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145-490: President (1956–1970) Prime Minister (1954–(March)1954,(April)1954–1962,1967–1970) Deputy prime minister (1953–1954) [REDACTED] Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-reaching land reforms

290-785: A National Congress to lay down a Charter for National Action. The 1,750-member Congress of representatives from peasant, laborer, professional and occupational associations meets in May to debate the Draft National Charter presented by Nasser. On 30 June, the Congress approves the Charter, which sets up a new political organization, the Arab Socialist Union (ASU) to replace the National Union. 50 per cent of

435-559: A bid of solidarity with the Nasser regime, the US government said it would no longer price support the British pound through the purchasing of British debt, the appeasers within the British government gained the upper hand and forced a surrender to American demands. Consequently, British operations were halted on 7 November. When negotiations between the British and Americans made clear that the US

580-471: A brief experiment with civilian rule, the Free Officers abrogated the 1953 constitution and declared Egypt a republic on 18 June 1953, Muhammad Naguib as Egypt's first President. Within six months all civilian political parties were banned replaced by the "Liberation Rally" government party, the elites seeing a need for a "transitional authoritarianism" in light of Egypt's poverty, illiteracy and lack of

725-476: A brief period and wrote articles for the school's paper, including a piece on French philosopher Voltaire titled "Voltaire, the Man of Freedom". On 13 November 1935, Nasser led a student demonstration against British rule, protesting against a statement made four days prior by UK foreign minister Samuel Hoare that rejected prospects for the 1923 Constitution's restoration. Two protesters were killed and Nasser received

870-662: A considerable financial and military burden on Egypt and created antipathy toward Saudi Arabia , which supported the Yemeni loyalists. From 14 May 1967 Nasser poured his divisions into Sinai Peninsula , near the Israeli border. Under Arab pressure and as a result of rising popular expectations of Arab military might, on 18 May 1967, Nasser asks UN Secretary General U Thant to withdraw the United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) stationed on Egypt's side of

1015-475: A graze to the head from a policeman's bullet. The incident garnered his first mention in the press: the nationalist newspaper Al Gihad reported that Nasser led the protest and was among the wounded. On 12 December, the new king, Farouk , issued a decree restoring the constitution. Nasser's involvement in political activity increased throughout his school years, such that he only attended 45 days of classes during his last year of secondary school. Despite it having

1160-525: A large middle class. In January, the large Muslim Brotherhood organization was outlawed, remaining an illegal political organization until the Revolution of 2011 . The move came in the wake of clashes between members of the Brotherhood and Liberation Rally student demonstrators on 12 January 1954. On 26 October, an assassination attempt suspected by the Brotherhood was directed at Nasser during

1305-654: A necessity and a reason for maintaining the British Empire. Thus, when the Eisenhower Administration initiated an oil embargo on the British and French, there was immediate panic in the British government. The French however were proving more resolute and flouted American demands stating matter of factly that America had no interest in the Middle East and were duplicitous in their support of Arab nationalism and anti-colonialism. However, with

1450-606: A pretext for Israeli launching a surprise attack on Egypt across the Sinai and toward the Suez . Using the terms of the Canal treaty which allowed the British and French to use military force in protection of the canal, an Anglo-French force would invade the canal area and subsequently invade Cairo. Israeli troops invaded Gaza and advanced toward the Sinai on 29 October. Accordingly, under

1595-476: A principal theme of Egyptian foreign policy regarding the Cold War. Nasser was welcomed by large crowds of people lining the streets of Cairo on his return to Egypt on 2 May and was widely heralded in the press for his achievements and leadership in the conference. Consequently, Nasser's prestige was greatly boosted, as was his self-confidence and image. With his domestic position considerably strengthened, Nasser

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1740-474: A process that was later extended to all foreign establishments and also to Egyptian firms. But more importantly, the event marked the abandonment of by the United States to an overt Western Civilizational identity especially of supremacy, as well as America's opposition to a European global commercial presence which it viewed as a competitor to its own global vision. As a result, with the primary leader of

1885-650: A rally in Alexandria. This led to the regime acting against the Brotherhood, executing Brotherhood leaders on 9 December. Gamal Abdel Nasser first became prime minister in February 1954. He was chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council from November 1954 until he became President of Egypt in 1956, and served as president until his death in 1970. Meanwhile, the RCC, morally backed by both

