In 1962, President Gamal Abdel Nasser instituted collective leadership in Egypt, separating the post of Prime Minister from that of President and establishing a presidential council to deal with all issues formerly considered presidential prerogatives.

[1] According to article 139 of the 1971 Constitution, the President "may appoint one or more Vice-Presidents define their jurisdiction and relieve them of their posts.

The Constitution gave broad authority to the President to determine the number of Vice-Presidents, as well as their appointment, dismissal and duties of office.

Mahmoud Mekki was the last person to hold the office before the adoption of the 2012 Constitution, having resigned on 22 December 2012.

After the overthrow of President Mohamed Morsi in the 2013 Egyptian coup d'état, the position of the Vice-President was briefly restored (with extra-constitutional basic) by Acting President Adly Mansour, who appointed Mohamed ElBaradei to the post of Acting Vice-President on 7 July 2013.