Newly appointed Minister of Military Production, Mohamed Saeed al-Assar has a massive history in the armed forces, as he took part in two wars and held high-ranking military positions. Al-Assar managed to keep on to his post as an assistant for minister of defense in 2011, during the political unrest that dominated the country for some years, which saw a rotation of three presidents and four regimes. He graduated from the military technical college in 1967 and took part in 1967's war of attrition, as well as 1973's October war, in which he was in the military engineers unit. His outstanding work during the positions in which he held within the armed forces earned him the head of the armament authority responsible for arms contracts. He retired in 2003, but Field Marshal, Hussein Tantawi decided to appoint him as assistant minister of defense on arms affairs. Thus, returning to service again in the post he held during the eras of former presidents Hosni Mubarak and Mohamed Morsi, as well as the current President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi. In October 2010, a US intelligence document revealed that he was primarily responsible for ridding the Middle East of nuclear weapons, along with harsh criticism of the Israeli nuclear file. Al-Assar was a member of the Supreme Council of Armed Forces (SCAF), that forced Mubarak into stepping down in the events of 25 January 2011 revolution. In July 2011, he headed an Egyptian military delegation to the United States to conduct strategic dialogue. He held three meetings with leading figures in American research centers, Egyptian Defense Office, United States Institute of Peace and four research centers, in addition to US National Defense University. Al-Assar appeared on TV in October 2011 to respond to accusations of use of violence by the armed forces against the protesters in the events of Maspero and calm Copts' public opinion. He stressed on the Egyptian armed forces' respect for whatever religion and its quest to identify the perpetrators the events and sectarian strife. However, he also warned that the armed forces will not allow future attacks on the institution again. In June 2012, he appeared with journalist, Imad Adeeb on TV to confirm SCAF's decision to hand full executive power over to Morsi, while Tantawi retain his post as defense minister in the new government at that time, in order to avoid changes to the armed forces. Al-Assar said in a statement during August 2012 that Morsi's decision to remove Tantawi from his post was taken in consultation with SCAF. After the ousting of Morsi during 30 June 2013 revolution, al-Assar was handed over the task of rejuvenating and establishment of strong ties with Russia in the military field, as a result of US' decision to halt military aid to Egypt. The newly appointed minister enjoys a special relationship with Al Sisi, who puts a lot of confidence in him to handle several sensitive issues, as he consistently provides the president with advices on various consults strategic positions. He is considered to be one of the most important military men close to the presidential palace and a frequent visitor to al-Sisi, as he keeps in touch with him on a regular basis.