2030-437: A return to the pre-1952 order, the RCC decreed an end to restrictions on monarchy-era parties and the Free Officers' withdrawal from politics. The RCC succeeded in provoking the beneficiaries of the revolution, namely the workers, peasants, and petty bourgeois, to oppose the decrees, with one million transport workers launching a strike and thousands of peasants entering Cairo in protest in late March. Naguib sought to crack down on

2175-470: A sizable group within the RCC, led by Khaled Mohieddin, demanded Naguib's release and return to the presidency. Nasser acquiesced, but delayed Naguib's reinstatement until 4 March, allowing him to promote Amer to Commander of the Armed Forces—a position formerly occupied by Naguib. On 5 March, Nasser's security coterie arrested thousands of participants in the uprising. As a ruse to rally opposition against

2320-724: A speech in Alexandria announcing the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company as a means to fund the Aswan Dam project in light of the British–American withdrawal. In the speech, he denounced British imperialism in Egypt and British control over the canal company's profits, and upheld that the Egyptian people had a right to sovereignty over the waterway, especially since "120,000 Egyptians had died building it". The motion

2465-527: A unified ideology or plan for Egypt. One issue that was agreed on and acted quickly on was land reform . Less than six percent of Egypt's population owned more than 65% of the land in Egypt , while at the top and less than 0.5% of Egyptians owned more than one-third of all fertile land. the process of land reform began on September 11, 1952, when (among many provisions) a law prohibited ownership of more than 200 feddans of land (840000 sq meters); limited

2610-699: Is also home to the Assiut University , one of the largest universities in Egypt , to the Assiut Barrage , and to the Lillian Trasher Orphanage . The city is one of the only cities in the world that still makes silver appliqué-work shawls and is home to a large textile industry. The city also produces fine pottery, inlaid woodwork, and rugs. Asyut is the terminus of the Ras Shukheir-Asyut oil pipeline ,

2755-614: Is very significant. Its primary focus was on attacking the British rather than the Jordanian regime itself, and it did not itself call for the overthrow of King Hussein. In other words, this propaganda was intended to pressure the regime, and likely to implicitly convince King Hussein that his prospects for remaining in power would be greater if he declined to join the Baghdad Pact, and Jordan decided in December that it would not join

2900-786: The Abdeen Palace Incident , British soldiers and tanks surrounded King Farouk's palace to compel the King to dismiss Prime Minister Hussein Sirri Pasha in favour of Mostafa El-Nahas , whom the United Kingdom government felt would be more sympathetic to their war effort against the Axis. The British Ambassador, Miles Lampson , marched into the palace, and threatened the King with the bombardment of his palace, his removal as king, and his exile from Egypt unless he conceded to

3045-667: The First Intermediate Period , the rulers of " Zawty " ( Khety I , Tefibi , and Khety II ) were supporters of the Herakleopolitan kings, of whose domain the Nome formed the southern limits. The conflict between this Nome and the southern Nomes under the rule of the Eleventh Dynasty ended with the victory of Thebes and the decline of Asyut's importance. Lycopolis has no remarkable ruins, but in

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3190-643: The Nakba , the Palestine War , Lavon Affair and the Suez War , placed heavy discontent towards the Mutamassirun, particularly the British, French, and Jews, as a colonial class. Some 23,000—25,000 Jews out of 42,500 in Egypt left, mainly for Israel, Western Europe, the United States, South America, and Australia. Many were forced to sign declarations that they were voluntarily emigrating and agreed to

3335-699: The North Yemen Civil War deepened, only recovering in the late 1970s. During Nasser's time in office, Egypt experienced a golden age of culture, particularly in theatre, film, poetry, television, radio, literature, fine arts, comedy, and music. Egypt under Nasser dominated the Arab World in these fields, with Egyptian musical artists such as Abdel Halim Hafez , Umm Kulthum , and Mohammed Abdel Wahab , literary figures such as Naguib Mahfouz , and Tawfiq el-Hakim , actors such as Faten Hamama , Salah Zulfikar , Soad Hosny and Rushdi Abaza , and

3480-527: The North Yemen Civil War , and eventually the much larger Arab Cold War . He began his second presidential term in March 1965 after his political opponents were banned from running. Following Egypt's defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967, Nasser resigned, but he returned to office after popular demonstrations called for his reinstatement. By 1968, Nasser had appointed himself prime minister, launched

