Egypt has had six presidents since the republic was declared in 1953. Two acting presidents and a military council chairman also led the country in between [1]. None of the five who have left office lost an election. One was forced out by his colleagues, one died in office, one was assassinated, one was pushed out by an uprising and one was overthrown by the army [1].
This guide lists every leader in order and explains how each one left office. It separates documented facts from rumor, compares Egypt with other African and Asian countries, and includes news up to 23 October 2026.
Egypt’s presidents at a glance
- The republic was declared on 18 June 1953, and Mohamed Naguib was the first president [1].
- Six people have held the presidency: Naguib, Nasser, Sadat, Mubarak, Morsi and Sisi [1].
- Sufi Abu Taleb (1981) and Adly Mansour (2013 to 2014) served as acting presidents. Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi led the country as head of the military council from 2011 to 2012 [1].
- The state was called the Republic of Egypt until 1958, the United Arab Republic from 1958 to 1971, and the Arab Republic of Egypt since 1971 [1].
- Presidents are elected to six-year terms by popular vote [1].
- Abdel Fattah el-Sisi has been president since 8 June 2014, and he said on 17 October 2026 that his term ends in 2030 [1, 2].
The full timeline
| Leader and years | How the term ended |
|---|---|
| Mohamed Naguib (1953 to 1954) | Forced to resign on 14 November 1954 and placed under house arrest [1, 3] |
| Gamal Abdel Nasser (1954 to 1970) | Died in office on 28 September 1970 [1] |
| Anwar Sadat (1970 to 1981) | Assassinated on 6 October 1981 [1] |
| Sufi Abu Taleb (acting, 6 to 14 October 1981) | Handed over to Mubarak [1] |
| Hosni Mubarak (1981 to 2011) | Stepped down on 11 February 2011 after 18 days of protests, pushed out by the military [1, 4] |
| Mohamed Hussein Tantawi (military council chairman, 2011 to 2012) | Handed over to elected president Morsi [1] |
| Mohamed Morsi (2012 to 2013) | Deposed by the army on 3 July 2013 [1] |
| Adly Mansour (acting, 2013 to 2014) | Handed over to Sisi after the 2014 election [1] |
| Abdel Fattah el-Sisi (2014 to today) | Still in office, says his term ends in 2030 [1, 2] |
1953 to 1970: Naguib and Nasser
The monarchy fell in the 1952 revolution, and Egypt was declared a republic on 18 June 1953 [1]. Naguib and Nasser were the two main leaders of the Free Officers movement behind the revolution. After disagreements, Nasser forced Naguib to resign in November 1954 [5].
Naguib had briefly resigned in February 1954 and was reinstated after street protests [6]. After a Muslim Brotherhood member tried to kill Nasser in 1954, Nasser cracked down on the group and put Naguib under house arrest [3]. BlackPast says Sadat released Naguib in 1971, and he died on 28 August 1984 [5, 6].
Nasser was confirmed as president by a referendum in 1956 [1]. After Egypt’s defeat in the 1967 war he announced his resignation, but he reversed the decision a day later [1]. He died of a heart attack on 28 September 1970 after an Arab League summit, and millions attended his funeral [3].
1970 to 1981: Anwar Sadat
Vice President Anwar Sadat took over and was confirmed by referendum on 15 October 1970 [1]. He made peace with Israel, and he and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize [7]. Opposition to that peace, corruption allegations, a round-up of about 1,500 Islamist militants, limits on free speech and an economic downturn all fed domestic anger [7].
On 6 October 1981, members of Egyptian Islamic Jihad led by Lieutenant Khalid al-Islambuli attacked a military parade marking the 1973 war [7, 8]. Sadat and at least ten others died [8]. Sufi Abu Taleb acted as president for eight days, and Vice President Hosni Mubarak was confirmed by referendum on 14 October [1].
1981 to 2011: Hosni Mubarak
Mubarak ruled for nearly 30 years. He was confirmed by referendum in 1981, 1987, 1993 and 1999, and he won an election in 2005 [1]. In 2011, 18 days of nationwide protests ended when the military that had long backed him pushed him aside on 11 February [4].
He was arrested two months later [9]. In June 2012 he was sentenced to life in prison over the killing of protesters, and in March 2017 Egypt’s highest criminal court acquitted him [10]. He was also convicted in 2015, with his sons, of diverting public funds [11]. He died on 25 February 2020, aged 91, and the presidency mourned him as a hero of the 1973 war [9].
