By Reuters Staff

       1 Min Read

       CAIRO (Reuters) - Field Marshal Hussein Tantawi, former head of the military council that ruled Egypt temporarily after the 2011 uprising, died at the age of 85, Egypt’s presidency said on Tuesday.

       Tantawi, a decorated veteran of wars against Israel in 1956, 1967 and 1973, was a defence minister for nearly 21 years old.

       He led the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) that ruled Egypt for a year and half after the removal of the long term President Hosni Mubarak in February 2011.

       Tantawi was sacked as a defence minister in August 2012, a few weeks after the late Islamist President Mohamed Mursi took power in what was described as the first free and fair elections in Egypt’s modern history.

       Writing by Mahmoud Mourad; Editing by Catherine Evans

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