Abdel Hakim Amer Mohamed Abdel Hakim Amer ( , ; 11 December 1919 – 14 September 1967 ) was an Egyptian general and political leader . Early life . Amer was born in Astal , Samallot , in the Al Minya Governorate on 11 December 1919 . After finishing grade school , he attended the Cairo Military Academy and graduated in 1938 . He was commissioned into the Egyptian Army in 1939 . Military career . Amer served in the 1948 Arab – Israeli War , took part in the 1952 Revolution and commanded the Egyptian Army in the Suez Crisis , the North Yemen Civil War and the Six - Day War . Amer played a leading role in the military coup that overthrew King Farouk in 1952 and which brought General Muhammad Naguib and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser to power . The following year , Amer was made Egypt ' s Chief - of - Staff , bypassing four military ranks . In 1956 , Amer was appointed commander - in - chief of the joint military command established by Egypt and Syria . He also led Egyptian forces against both Israeli and allied British - French forces during the Suez Crisis . In March 1964 , Amer was made first vice - president to Nasser and deputy supreme commander , with the power to rule for 60 days if the president was incapacitated . Amer ' s distinguished career came to a sudden end after Egypt ' s crushing defeat by Israel in the Six - Day War of June 1967 . Many historians have stated that much the Egyptian military ' s failures in the 1967 war can be laid at the feet of Amer . This is because Amer ' s control of the Egyptian military establishment followed in line with leader Gamal Abdel - Nasser ' s general policy of presenting different government institutions as fiefdoms to those most loyal to him . In addition , the proxy war Egypt ( with Soviet backing ) fought against the Saudis , West , and Israelis in the North Yemen Civil War ( 1962 – 1970 ) , Nasser supporting the Yemen Arab Republic against the Western and Saudi Arabian backed Royalists , is also viewed as being key to Egypt ' s defeat in the 1967 Middle East war ; as nearly half of the Egypt ' s Western - trained officer - corps ( mostly in Britain at Sandhurst was in Yemen at the time of the initial Israeli attack on Egypt . When Amer heard of the fall of Abu Ageila to Israel , he panicked and ordered all units in the Sinai to retreat . This order effectively meant the defeat of Egypt . He was relieved of all his duties and forced into early retirement . Arrest , trial and death . In August that year , Amer , along with over 50 Egyptian military officers and two former ministers , was arrested for allegedly plotting a coup to overthrow Nasser . He was kept under house arrest at his villa in Giza . According to the official Egyptian position , Amer was rushed to hospital on 13 September 1967 in an attempt to save his life after he attempted suicide by swallowing " a large amount of poison pills " upon the arrival of Egyptian officers to question him . After surviving and being taken home the next day , he managed to evade his guards and swallow more pills he kept hidden under an adhesive plaster on his leg . Later , Cairo radio announced his burial in his home village of Astal . One version of the story holds that Amer was approached at his house on 14 September by high - ranking Egyptian officers and was given a choice to stand trial for treason , which would inevitably have ended with his conviction and execution , or die an honorable death by taking poison . Amer chose the latter option and received a full military burial . Anwar Al Sadat , who later became President of Egypt , expressed his opinion that if he was in Amer ' s position , he would have done the same soon after the Six - Day War . In September 2012 , Amer ' s family filled a case to investigate his death . They claimed that he was murdered . Awards . Abdel Hakim Amer was awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union on 13 May 1964 .