Morsi, Mohamed (1951-2019), was president of Egypt from June 2012 to July 2013. Morsi was a member and former chairman of Egypt’s Freedom and Justice Party (FJP). The FJP is the political arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, a conservative Islamist movement. The FJP formed in February 2011, after the resignation of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. The Muslim Brotherhood had been banned under Mubarak, who ruled Egypt from 1981 to 2011. Morsi defeated former Egyptian Prime Minister Ahmed Shafik in the June 2012 presidential election.
In November 2012, Morsi sparked large protests by attempting to give himself what some Egyptians considered dictatorial powers. Protests, as well as economic and political problems, persisted into 2013. Protests intensified in late June, as hundreds of thousands of people called for Morsi’s resignation. He refused, and the Egyptian army forced him from office on July 3. Morsi was then arrested on a number of criminal charges, including the killing of protesters and spying for foreign governments. In September, Egypt again banned the Muslim Brotherhood. In April 2015, after a lengthy trial, Morsi began serving a lifetime prison sentence.
Mohamed Morsi was born in northern Ash Sharqiyah governorate (administrative unit) in August 1951. In the late 1970’s, Morsi received degrees in engineering and metallurgy at Cairo University. Metallurgy involves removing metals from their ores and developing methods to improve their performance. Morsi then came to the United States and earned a Ph.D. degree in engineering from the University of Southern California in 1982. From 1982 to 1985, Morsi taught at California State University, Northridge. During that time, Morsi also helped develop space shuttle engines for the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). In 1985, Morsi returned to Egypt, where he taught at Zagazig University until 2010. He served as an independent in Egypt’s parliament from 2000 to 2005.
In May 2006, Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood members were jailed for protesting election results, which they felt were rigged. Morsi was arrested again in January 2011 during protests against the Mubarak government. He died on June 17, 2019, after he collapsed following a court appearance in Cairo.