3625-535: The Palestinian right of return , and the implementation of UN resolutions regarding the Arab–Israeli conflict . He succeeded in lobbying the attendees to pass resolutions on each of these issues, notably securing the strong support of China and India. Following Bandung, Nasser officially adopted the "positive neutralism" of Yugoslavian president Josip Broz Tito and Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru as

3770-502: The Qur'an , the sayings of Muhammad , the lives of the Sahaba (Muhammad's companions), the biographies of nationalist leaders Napoleon , Atatürk , Otto von Bismarck and Garibaldi , and the autobiography of Winston Churchill . Nasser was greatly influenced by Egyptian nationalism , as espoused by politician Mustafa Kamel , poet Ahmed Shawqi , and his anti-colonialist instructor at

3915-555: The Royal Military Academy , Aziz al-Masri , to whom Nasser expressed his gratitude in a 1961 newspaper interview. He was especially influenced by Egyptian writer Tawfiq al-Hakim 's novel Return of the Spirit , in which al-Hakim wrote that the Egyptian people were only in need of a "man in whom all their feelings and desires will be represented, and who will be for them a symbol of their objective". Nasser later credited

4060-672: The USSR offered to fund the High Dam project. Relations with Britain and France which had deteriorated to a frosty cold war level by the summer, were framed anew when the United States withdrew much of its support in demonstration against Nasser's growing friendship with the Soviet Union. Having at last convinced the United States of its error in supporting the Free Officers Movement and the special threat posed by Nasser,

4205-661: The War of Attrition to regain the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula , began a process of depoliticizing the military, and issued a set of political liberalization reforms. After the conclusion of the 1970 Arab League summit , Nasser suffered a heart attack and died. His funeral in Cairo drew five to six million mourners, and prompted an outpouring of grief across the Arab world. Nasser remains an iconic figure in

4350-617: The al-Auja Demilitarized Zone on the Egyptian border on 21 September. Simultaneous with Israel's February raid, the Baghdad Pact was formed between some regional allies of the UK. Nasser considered the Baghdad Pact a threat to his efforts to eliminate British military influence in the Middle East, and a mechanism to undermine the Arab League and "perpetuate [Arab] subservience to Zionism and [Western] imperialism". Nasser felt that if he

4495-487: The "Arab notion of glory", since the name of Nasser's brother, Izz al-Arab, translates to "Glory of the Arabs". Nasser's family traveled frequently due to his father's work. In 1921, they moved to Asyut and, in 1923, to Khatatba , where Nasser's father ran a post office. Nasser attended a primary school for the children of railway employees until 1924, when he was sent to live with his paternal uncle in Cairo , and to attend

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4640-472: The 1948 war with Israel and lack of progress in fighting poverty, disease and illiteracy in Egypt. The monarchy of Egypt and Sudan was gone without "a voice" being "raised" in its favour. In the following two years, the Free Officers consolidated power. Popular expectations for immediate reforms led to the workers' riots in Kafr Dawar on 12 August 1952, which resulted in two death sentences. Following

4785-505: The 1967 War compelled Nasser to resign on 9 June, naming Vice-President Zakaria Mohieddin as his successor. However, he relented following massive popular demonstrations of support. Seven high-ranking officers were tried in the wake of the defeat, including Minister of War Shams Badran . Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces Field-Marshal Abdel-Hakim Amer was arrested and is reported to have committed suicide while in custody in August. At

4930-558: The Arab "peoples" or the "Arab region". In January 1955, the RCC appointed him as their president, pending national elections. Nasser made secret contacts with Israel in 1954–55, but determined that peace with Israel would be impossible, considering it an "expansionist state that viewed the Arabs with disdain". On 28 February 1955, Israeli troops attacked the Egyptian-held Gaza Strip with the stated aim of suppressing Palestinian fedayeen raids. Nasser did not feel that

5075-485: The Arab world, particularly for his strides towards social justice and Arab unity, his modernization policies, and his anti-imperialist efforts. His presidency also encouraged and coincided with an Egyptian cultural boom, and the launching of large industrial projects, including the Aswan Dam , and Helwan city. Nasser's detractors criticize his authoritarianism, his human rights violations , his antisemitism , and

5220-765: The British General John Bagot Glubb as commander of the Arab Legion in 1956. The dismissal of Glubb took place while the British Foreign Secretary was in Egypt, and the British believed that represented a direct challenge by Nasser to their authority in the region. Egypt had been seeking loans from the World Bank since late 1955 to finance the construction of the Aswan High Dam . A tentative agreement with