2012 to 2014: Morsi, Tantawi and Mansour
Tantawi’s military council ran the country until Mohamed Morsi won the June 2012 election and took office on 30 June [1]. The army deposed Morsi on 3 July 2013 after massive protests calling for his resignation [1]. Adly Mansour, head of the Supreme Constitutional Court, was sworn in as interim president on 4 July. Defence Minister Sisi announced his appointment on television [1, 12].
On 14 August 2013, security forces broke up pro-Morsi sit-ins. Human Rights Watch documented at least 817 deaths at Rab’a Square alone, and said the true toll was more likely above 1,000 [13]. Egyptian authorities rejected the report as lacking objectivity [14].
Morsi, Egypt’s first democratically elected president, collapsed in a Cairo courtroom and died on 17 June 2019 during an espionage trial [15]. The UN human rights office called for an independent inquiry [15]. Rights groups noted that judges never ordered an investigation into his detention conditions [16]. UN experts said he was held in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day, and that this could amount to a state-sanctioned arbitrary killing [17].
2014 to today: Abdel Fattah el-Sisi
Sisi was defence minister under Morsi. He won the 2014 election with over 97% of the vote and was sworn in on 8 June 2014 [1, 18]. He was re-elected in 2018 after potentially serious challengers were arrested or pressured to withdraw [19].
In April 2019, a referendum approved constitutional changes by 88.83% of voters, on a turnout of 44.33% [20]. The changes extended presidential terms from four years to six, stretched his current term to 2024 and allowed him to run again [21]. Opposition parties urged a “no” vote, and the referendum was widely seen as a step toward restoring authoritarian rule [20]. The amendments kept a two-term cap, but they counted his first term as starting in 2018, not 2014 [2].
In December 2023, he won with 89.6% of the vote on an official turnout of 66.8%. The runner-up received 4.5%, and the election authority called the turnout “unprecedented” [22]. All three opponents were considered close to the regime [18]. The 2018 turnout was 41% [22].
The latest developments came in mid-October 2026. On 14 October, Sisi said there were no plans to change the constitution, after some supporters called for him to stay beyond 2030 [23]. On 17 October, he said his term ends in 2030 and “will not be debated” [2, 24].
He also proposed that the military academy train up to 1,000 vetted candidates, aged 40 to 50 and holding doctorates, in a 30-month course to prepare future leaders [2]. Critics online suggested those conditions could require a constitutional amendment [2]. On 19 October he told a national forum that individuals eventually leave while Egypt remains [25].
He will have served 16 years by 2030, and he is 71 [2]. Egypt’s economy faces pressure from high energy import bills and lower Suez Canal revenue linked to the Iran war, according to The National [2].
Fact check: documented facts, myths and rumors
- Myth: “Egypt has had seven presidents.” The standard list counts six. Adding the two acting presidents and the military council chairman gives nine heads of state. A 2014 Middle East Eye timeline counted Mansour as the seventh president [1, 26].
- Rumor, unproven: that Naguib helped plot the 1954 attempt on Nasser. BlackPast says only that it was rumored, and the sources reviewed include no proof [6].
- Disputed numbers: Nasser’s funeral. Wikipedia says five to six million mourners attended, while an Egyptian magazine says four million [3, 27].
- Disputed numbers: deaths in the 2011 uprising. One charge against Mubarak covered 239 demonstrators, Amnesty says more than 800 were killed, and AP cites some 900 [4, 10, 11].
- Documented: Mubarak was freed in 2017 after being acquitted of ordering the killing of protesters. He had been jailed in 2012 after a conviction later overturned [9, 10].
- Disputed numbers: Rab’a, 14 August 2013. HRW gives a minimum of 817 dead. Police said eight officers died at Rab’a and 42 across Egypt that day [13, 14].
- Contested: how Morsi died. State TV said he collapsed in court, UN experts linked his death to prison conditions, and Turkey’s president called it murder. The sources reviewed show no independent investigation [15, 16, 17].
- Contested: “Sisi broke the two-term limit.” The amendments counted his first term from 2018, so the 2023 vote was legally his second. Critics say the changes were tailored for him [2, 20].
- Rumor, denied by Sisi: that he will stay beyond 2030. Some supporters urged it, including accounts linked to government or security agencies [2, 23].
