Famous Egyptian Leaders

The son of Ramesses I, Seti I was an Egyptian king of the 19th dynasty. Known for his glorious reign, as opposed to his father’s short 2-year rule, he fought wars in Palestine and Syria. He also built temples, mines, and wells, and completed the hypostyle hall at Karnak.

Gamal Abdel Nasser was an Egyptian politician. He was the second president of Egypt, serving from 1954 to 1970. Before becoming the president, Nasser played a crucial role in the Egyptian revolution of 1952, in which he led a group of army to overthrow King Farouk. Nasser remains an iconic figure, not just in Egypt, but the entire Arab world.

Ancient Egyptian pharaoh Ramesses I was the founder of the 19th dynasty but had a brief reign. His mummy was stolen from Egypt by looters and transported through Turkish agents to the US and eventually ended up in a Canadian museum. Years later, it was returned to Egypt and displayed at Luxor Museum.

Egyptian military and political leader Hosni Mubarak served as the fourth president of Egypt from 1981 to 2011. An Egyptian Air Force officer prior to entering politics, he assumed office as the president after the incumbent Anwar Sadat's assassination in 1981. After 30 years, he had to step down from the presidency during the Egyptian Revolution of 2011. 

Grandson of former Egyptian prime minister Boutros Ghali Bey, politician Boutros Boutros-Ghali is remembered for his tenure as the secretary-general of the UN, which witnessed peacekeeping activities in war-torn areas such as Bosnia and Herzegovina. His illustrious career boasted of various prestigious academic positions and a Fulbright scholarship.

The last king of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, Horemheb is best remembered for reviving the Amon religion, which was suppressed by Akhenaton. He headed an army under Tutankhamen and succeeded Ay as the ruler. He dismantled temples of god Aton and rebuilt statues of god Amon.

Mohamed Morsi served as the Egyptian president from 2012 to 2013 and was ousted from office by a coup. He led the Freedom and Justice Party briefly and was part of the Muslim Brotherhood. Following his ouster, he was charged with various crimes, but he died during a re-trial.

One of the 13 sons of Ramesses II, Merneptah assumed power at the age of 70. The 4th pharaoh of Egypt’s 19th dynasty, he is remembered for his successful defense against a Libyan invasion. He was also known to have ordered the iconic commemorative text Israel Stela.

The seventh pharaoh of the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt, Amenhotep II, also referred as Amenophis II, succeeded his father, Thutmose III. Amenhotep ruled at the height of Egypt’s royal era and thrived in maintaining the vast kingdom that he inherited from his father, employing a few military campaigns in Syria. His reign witnessed the effective end of conflict between Egypt and Mitanni.

Not much is known about the identity of Smenkhkare, who was a pharaoh of the Amarna Period of the 18th Egyptian dynasty. Since his coronation name, Ankhkheperure, was the same as that of Neferneferuaton, or Nefertiti, some believe Smenkhkare was the kingly version of Nefertiti, who ruled as a female pharaoh.

Ibrahim Pasha of Egypt was an Egyptian army general who served as the regent of his father's Muhammad Ali dynasty in 1848 due to his father's ill health. Ibrahim Pasha is best remembered for his military victories, including his impressive success against the Ottoman Empire, for which he is counted among the greatest members of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.

A qualified lawyer and judge, Adly Mansour has served the Supreme Constitutional Court of Egypt as its president and has also worked with the Saudi Ministry of Commerce. Following Mohamed Morsi’s ouster in a coup d'état, Mansour served as the country’s interim president. He has been honored with the Order of the Nile.

Egyptian Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi ruled Egypt as its de facto head of state after the fall of former president Hosni Mubarak. He was also a military attaché in Pakistan and led Egypt in the Gulf War as part of the US-led coalition. He earned an Order of the Nile, too.

Menes is credited with unifying Upper and Lower Egypt and thus establishing Egypt’s 1st dynasty. While Greek historian Herodotus mentioned him as Min, many modern scholars believe he was one of the archaic kings, namely Scorpion, Aha, and Narmer. Manetho’s accounts state he was killed by a hippopotamus.

Isma'il Pasha, also called Ismail the Magnificent, was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan. He remained instrumental in modernizing Egypt and Sudan and invested considerably in economic and industrial development and urbanization. His administrative policies, particularly those that led to accumulation of huge foreign debt, paved way for his toppling from power and eventually the British occupation of Egypt.

