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{{Infobox President
| name          = Mohammed Naguib <br> {{lang|arz|محمد نجيب}}
(contracted; show full) Sudan was united with Egypt under British occupation at the time. He was the eldest of nine children, the son of an [[Military of Egypt|Egyptian Army]] officer, Youssef Naguib, and a Sudanese Arab woman [[Zohra Ahmed Othman]]. His family name, "Elkashlan," was very popular in [[Egypt]] at that time, due to well-known scientific personalities such as [[Saad Elkashlan]] and [[Abdulsamad Elkashlan]]. He came from a long line of army officers; his father and uncles all served in the Egyptian Army.


Naguib spent his formative years in Sudan, where, as a child, ostriches and monkeys were his playmates, in a house decorated with hunting trophies like elephant tusks, tiger-skin rugs and rhinoceros and gazelle heads on the wall. Naguib's favourite game, however, was playing at soldiers with his younger brother, Ali. Having built a toy fortress in the front yard, Naguib would spend hours conquering inches of land with his toy soldiers.{{citation needed|date=March 2015}}

Nevertheless, Naguib's father did not want his sons to follow in his footsteps, believing from his own experience as an officer in the [[Egyptian Army]] that the army at that time was little more than a group of auxiliaries waiting for the [[British Army|British King's Army]] orders. He believed that Naguib could serve Egypt better in civilian life, and he even had Ibrahim Urabi, son of the 1882 revolutionary [[Ahmed Urabi]], speak to Naguib and caution him that by joining the military he would become only "a supervisor in the service of the British."⏎
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As a result, Naguib first studied to become a translator, and later in his life earned a law degree, a
[[Master of Arts]] degree (MA) in [[political science]] and another MA in [[Civil law (legal system)|civil law]]. He never completed his doctorate because his career in the army, undertaken in defiance of his father's wishes, by then had begun to take off. Nevertheless, he found the time to polish his language skills, learning [[English language|English]], [[French language|French]], [[Italian languag(contracted; show full) While this proved successful in strengthening the Free Officers, it would later cause great friction between the two men. Despite his disapproval of his fellow military top brass, Naguib remained in the army in order for the Free Officers not to lose their highest-ranking officer and most influential member, although many today argue that his position on the top was merely a figurehead leader to the revolutionary [[Free Officers Movement (Egypt)|Free Officers Movement]] to lend credibility to the group.


Finally on 6 January 1952, Naguib won the elections at the army Officers' Club, almost a revolutionary step in itself, since ordinarily the king's appointees held the executive roles in the Club. However, the Free Officers' increasing influence in the army, together with Naguib's reputation, resulted in the defeat of the king's nominees, and Naguib won with a landslide victory.

Farouk was contemplating removing Naguib from his post when Egypt was thrown into turmoil following the 26 January [[Cairo Fire]]s. Meanwhile, the noose was beginning to tighten around the Free Officers, and investigations being carried out to uncover dissidents in the army. The executive committee of the Officers' Club was dissolved and the Free Officers brought their plans for a revolution three years forward, taking power in July 1952.⏎
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==Revolution of 1952==
{{main article|Egyptian Revolution of 1952}}
[[File:Ma Bufang and Muhammad Naguib.jpg|left|thumb|150px|President Mohamed Naguib with [[Hui people|Chinese Muslim]] [[Kuomintang]] [[National Revolutionary Army]] General [[Ma Bufang]]]]
On 23 July 1952, the Free Officers commenced the [[Egyptian Revolution of 1952]] with a ''[[coup d'état]]'' to depose King Farouk. Naguib was appointed, first as [[Commander-in-Chief]] of Army, in order to keep the armed forces firmly behind the junior officers' coup. In September, Naguib was appointed [[Prime Minister of Egypt]] and a member of the Royal Regent Council, with Nasser serving in the background as [[Minister of the Interior]].

Naguib was at the forefront of the Free Officer's movement, lending it legitimacy in the eyes of the people, the army, politicians and foreign powers. Within 24 hours of the beginning of the revolution, the newly formed [[Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council|Revolution Command Council]] (RCC) had asserted that their movement's peaceful intentions, with Naguib as its leader. Naguib's was a familiar name at the time, unlike those of the other Free Officers, who were too young and too junior in rank to have made a name for themselves.

On 24 July, Naguib met former prime minister Ali Maher to ask him to form a government and communicate the revolutionaries' demands to the King, at that time in Alexandria. On 25 July, Naguib led a group of RCC members to Alexandria to supervise the ousting of the King, the RCC at the time being divided over what Farouk's fate should be. Some wanted him to be put on trial, while others wanted him to abdicate and be sent into exile. Naguib and Nasser supported exile, and after a vote, it was agreed that Farouk should abdicate in favor of his infant son Ahmed Fuad, who became [[Fuad II|King Fuad II]], and should then be exiled.

On 26 July, Naguib arrived to say his farewells to the former King, arriving late and catching up with Farouk by boat, a few minutes after Farouk had set sail. After an awkward silence on the deck of the royal yacht El-Mahrousa, Naguib reminded Farouk that until the 1942 standoff with the British the army had been loyal to the monarchy, but that things had changed since then. Naguib said, "Sir, we were forced to do what we did," to which Farouk replied, "Yes, I know. Your mission is a difficult one. As you know, governing Egypt is not an easy task." Naguib later stated "I could not feel joy for his defeat".

