Abd Al-Halim Abu-Ghazala

Abu Ghazala died on 6 September 2008 at El-Galla Military Hospital in Heliopolis, Cairo at the age of 78, from throat cancer.

In 2005, Abu Ghazala was briefly rumored to be a presidential candidate for the powerful but illegal Muslim Brotherhood. He finally did not run, and the Muslim Brotherhood did not field a candidate in the first contested Egyptian presidential elections. The Muslim Brotherhood offered him to run as their presidential candidate, but he refused due to their different advocacies.

The Vector is a cancelled tripartite program between Egypt, Argentina, and Iraq to develop a two-stage solid and liquid propellant missile with a range of 800–5,000 kilometres (500–3,110 mi). This missile was called Vector in Egypt, Condor-II in Argentina, and Badr-2000 in Iraq.

Shortly after Mubarak's visit to the United States in early April 1989, for within days of his return to Cairo, Mubarak ousted Abu Ghazala from his post and appointed him to the position of personal advisor to the president.

In 1989, erstwhile Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak removed him from office after diplomatic pressure that he was involved in smuggling carbon-carbon and other technologies relevant to strap-down inertial systems, which could've been used to protect the missile's re-entry vehicle during descent, from the United States, henceforth violating U.S. export laws. Abdelkader Helmy, an Egyptian-American propulsion expert with U.S security clearance, agreed to procure the technologies for Egypt. Finally, On 14 June 1988, approximately 430 pounds of carbon-carbon were shipped to an Ohio warehouse and readied for onward delivery to Baltimore. An Egyptian Air Force C-130 would depart Baltimore Washington International Airport on 24 June, 1988, and the carbon-carbon was destined to be put on the flight. Altogether, Colonel Hussam Khairat (a military attaché to Austria and a go-between who had liaison with Consen.), Helmy, his wife, and James Huffman (Helmy's procurement agent) were detained. Helmy was charged with money laundering and conspiracy. An American court had ordered a wiretap of Helmy's office a year earlier as evidence of his activities mounted.

Shortly after Anwar Sadat was killed, he obtained the rank of Field Marshal in 1982.

When the Minister of Defense and military production, Ahmad Badawi, died along with 12 senior officers in a helicopter crash on 2 March 1981, Anwar Sadat appointed Abu Ghazala minister of defense and military production.

Upon returning to Cairo in 1979, Abu Ghazala was named director of military intelligence. He was appointed Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces on 15 May 1980, and he was promoted two days later.

Between 1976 and 1979, he served as his country’s military attaché to Washington, and it was during his sojourn there that he developed a close relationship with American officials and a reputation for being partial to the US There he was the first non-American military to receive a diploma of honor from the Command and General Staff College at Carlisle Barracks.

He was the Second Army's artillery commander during the October War of 1973. After the war he was appointed commander of the Artillery Corps.

Muhammad Abd Al-Halim Abu-Ghazala (Arabic: محمد عبد الحليم أبو غزالة; 15 January 1930 – 6 July 2008) was Defense Minister of Egypt from 1981 to 1989. Abu Ghazala was seated next to Anwar Sadat when the president was assassinated.

He was born in Zuhur Al Omara village, El Delengat, Beheira Governorate, on 15 January 1930. His family descended from "Awlad Aly" tribe. After completing his secondary education, he joined the Egyptian Royal Military Academy, then he received the battalion command diploma from Stalin Academy in the Soviet Union in 1949. He also graduated from Nasser Academy for higher military education (Cairo 1961). On the civilian studies side, he received a bachelor's degree from the faculty of commerce, Cairo University. Abu Ghazala received the diploma of honor from the National War College in the U.S., thus being the first non-American to receive such an award.