- Rumor, denied by Sisi: that he is grooming a relative as successor. He called the talk malicious rumours [2].
How Egypt compares with other countries
Egypt’s presidents have mostly left office through crisis, not elections [1]. Morsi was the first civilian to hold the office [26]. Ghana had five leaders removed by coups between 1966 and 1981, Nigeria has had 14 men across 16 presidencies, and Liberia’s presidents Tolbert and Doe were both killed [28, 29, 30].
Long rule is common in the region. Mubarak governed for nearly 30 years [1]. Sudan’s Omar al-Bashir was overthrown in 2019 after 30 years, and Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe was forced out in 2017. Uganda’s Museveni was allowed to keep standing after a court removed an age ceiling [31]. In Asia, Tajikistan’s Emomali Rahmon had ruled for 31 years by 2023, and Thailand has had 22 coups since 1932, 13 of them successful [32, 33].
Term limits have also been bent elsewhere. Cameroon’s parliament removed its limits in 2008 [34]. Against that pattern, Sisi’s promise not to touch the constitution stands out, though it is a pledge and not a legal change [2, 23].
Succession plans differ too. Cameroon restored a vice presidency in April 2026 to settle who takes over if its president dies [35]. Egypt’s plan is a military academy pipeline of candidates [2].
Disclaimer
This article is based on public sources available as of 23 October 2026 and is for general information only. Sisi’s succession plan and any rules for the 2030 election are still developing, so details may change. Death tolls and some election figures differ between sources. If you notice an error or want to suggest a correction, please contact us so we can review it.
References
- • [1] List of presidents of Egypt, Wikipedia
- • [2] El Sisi insists he will leave office in 2030 as he outlines succession plan, The National
- • [3] Gamal Abdel Nasser, Wikipedia
- • [4] Egypt state TV: ex-President Mubarak has died at 91, Associated Press via Inquirer
- • [5] Mohamed Naguib, Wikipedia
- • [6] Mohamed Naguib (1901 to 1984), BlackPast
- • [7] Profile: Anwar Sadat, Al Jazeera
- • [8] Assassination of Anwar Sadat, Wikipedia
- • [9] Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak dies at 91, Ahram Online
- • [10] Hosni Mubarak fast facts, CNN via WRAL
- • [11] Egypt’s former president Hosni Mubarak dies aged 91, Reuters via The Peninsula
- • [12] Adly Mansour, Wikipedia
- • [13] Egypt: Rab’a killings likely crimes against humanity, Human Rights Watch
- • [14] Rights group urges Al Sissi probe for crimes against humanity, Gulf News
- • [15] Mohammed Morsi: UN calls for inquiry into ex-Egyptian president’s death, Nehanda Radio
- • [16] Morsi’s death highlights inhumanity of Egypt’s prisons, International Bar Association
- • [17] UN experts link Morsi’s death to state-sanctioned arbitrary killing, Morocco World News
- • [18] Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi elected for a third term, Peoples Dispatch
- • [19] Egypt voters back constitutional amendments to strengthen president’s rule, CBC
- • [20] Egyptians approve extension to President el-Sisi’s rule, Al Jazeera
- • [21] Egyptians overwhelmingly vote for constitution changes, Gulf News
- • [22] Egypt’s Al Sissi sweeps to third term as president with 89.6% of vote, Gulf News
- • [23] El Sisi says no changes planned for Egypt’s constitution amid rumours of fourth term, The National
- • [24] Egypt’s President Sisi announces his presidency will end in 2030, Egyptian Streets
- • [25] Sisi opens Egypt Forum 2026, says stability came at cost, must be preserved, Egyptian Gazette
- • [26] Timeline: Egypt’s seven presidents, Middle East Eye
- • [27] This month in history in Egypt: burial of Gamal Abdul Nasser, October 1970, Monthly Magazine
- • [28] List of heads of state of Ghana, Wikipedia
- • [29] List of presidents of Nigeria, Wikipedia
- • [30] President of Liberia, Wikipedia
- • [31] Longest-serving African heads of state, AFP via Briefly News
- • [32] From Obiang to Putin: the world’s longest-serving leaders, AFP via Daily Monitor
- • [33] Thailand has had 22 coups and could be heading toward a 23rd, The Christian Science Monitor
- • [34] Paul Biya, Wikipedia
- • [35] Cameroonians await government reshuffle after Biya’s return, Al Jazeera
