Cairo: Egypt’s leading leftist politician Khalid Muhye Al Deen died on Sunday at a hospital in Cairo, his party said. He was 95.
Muhye Al Deen died after suffering severe bronchitis days ago and was taken to a military hospital in Cairo’s southern quarter of Maadi, local media reported.
He is expected to be buried on Monday in his hometown Kafr Shukr, north of Cairo.
The office of President Abdul Fattah Al Sissi eulogized Muhye Al Deen, calling him a “symbol of political national work”.
“He made valuable contributions during his political history since his participation in the July 1952 revolution,” a presidential statement said. “Egypt will remain grateful to the deceased’s national contributions and immortal deeds.”
Muhye Al Deen was a member of the Free Officers Movement that toppled monarchy in Egypt in 1952 and proclaimed a republican system a year later. He was also a member of the now-defunct Revolutionary Command Council. In 1954, he advocated the return of the military revolutionaries to the barracks in order to clear the way for a civil rule. His suggestion triggered a rift between him and other colleagues on the council including iconic leader Jamal Abdul Nasser.
In 1976, Muhye Al Deen founded the leftist Tagamuh (Unionist Party). He also represented his hometown in the parliament several times. In 2002, he quit the Tagamuh leadership due to old age.
In 2013, Egypt’s then interim president Adly Mansour conferred on Muhye Al Deen, the Collar of the Nile, which is the country’s prestigious medal.
