Hussein Tantawi, the former head of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, died on Tuesday, Egypt's presidency said. He was 85.
Born in October 1935, Tantawi, who suffered from age-related health problems in recent months, died in a hospital in Cairo, according to a person close to his family, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
His death came 19 months after former President Hosni Mubarak died in a Cairo military hospital in February last year.
Field Marshal Tantawi was former president Hosni Mubarak's defense minister for some 20 years. But it was Tantawi who led the country after the then-chief spy Omar Suliman announced on state television on Feb. 11, 2011, that Mubarak was stepping down after the 18 days of protest against his government.
