The first president of Egypt was Mohamed Naguib, who, along with Gamal Abdel Nasser, led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 that overthrew King Farouk and marked the end of British colonial rule.

[3] Naguib resigned as president in November 1954, following a severe rift with the younger military officers who had participated with him in the revolution.

On 10 February 2011 Mubarak transferred presidential powers to his recently appointed vice president, Omar Suleiman.

[6] Suleiman's wielding of presidential powers was a momentary formality, as the position of president of Egypt was then officially vacated, and the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, led by Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, assumed executive control of the state.

[9] However, Morsi's presidency was short-lived, and slightly more than a year later on 3 July 2013 he was removed from office following mass protests against his rule.

Both the pre-revolution Egyptian Civil Code, and the semi-presidential system of government adopted after the revolution were strongly influenced by the legal and political tradition of France.

In this two-stage system, the Egyptian legislature, the National Assembly (a name also inspired by its French counterpart), nominates one of a number of candidates for the presidency.

During martial law, the President also appoints deans of faculties and majors, and can also enlist or oust people in the private sector.

The President then also has the power to issue regulations for the enforcement of laws, ensuring proper public services, etc., which have been transferred to the Prime Minister under the 2012 and 2014 Constitutions.

[citation needed] After the Egyptian revolution in 2011 that ousted the 30-year regime of then President Hosni Mubarak, the martial law was temporarily suspended.

The 2012 Constitution provided for a semi-presidential form of government in which the president shares executive powers with the prime minister, until it was suspended following Morsi's removal from office.

The president lays down, along with the prime minister and the cabinet, the state's general policy and oversees its implementation.

The president represents Egypt in foreign relations and has the power to ratify treaties, can issue decrees having the force of law when the House of Representatives is in recess, and such decrees are subject to approval by the House after resuming its sessions at the end of the recess, and acts as the supreme commander of the armed forces.

The committee may issue its own regulations and shall be competent to establish general sub-committees from among members of the judiciary, to monitor the various phases of the election process, under its supervision.

In accordance with Article 79 of the constitution, the president must take the following oath or affirmation before exercising his functions: "I swear by God the Almighty to sincerely maintain the Republican system, to respect the Constitution and law, to fully care about the interests of the people, and to maintain the independence and territorial integrity of the Homeland."

Both Anwar Sadat and Hosni Mubarak served as vice-presidents at the time the presidential office became vacant; however, on Mubarak's succession in 1981 as president, he did not appoint a vice-president until 29 January 2011, when during substantial protests demanding reforms, he appointed Omar Suleiman to the role.