5365-633: The British and French felt free to intrigue for his overthrow. These moves culminated in the Tripartite Anglo-French-Israeli aggression on Egypt in October. In a final replay of old European power politics, the British and French negotiated a plan with Israel which would result in the return of the Suez to the British and French, the overthrow of the Nasser regime, and restoration of European, Christian and Jewish property. Although

5510-582: The British demands. Ultimately, the 22 year old King submitted, and appointed El-Nahas. Nasser saw the incident as a blatant violation of Egyptian sovereignty and wrote, "I am ashamed that our army has not reacted against this attack", and wished for "calamity" to overtake the British. Nasser was accepted into the General Staff College later that year. He began to form a group of young military officers with strong nationalist sentiments who supported some form of revolution. Nasser stayed in touch with

5655-754: The British government concerning the threat posed by Nasser, on 20 July 1956, the US and Britain withdrew their offers of funding, and the World Bank went back on the agreement. On 26 July, Nasser gave a historic speech announcing the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company, under his "Egyptianization" policy, and whose revenues would be used to finance the construction of the High Dam, which was completed in January 1968. The nationalisation escalated tension with Britain and France , which froze Egyptian assets and put their armies on alert. On 1 August,

5800-596: The British, and also warning the Jordanian regime that it could be overthrown if it agreed to join the pact. The Egyptian propaganda led to riots occurring in Jordan in December 1955 during a visit of British Field Marshal Templer, who was serving as the British Defense Chief of Staff. The nature of the message that Egyptian propaganda conveyed during the crisis over Jordanian accession to the Baghdad pact

5945-647: The Brotherhood's influence over his cadres' activities without severing ties with the organization. Nasser was sent as a member of the Egyptian delegation to Rhodes in February 1949 to negotiate a formal armistice with Israel, and reportedly considered the terms to be humiliating, particularly because the Israelis were able to easily occupy the Eilat region while negotiating with the Arabs in March. Nasser's return to Egypt coincided with Husni al-Za'im 's Syrian coup d'état . Its success and evident popular support among

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6090-480: The Cold War, recognition of communist China, and arms deal with the Eastern bloc alienated the United States. On 19 July 1956, the US and UK abruptly withdrew their offer to finance construction of the Aswan Dam, citing concerns that Egypt's economy would be overwhelmed by the project. Nasser was informed of the British–American withdrawal in a news statement while aboard a plane returning to Cairo from Belgrade , and took great offense. Although ideas for nationalizing

6235-472: The Egyptian Army was ready for a confrontation and did not retaliate militarily. His failure to respond to Israeli military action demonstrated the ineffectiveness of his armed forces and constituted a blow to his growing popularity. Nasser subsequently ordered the tightening of the blockade on Israeli shipping through the Straits of Tiran and restricted the use of airspace over the Gulf of Aqaba by Israeli aircraft in early September. The Israelis re-militarized

6380-413: The Egyptian air force destroyed on the ground leading to the Israeli occupation of the Sinai Peninsula and the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip . Jordan and Syria entered the war on Egypt's side, and Israel reacted and occupied the Jordanian territories of the West Bank and the Syrian Golan Heights . Egypt, Jordan and Syria accepted a UN Security Council ceasefire on 7 June to 10 June. Egypt's defeat in

6525-455: The Egyptian delegation negotiating a British withdrawal from the Suez Canal. When Naguib began showing signs of independence from Nasser by distancing himself from the RCC's land reform decrees and drawing closer to Egypt's established political forces, namely the Wafd and the Brotherhood, Nasser resolved to depose him. In June, Nasser took control of the interior ministry post from Naguib loyalist Sulayman Hafez , and pressured Naguib to conclude

6670-462: The Free Officers expected to become the "guardians of the people's interests" against the monarchy and the pasha class while leaving the day-to-day tasks of government to civilians. They asked former prime minister Ali Maher to accept reappointment to his previous position, and to form an all-civilian cabinet. The Free Officers then governed as the Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) with Naguib as chairman and Nasser as vice-chairman. Relations between

6815-439: The Free Officers to the forefront of Egyptian politics. By then, the organization had expanded to around ninety members. According to Khaled Mohieddin , "nobody knew all of them and where they belonged in the hierarchy except Nasser". Nasser felt that the Free Officers were not ready to move against the government and, for nearly two years, he did little beyond officer recruitment and underground news bulletins. On 11 October 1951,

