Muhammad Naguib

General Muhammad Naguib was briefly leader of Egypt. Naguib was one of Egypt's few heros from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. He was recruited by the Free Officers to serve as a figurehead leader. The Free Officers, lead by Colonel Gamal Abd al-Nasser were young members of the military all under thrity-five and all from peasant or lower middle-class backgrounds. Nasser's goal was to seize power in Egypt from the British controlled King Faruq. He worried that he and his followers would not be taken seriously, however, and General Naguib was decided upon as a figurehead ruler. In 1952 they seized power and Naguib was appointed as President, Nasser serving in the background as Minister of the Interior. However, in 1954 Naguib and Nasser fell out and a power struggle broke out for control of the military and of Egypt. Nasser accused Naguib of supporting the Muslim Brotherhood and was expelled from office. Naguib was placed under house arrest, where he remained until his death in 1984.