Celebrating its 200th anniversary this year, Egypt's Military Academy is the oldest and most prestigious in the Middle East and a source of pride for all citizens of the country. Amirah Ibrahim traces its history Mohamed Ali, ruler of Egypt from 1805 to 1849, built the modern Egyptian army and tried to establish his own empire in Africa and the Mediterranean, enlisting colonel Joseph Anthelme Sève, an ex-officer from the French army of Napoleon Bonaparte, to help him fulfill his dream. Sève, later known as Suleiman Al-Fransawi Pasha, settled in Egypt and converted to Islam, building up the Egyptian army on the European model and establishing the Military Academy in 1811 at the Citadel in Cairo. In 1820, activities moved to Aswan to help meet the expansion plans of Mohamed Ali in Africa, with a conscripted Egyptian army pursuing campaigns on behalf of the Ottoman sultan in the Arabian Peninsula, Sudan and Greece. However, after the deaths of Mohamed Ali and his son Ibrahim, Egypt's military strength declined, and the country slipped increasingly under European control. In 1879, a nationalist revolt erupted over proposed restrictions preventing Egyptians from entering the officer corps. Ahmed Orabi, an Egyptian colonel, led the countrywide uprising, which was suppressed by invading British troops in 1882. The British disbanded the existing Egyptian army and then recreated it by forming Egyptian units staffed by British officers under British command. With both Egypt and Sudan under British military occupation, the Military Academy was relocated to the Abbasiya Military Barracks near Al-Koba Bridge in 1908. Egyptian nationalism intensified after World War I, and Britain transferred command over the armed forces to Egyptians, but retained a British inspector-general at the top. Originally reserved for members of the upper class, the academy changed its rules for admission in 1936 to allow the sons of lower and middle-class families to enter. History was shaped when a young high-school graduate, Gamal Abdel-Nasser, was allowed to enter the then Royal Military Academy in 1937. The army was expanded, making enrolment in the Military Academy and a subsequent army career much more attainable for young middle-class Egyptians. After the July 1952 Revolution, the Military Academy moved to its present site in Heliopolis, inaugurated by president Nasser in March 1955. This year, as it celebrates its 200th anniversary, the academy is graduating class 105, also named after a leading military commander. This tradition, adopted in 1960, has meant that the cadets at the academy have borne the names of prominent commanders, with class 59 being named after Abdel-Moneim Riad, for example, known as the "golden general" after his death in the war of attrition against Israel in 1969, and class 94 being named after Ahmed Ismail, commander of the army during the October 1973 War. The Military Academy awards two types of degree, a Bachelors degree in military science and a military studies certificate for graduates who have chosen a career in the Armed Forces. It also offers language courses for officers posted in foreign countries. The academy provides additional training and study to elite officers serving in the country's First army and special forces. Traditionally, graduates of the academy are commissioned as officers in the Egyptian army. However, they may also serve in other branches and commands of the military establishment. Among the academy's alumni are dozens of prominent Egyptian and Arab figures, including Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, head of the ruling Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), who graduated in 1956. Three presidents of Egypt since 1952 have been graduates of the academy: Mohamed Naguib, who graduated in 1918, Nasser, who graduated in 1938, and Anwar El-Sadat, who also graduated in 1938. The ousted former president Hosni Mubarak was a graduate of the Air Force Academy. The list of famous graduates also includes top army commanders like Abdel-Ghani El-Gamasi, commander-in-chief during the October 1973 War, Hussein El-Shafei, a member of the July 1952 Revolution's Revolutionary Command Council and a former vice- president of the country, and Mustafa Fahmi Pasha, a politician and twice prime minister of Egypt. There are also non-Egyptian graduates such as Hassan Abshir Farah, a former prime minister of Somalia, and Omar Al-Bashir, the current president of Sudan. Over its 200-year history the academy has changed its insignia many times, changing four times before the 1952 Revolution to mark the reigns of the Khedive Ismail, King Fouad and King Farouk. The insignia changed again in 1952 to mark the revolution, and then again in 1955 to mark the change to a republic. The former Egyptian flag, with its white crescent and three stars, was changed to the three-striped red, white and black flag in 1958 to mark the unification with Syria, and the unification with Libya in 1971 added stars to the academy's insignia. The current insignia highlights different weapons, the Egyptian flag, and the country's Arab commitments.
