President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi announced on Tuesday that Egypt has declared a state of official mourning for the death of Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy, who passed away at the age of 85 earlier today.

El-Sisi’s announcement came during the inauguration of a number of national projects for the development of the Sinai Peninsula in an event held in Suez governorate on Tuesday.

“Today, I lost a father, a teacher, and a person who was protective of his homeland. I learned a lot from him and his dedication to serving the country,” El-Sisi said in a tweet on his official account.

“It is Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawy who confronted the most serious difficulties that Egypt faced in its contemporary history,” the president wrote.

Tantawy was the acting president of Egypt in his capacity as the chair of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces after the stepping down of former president Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

The late Field Marshal graduated from the Military Academy in 1956 and later on from the Command and Staff College.

He participated in several wars, including the 1967 War, the War of Attrition, and the 6 October 1973 War, serving as the commander of a combat unit in the infantry.

In 1988, he was appointed as the head of the Presidential Guard.

In 1991, he was appointed as the defence minister and the general commander of the Armed Forces.

He was awarded the rank of field marshal in 1993.