The 4th pharaoh of the 18th dynasty of Egypt, Thutmose II is best remembered for suppressing rebellions in the Levant and Nubia. He also defeated the Bedouins in Palestine. While some scholars believe he had a short-lived reign, others state he may have ruled for upto 18 years.

Ptolemy II Philadelphus succeeded his father and founder of the Ptolemaic Kingdom, Ptolemy I, as the second king of the Ptolemaic dynasty. Ptolemy II developed agriculture and commerce and promoted the Museum and Library of Alexandria. The material and literary grandeur of the Alexandrian court reached its pinnacle during his rule making Alexandria a leading centre of the arts and sciences.

The wife of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Suzanne Mubarak was 17 when she got married. She got back to school a decade later and obtained degrees in sociology and political science. She established the Cairo Child Museum and worked for the UN.

Thutmose I was the 3rd king of the 18th dynasty of Egypt and succeeded Amenhotep I. He is remembered for his campaigns in Levant and Nubia (modern-day Sudan) to expand Egyptian territory. He was the first pharaoh to construct his tomb at the Valley of the Kings in Thebes.

Nawal El Saadawi was an Egyptian feminist activist, writer, and physician. Described as Egypt's most radical woman, Saadawi wrote many books pertaining to the subject of women in the Muslim world. She is also credited with founding the Arab Women's Solidarity Association. Nawal El Saadawi won several prestigious awards, including the Seán MacBride Peace Prize and the Inana International Prize.

Believed to be the son of Narmer and Neithhotep, Hor-Aha was the 2nd king of the 1st dynasty of Egypt. He was, however, the first human king mentioned in the Palermo Stone. Many historians also believe that Hor-Aha was the same individual as Menes. He was apparently also a skilled physician.

The ancient Egyptian pharaoh Mentuhotep II became the sixth ruler of the Eleventh Dynasty of ancient Egypt during the First Intermediate Period ascending Egypt’s throne in the Upper Egyptian city of Thebes while the Tenth Dynasty ruled Lower Egypt from Herakleopolis. Mentuhotep later succeeded in conquering Lower Egypt thus unifying Egypt and ushering in the period called the Middle Kingdom. 

The younger son of former Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak, Gamal Mubarak led the National Democratic Party as its deputy secretary-general. While he began his career with the Bank of America, he later set up Medinvest Associates. Convicted of diverting political funds, he was jailed. Much later, he was again accused of stock-market manipulation.

Moroccan military leader Abd el-Krim led the Berber forces against the Spanish and French armies in Africa, thus forming the Republic of Rif. Though his father initially received a stipend from the Spanish authorities, Abd el-Krim later put up a strong resistance and was eventually exiled.

Remembered for his hostile military actions against the Hyksos, Kamose was the last ruler of the Theban 17th dynasty. His name finds mention at the Second Nile Cataract in Nubia, indicating he also made way into the Kushite territory. Scholars believe he probably didn’t rule more than 5 years.

The 3rd pharaoh of the 5th dynasty, Neferirkare Kakai was the first Egyptian ruler to have used 2 names, a prenomen and a nomen. Though he began constructing a pyramid for himself, it remained incomplete. The papyrus later found in his pyramid complex contained the earliest documents in hieratic script.

The 2nd pharaoh of the 5th dynasty, Sahure had a predominantly peaceful rule, where trade flourished. Sahure explored turquoise mines and diorite quarries and also strengthened the Egyptian navy. He was also the first pharaoh to build a temple in the Abusir complex, though it was reduced to ruins later.

Omar Suleiman once led the Egyptian General Intelligence Service as its director. He had also briefly been the vice president of Egypt under president Hosni Mubarak, becoming the first to have held the post under Mubarak. In his early days, he had also been part of the Six-Day and October wars.

Egyptian pharaoh of the Early Dynastic Period, Den, or Hor Den, was probably the 4th ruler of the 1st dynasty. He was the first to be addressed as the King of Upper and Lower Egypt and the first to wear the Double Crown. He also fought against the Bedouin tribes in Sinai.

