Mohammed Mahdi Akef

Akef was born in 1928 in Kafr Awad Al Seneita –Aga - Dakahlia Governorate, in the north of Egypt. The year of his birth was the year the Muslim Brotherhood Movement was founded. Akef obtained his Primary Certificate of Education at Al Mansoura Primary School, and obtained his Secondary Certificate of Education at Cairo- Fuad 1st Secondary School. He then joined the Higher Institute of Physical Education and graduated in May 1950, after which he worked as a teacher at Fuad 1st Secondary School. ==Career==

He first became involved with the Muslim Brotherhood in 1940, which was then led by Hassan al Banna. This was during the struggle against the British occupation in the Canal preceding the 1952 Revolution, after which he left responsibility to Kamaleddin Hussein, then National Guard Chief. On October 19, 2009 Egyptian newspapers reported that Akef had resigned as the general guide of the Muslim Brotherhood after a dispute among various leaders in the group. However the following day reports on the Muslim Brotherhood website stated that Akef had not resigned and would continue to serve as the group's general guide until elections in January 2010. Following Sisi's military takeover of Egypt, the Brotherhood was deemed a terrorist group by the new regime and Akef was arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment. == Political beliefs ==

Akef has been described as "unapologetic about charges by reformist members regarding the reluctance of the Ikhwan [Muslim Brotherhood] to engage more proactively in opposition to the Mubarak regime in the first decade of the twenty-first century" (27). However, in 2005, he would call Mubarak's rule "failed and finished." In the mid-2000s, he considered anti-American insurgents in Iraq to be "freedom fighters." == Personal life==

Akef's health deteriorated while he was imprisoned by the Egyptian authorities after the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état; his daughter affirmed that he was isolated in the prison hospital and was only allowed a visit once a week, despite his old age and poor health. His daughter is married to Mahmoud Ezzat, with whom she has five children with.{{Cite web|url=https://mubasher.aljazeera.net/news/politics/2020/8/28/مصر-اعتقال-محمود-عزت-القائم-بأعمال |title=مصر.. اعتقال محمود عزت القائم بأعمال مرشد الإخوان == Death ==

Akef died on 22 September 2017 at the age of 89. == See also ==