan Mosque in Nasr City, which is associated with the Egyptian military. In addition to his family, several military and political figures attended the procession, including Sami Hafez Anan, Hussein Tantawi, Hamdeen Sabahi, Ahmed Shafiq, Amr Moussa and Kamal el Ganzouri.