6960-408: The Greek name for the city. Lesser-used names for this dialect are "Sub-Akhmimic" and "Assiutic". A large Byzantine Treasure was discovered near the city in the early twentieth century and is now dispersed amongst a number of museums in the West. The hoard is composed of some of the most elaborate jewellery to survive from late antiquity . Asyut was at the end of the 40 Day Road that connected

7105-411: The Liberation Rally, a loosely structured movement whose chief task was to organize pro-RCC rallies and lectures, with Nasser its secretary-general . Despite the dissolution order, Nasser was the only RCC member who still favored holding parliamentary elections, according to his fellow officer Abdel Latif Boghdadi . Although outvoted, he still advocated holding elections by 1956. In March 1953, Nasser led

7250-400: The Liberation Rally, which Nasser determined had failed in generating mass public participation. In the new movement, Nasser attempted to incorporate more citizens, approved by local-level party committees, in order to solidify popular backing for his government. The NU would select a nominee for the presidential election whose name would be provided for public approval. Nasser's nomination for

7395-405: The Middle East. When the American anger at the British and French intervention was felt at Whitehall , the British government fractured between those who saw the futility of maintaining the British Empire, those who saw the potential threat the Americans posed to the overall British economy should they end financial support of the British economy, and those British interests which still saw a need,

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7540-411: The Middle East.' Nasser emerged as one of the architects of the Non-Aligned Movement , which was founded in 1961 as a bloc of 'independent nations' detached from both NATO and the Warsaw Pact . Almost all African anti-colonialist freedom fighters came to him for guidance, moral support and funds. A major reason why conservative Arab regimes felt threatened by Nasser during his first years in power

7685-567: The Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Communist Party, and the aristocracy. Nasser was unanimously elected chairman of the organization. In the 1950 parliamentary elections, the Wafd Party of el-Nahhas gained a victory—mostly due to the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which boycotted the elections—and was perceived as a threat by the Free Officers as the Wafd had campaigned on demands similar to their own. Accusations of corruption against Wafd politicians began to surface, however, breeding an atmosphere of rumor and suspicion that consequently brought

7830-440: The Nahhasin elementary school. Nasser exchanged letters with his mother and visited her on holidays. He stopped receiving messages at the end of April 1926. Upon returning to Khatatba, he learned that his mother had died after giving birth to his third brother, Shawki, and that his family had kept the news from him. Nasser later stated that "losing her this way was a shock so deep that time failed to remedy". He adored his mother and

7975-400: The Officer's Club—normally a ceremonial office—with the king's backing. Nasser was determined to establish the independence of the army from the monarchy, and with Amer as the intercessor, resolved to field a nominee for the Free Officers. They selected Mohamed Naguib , a popular general who had offered his resignation to Farouk in 1942 over British high-handedness and was wounded three times in

8120-416: The Palestine War. Naguib won overwhelmingly and the Free Officers, through their connection with a leading Egyptian daily, al-Misri , publicized his victory while praising the nationalistic spirit of the army. On 25 January 1952, at a time of growing fedayeen attacks on British forces occupying the Suez Canal Zone, some 7,000 British soldiers attacked the main police station in the Canal city Ismailia . In

8265-420: The RCC and Maher grew tense, however, as the latter viewed many of Nasser's schemes—agrarian reform, abolition of the monarchy, reorganization of political parties—as too radical, culminating in Maher's resignation on 7 September. Naguib assumed the additional role of prime minister, and Nasser that of deputy prime minister. In September, the Agrarian Reform Law was put into effect. In Nasser's eyes, this law gave

8410-416: The RCC its own identity and transformed the coup into a revolution. Preceding the reform law, in August 1952, communist-led riots broke out at textile factories in Kafr el-Dawwar , leading to a clash with the army that left nine people dead. While most of the RCC insisted on executing the riot's two ringleaders, Nasser opposed this. Nonetheless, the sentences were carried out. The Muslim Brotherhood supported

8555-444: The RCC's dissolution. While visiting the striking officers at Military Headquarters (GHQ) to call for the mutiny's end, Nasser was initially intimidated into accepting their demands. However, on 27 February, Nasser's supporters in the army launched a raid on the GHQ, ending the mutiny. Later that day, hundreds of thousands of protesters, mainly belonging to the Brotherhood, called for Naguib's return and Nasser's imprisonment. In response,