The succession of Fuad II was designed to deny the [[United Kingdom|British]] a pretext for intervention, allowing the revolutionaries to maintain that they were opposed only to the corrupt regime of Farouk, not to the monarchy itself. However, after consolidating their power, they quickly moved to implement their long-held plans for abolishing the monarchy and the aristocracy. Ali Maher's government resigned on 17 September 1952 and Naguib was appointed [[Prime Minister of Egypt|Prime Minister]]. On 18 June 1953, almost 11 months after the revolution, Naguib declared the end of the Egyptian and Sudanese monarchy and the establishment of the Republic of Egypt.

==Presidency==
With the declaration of the Republic, Naguib was sworn in as its [[President of Egypt|President]]. At this time, Naguib had become simultaneously the president, the prime minister and chairman of the RCC and forming a government mostly composed of army officers. Nasser became deputy prime minister, and it was already apparent that he had a strong grip on domestic affairs. However, Naguib remained the most senior officer in the government and the national leader of the country and of the RCC, even as a struggle for power was brewing.

Naguib began to clash with other RCC members over how the Revolution's goals should be implemented. He wanted to phase out the political influence of the military and return the country to civilian rule, believing that the role of the military was not to rule the country, but rather to protect those in power. The army, he thought, could interfere to change a corrupt regime, but then it should withdraw.

As Naguib wrote later in his book, ''Egypt's Fate'':

<blockquote>at the age of 36, Abdel-Nasser felt that we could ignore Egyptian public opinion until we had reached our goals, but with the caution of a 53-year-old, I believed that we needed grassroots support for our policies, even if it meant postponing some of our goals. I differed with the younger officers on the means by which to reach our goals, never on the principles.</blockquote>

Nasser, by contrast, thought that any talk of democracy, or of a multi-party system, or of the withdrawal of the army from politics, would allow the [[Wafd]], the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and the other political parties to regain the ground they had lost in 1952.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} In addition, although on paper Naguib appeared to wield a lot of power, being simultaneously president and prime minister, his authority was curtailed by the fact that he needed a majority vote of the RCC for any decision to be taken, and his opinion was often ignored by the other members of the RCC.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} The offices he occupied meant that Naguib was responsible for the government's decisions, even though he rarely sanctioned or supported them, and this meant that he was increasingly becoming merely the puppet of others.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} Eventually, Naguib presented Nasser, by now the real power in the RCC, with an ultimatum: either he was given real power, or he would resign.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

In late 1953, however, Nasser accused Naguib of supporting the recently outlawed [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and of harbouring dictatorial ambitions.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} A brief power struggle broke out between Naguib and Nasser for control of the military and of Egypt. Nasser ultimately won the struggle and managed to force Naguib to resign from the presidency of Egypt in November 1954.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

On 25 February 1954, the RCC announced Naguib's resignation as president, saying that Naguib was "demanding absolute authority, which is not acceptable."{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} Street protesters brought Naguib back to power the next day, but despite mass support and his reappointment, Naguib's days in power were numbered.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} Though reinstated as president on 26 February, [[Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser]] now became prime minister and RCC chairman, Naguib's office therefore becoming largely ceremonialThe succession of Fuad II was designed to deny the [[United Kingdom|British]] a pretext for intervention, allowing the revolutionaries to maintain that they were opposed only to the corrupt regime of Farouk, not to the monarchy itself. However, after consolidating their power, they quickly moved to implement their long-held plans for abolishing the monarchy and the aristocracy. Ali Maher's government resigned on 17 September 1952 and Naguib was appointed [[Prime Minister of Egypt|Prime Minister]]. On 18 June 1953, almost 11 months after the revolution, Naguib declared the end of the Egyptian and Sudanese monarchy and the establishment of the Republic of Egypt.

==Presidency==
With the declaration of the Republic, Naguib was sworn in as its [[President of Egypt|President]]. At this time, Naguib had become simultaneously the president, the prime minister and chairman of the RCC and forming a government mostly composed of army officers. Nasser became deputy prime minister, and it was already apparent that he had a strong grip on domestic affairs. However, Naguib remained the most senior officer in the government and the national leader of the country and of the RCC, even as a struggle for power was brewing.

In late 1953, however, Nasser accused Naguib of supporting the recently outlawed [[Muslim Brotherhood]] and of harbouring dictatorial ambitions.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}} A brief power struggle broke out between Naguib and Nasser for control of the military and of Egypt. Nasser ultimately won the struggle and managed to force Naguib to resign from the presidency of Egypt in November 1954.{{citation needed|date=February 2013}}

<gallery widths="200px" heights="200px">
File:Nasser and Naguib, 1954.jpg|Naguib (left) and [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] during celebrations for the second anniversary of the revolution, July 1954
File:الرئيس المصري السابق محمد نجيب.jpg|Naguib, in front of his portrait, in the last days of his life
File:Last declaration by Mohammed Naguib before his arrest 1954.jpg|Last declaration by Mohamed Naguib before his arrest 1954
</gallery>

(contracted; show full)[[Category:Egyptian revolutionists]]
[[Category:Egyptian nationalists]]
[[Category:Egyptian Sunni Muslims]]
[[Category:Free Officers Movement]]
[[Category:Leaders who took power by coup]]
[[Category:Egyptian people of Arab descent]]
[[Category:People from Cairo]]
[[Category:People from Khartoum]]