Following his graduation from the academy, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi served in quite a few positions of command in the Egyptian Armed Forces. He was also appointed as Egypt's military attaché in Riyadh.

In 1987, Sisi joined the Egyptian Command and Staff College. In 1992, he attended the British Command and Staff College. He then joined the United States Army War College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, in 2006.

In 2010, he became the director of military intelligence of his country. In January and February, the following year, an uprising took place in Egypt and led to the fall of Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak.

Following this, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi became the youngest member of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF), a senior military officers’ group that started governing Egypt.

In August 2012, Sisi was promoted to the defense minister and the commander of the armed forces. It is believed, the then-president of Egypt, Mohammed Morsi, had made the senior members of the SCAF retire and had then promoted Sisi to the top position.

In 2013, a revolt known as the Tamarrud (“Rebellion”) started taking shape in Egypt. The protestors demanded Morsi’s removal by an early election.

On June 30 that year, the protests escalated, and people chanted Sisi’s name while demanding he oust Morsi. On July 1, Sisi gave Morsi an ultimatum. Morsi was thus required to sort out the crisis within 48 hours or be ready to face the army’s intervention.

Morsi tried to negotiate but refused to step down or be part of an early election. Thus, on July 3, the Egyptian military deposed Morsi and then arrested him. Adly Mansour was made the interim president, but Sisi remained the defense minister and held the real power.

The interim government tried to control the Muslim Brotherhood and also cracked down on a few liberal opponents. On July 8, the military opened fire and killed over 50 people protesting against the crackdown on the Muslim Brotherhood.

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On August 14, 2013, the police carried out what is now known as the Rabaa massacre. The operation, launched to disperse protestors outside the Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque in Cairo, killed hundreds of civilians and injured thousands of others. It was condemned by leaders all over the world. In the days that followed, over a thousand people were killed in the crackdown.

On March 26, 2014, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi retired from his military position, declaring his candidature for the Egyptian presidential election that year. The election was held on May 26 and 28. Sisi competed against the only opponent, Hamdeen Sabahi.

Sisi won with 97% of the total votes cast in his favor. On June 8, 2014, he was sworn in as the next president of Egypt.