8700-417: The RCC, and after Naguib's assumption of power, demanded four ministerial portfolios in the new cabinet. Nasser turned down their demands and instead hoped to co-opt the Brotherhood by giving two of its members, who were willing to serve officially as independents, minor ministerial posts. In January 1953, Nasser overcame opposition from Naguib and banned all political parties, creating a one-party system under

8845-419: The Soviet Union and the United States, managed to remain united in its opposition to the British and French, specifically in regard to the Suez. Despite continued calls from the RCC, in debates in the United Nations, and pressure from both the US and USSR, the British refused to transfer control of the Canal to the new regime. The RCC began funding and coordinating ever greater attacks on the British and French in

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8990-447: The Suez Canal Company were in the offing after the UK agreed to withdraw its military from Egypt in 1954 (the last British troops left on 13 June 1956), journalist Mohamed Hassanein Heikal asserts that Nasser made the final decision to nationalize the company that operated the waterway between 19 and 20 July. Nasser himself would later state that he decided on 23 July, after studying the issue and deliberating with some of his advisers from

9135-443: The Suez and Damietta. Finally, on 19 October, Nasser signed a treaty for the evacuation of British troops from Egypt, to be completed over the following 20 months. Two years later, on 18 June 1956, Nasser raised the Egyptian flag over the Canal Zone, announcing the complete evacuation of British troops. President Nasser announced a new Constitution on 16 January at a popular rally, setting up a presidential system of government in which

9280-432: The Syrian people encouraged Nasser's revolutionary pursuits. Soon after his return, he was summoned and interrogated by Prime Minister Ibrahim Abdel Hadi regarding suspicions that he was forming a secret group of dissenting officers. According to secondhand reports, Nasser convincingly denied the allegations. Abdel Hadi was also hesitant to take drastic measures against the army, especially in front of its chief of staff, who

9425-454: The Wafd government abrogated the unpopular Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 by which the United Kingdom had the right to maintain its military forces in the Suez Canal Zone. The popularity of this move, as well as that of government-sponsored guerrilla attacks against the British, put pressure on Nasser to act. According to Sadat, Nasser decided to wage "a large scale assassination campaign". In January 1952, he and Hassan Ibrahim attempted to kill

9570-407: The West opposed to the very raison d'être of European colonialism, the Suez Crisis, initiated by the Free Officers Movement and the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 marked the end of European Civilization Supremacy. According to the prominent historian Abd aI-’Azim Ramadan, Nasser decision to nationalize the Suez Canal was his alone, made without political or military consultation. The events leading up to

9715-426: The World Bank, the US and Britain indicated that US$ 70 million would be provided for the project. However, Nasser had recently (September 27, 1955) negotiated an agreement with the Soviet Union which provided technical and military aid to the regime, thereby angering the United States which had up until the point been supportive of Nasser and his anti-British and anti-French colonialism. Consequently, after pressure from

9860-401: The abolition of the monarchy. On 25 February 1954, Naguib announced his resignation after the RCC held an official meeting without his presence two days prior. On 26 February, Nasser accepted the resignation, put Naguib under house arrest, and the RCC proclaimed Nasser as both RCC chairman and prime minister. As Naguib intended, a mutiny immediately followed, demanding Naguib's reinstatement and

10005-458: The agreement. King Hussein remained in power, and sided with Egypt in future crises such as in the 1956 Suez Crisis or in the 1967 Arab-Israeli war. Egypt thus derived a direct reward from their pragmatic approach towards King Hussein's regime, and the example of the dispute over the Baghdad Pact may have convinced King Hussein that he needed to align with Egypt in future crisis situations. The power of Arab Nationalism also led King Hussein to dismiss

10150-402: The almost unanimous backing of Egypt's political forces, Nasser strongly objected to the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty because it stipulated the continued presence of British military bases in the country. Nonetheless, political unrest in Egypt declined significantly and Nasser resumed his studies at al-Nahda, where he received his leaving certificate later that year. Aburish asserts that Nasser

10295-428: The ancient city is located at 27°10′00″N 31°08′00″E  /  27.16667°N 31.13333°E  / 27.16667; 31.13333 . The city is home to one of the largest Coptic Catholic churches in the country. The name of the city is derived from early Egyptian Zawty ( Z3JW.TJ ) (late Egyptian, Səyáwt ) adopted into the Coptic as Syowt ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲧ [sɪˈjowt] , which means " Guardian " of