Born to a minister, Ahmed Shafik received military training and had a successful career as a fighter pilot. He then served as the civil aviation minister and the commander of the Egyptian air force. He was also made the prime minister of Egypt by president Hosni Mubarak, after the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

Egyptian statesman Saad Zaghloul, who once led the Wafd Party and the 1918-19 nationalist movement, had also served as the prime minister of Egypt for less than a year. Initially an advocate, he had also worked as a journalist. He had headed the Egyptian ministries of justice and education, too.

Once the First Lady of Egypt (as the wife of president Anwar Sadat), Jehan Sadat had a multicultural upbringing, being the daughter of an Egyptian father and a British mother. She later became a champion for women’s rights and transformed the civil rights laws, bringing in what were called Jehan's Laws.

Egyptian revolutionary Muhammad Naguib was one of the pillars of the 1952 Egyptian Revolution and had a major role in the ouster of King Farouk I. A military man, he was the country’s war and navy minister. He also served as the 1st president of Egypt and its prime minister.

Hesham Ashmawy was a convicted terrorist who formed his own network named al-Mourabitoun. Prior to his activities as a terrorist, Ashmawy served in the Egyptian Army and is believed to have orchestrated numerous terrorist attacks on state institutions. He went on to become one of the most wanted militants and was arrested in 2018. Hesham Ashmawy was executed in 2020. 

An Egyptian pharaoh of the 3rd dynasty, Sekhemkhet had a short-lived reign. He is also known as Djoser-tety and Tyreis. He began building a pyramid complex at Saqqara, which eventually remained incomplete. Some scholars believe he was either the brother or son of another 3rd dynasty ruler Djoser.

The first pharaoh of the 6th dynasty, Teti, also known as Athath or Atat, later took over the Horus name Seheteptawy, meaning He who pacifies the Two Lands. His built a pyramid for himself at Saqqara, also known as the Prison Pyramid. It is believed he was murdered by his guards.

Abdel Hakim Amer served as the Chief of Staff of Egyptian Army, the Minister of Defense, and the Vice President of Egypt. He played an instrumental role during the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and commanded the Egyptian Army during the Suez Crisis, the North Yemen Civil War and the Six-Day War. Many historians stated that Amer was to some extent responsible for Egypt's defeat in the Six-Day War..

Semerkhet, one of the pharaohs of the 1st dynasty, was probably the son of Anedjib, while some believe he was born to a woman named Batirset, though she could not be linked to any king. Manetho believed he ruled for 18 years and a calamity occurred during his reign.

A 1st dynasty pharaoh, Anedjib was mentioned as a Thinite and was probably born to pharaoh Den. He is also believed to be king Miebidos mentioned by historian Manetho. He was also thought to be the first king with a nebty (Two Ladies) title and a nesu-bit name.

The last pharaoh of the 4th dynasty, Shepseskaf is believed to have had a short-lived reign. He was perhaps pharaoh Menkaure’s son. He built an unusual rectangular monument at Saqqara, called Mastabat el Fara’un, probably due to a deviation from the solar cult or a financial constraint.

The 3rd king of the 2nd dynasty, Nynetjer may have ruled for 35 years, while Manetho believed he ruled for 47 years. It is believed that his reign saw the legalization of the rule of women in Egypt. The Palermo Stone proves he may have ruled over Memphis and nearby regions.

Egyptian-origin Ottoman statesman Said Halim Paşa was the grandson of the popular Egyptian viceroy Muhammad Ali. He served as the Ottoman Empire’s foreign minister and grand vizier. He opposed the Ottoman entry into World War I. Exiled to Malta, he later went to Rome, where he was murdered by an Armenian revolutionary.

The 7th ruler of the 12th dynasty, Amenemhat IV was perhaps the son, grandson, or stepson of pharaoh Amenemhat III, whom he initially served as a co-regent. He also completed the Temple of Medinet Madi. Heirless, he was succeeded by his half-sister or aunt Sobeknefru, the first female Egyptian ruler in 1500 years.

Doria Shafik was an Egyptian poet, editor, and feminist. One of the most important and influential leaders of the famous women's liberation movement in Egypt, Doria Shafik is best remembered for her work in the mid-1940s that led to a change in the Egyptian constitution, granting Egyptian women the right to vote.

The son of an MP, Amr Moussa is a qualified lawyer who has had an illustrious career as a diplomat and politician. Apart from being the Egyptian ambassador to the UN, he has also been Egypt’s foreign affairs minister and the Secretary-General of the Arab League.