10440-609: The balance of power between Egypt and Israel was more or less equalized and Nasser's role as the Arab leader defying the West was enhanced. The arms deal led to increased unease in the United States, where Nasser was compared to Benito Mussolini and Adolf Hitler , causing it to strengthen its relations with Israel and become more wary of Egypt as a result. At the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in late April 1955, Nasser

10585-517: The border with Israel in Sinai . Egypt closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping although Israel repeatedly declared that closure of the Straits of Tiran would be an act of war. King Hussein of Jordan visited Cairo on 30 May, signing a Jordanian-Egyptian defense pact. On 5 June, Israeli army forces dealt a crushing blow to Egypt. Seventeen Egyptian airfields were attacked, and most of

10730-529: The bulk of the swelling middle class in Egypt under Nasser. Asyut Asyut ( Arabic : أسيوط Asyūṭ  pronounced [ʔɑsˈjuːtˤ] , from Coptic : ⲥⲓⲟⲟⲩⲧ, ⲥⲓⲱⲟⲩⲧ Siōwt [sɪˈjo(ː)wt] ) is the capital of the modern Asyut Governorate in Egypt . It was built close to the ancient city of the same name, which is situated nearby. The modern city is located at 27°11′00″N 31°10′00″E  /  27.18333°N 31.16667°E  / 27.18333; 31.16667 , while

10875-437: The cabinet. After the three-year transition period ended with Nasser's official assumption of power, his domestic and independent foreign policies increasingly collided with the regional interests of the UK and France. The latter condemned his strong support for Algerian independence , and the UK's Eden government was agitated by Nasser's campaign against the Baghdad Pact. In addition, Nasser's adherence to neutralism regarding

11020-467: The ceding of Faluja to Israel. According to veteran journalist Eric Margolis , the defenders of Faluja, "including young army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser, became national heroes" for enduring Israeli bombardment while isolated from their command. Still stationed after the war in the Faluja enclave, Nasser agreed to an Israeli request to identify 67 killed soldiers of the "religious platoon" . The expedition

11165-423: The city has harsh and chilly cold winter weather, and very hot but non-humid summers . During summer the temperature can exceed 42 °C (108 °F). Yet, in winter Asyut gets below 0 °C (32 °F) temperatures during the night and frost can easily form, while hail or snow are rare because of the low average of the city's precipitation and general low humidity . The highest record temperature

11310-479: The city to Darfur through the Selima and Kharga Oases . The history of the road, known by local herders as Darb al-Arba'in , goes back over 700 years. It was used as a pathway for great caravans of up to 12,000 camels at its peak in the 14th century. Today, the city of Asyut has almost 400,000 inhabitants. It is the Egyptian city with one of the highest Coptic Christian concentrations of approximately 50%. It

11455-612: The confiscation of their assets. Similar measures were enacted against British and French nationals in retaliation for the invasion. By 1957 the Jewish population of Egypt had fallen to 15,000. Egypt's nationalisation of the British-owned Suez Canal was a great victory for Nasser who was celebrated as both an Egyptian hero and an Arab one, capable of 'defeating the nation's enemies' and 'representing Arab dignity'." Chinese premier Zhou Enlai called Nasser 'the giant of

11600-676: The country and their desire to topple the monarchy. Sadat would later write that because of his "energy, clear-thinking, and balanced judgement", Nasser emerged as the group's natural leader. In 1941, Nasser was posted to Khartoum , Sudan, which was part of Egypt at the time. Nasser returned to Egypt in September 1942 after a brief stay in Sudan, then secured a position as an instructor in the Cairo Royal Military Academy in May 1943. In February 1942, in what became known as

11745-448: The dissolved RCC, namely Boghdadi and technical specialist Mahmoud Younis , beginning on 21 July. The rest of the RCC's former members were informed of the decision on 24 July, while the bulk of the cabinet was unaware of the nationalization scheme until hours before Nasser publicly announced it. According to Ramadan, Nasser's decision to nationalize the canal was a solitary decision, taken without consultation. On 26 July 1956, Nasser gave

11890-956: The dominance of the military over civil institutions that characterised his tenure, establishing a pattern of military and dictatorial rule in Egypt which has persisted, nearly uninterrupted, to the present day. Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was born in Bakos , Alexandria , Egypt on 15 January 1918, a year before the tumultuous events of the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 . Nasser's father was a postal worker born in Beni Mur in Upper Egypt , and raised in Alexandria, and his mother's family came from Mallawi , el-Minya . His parents had married in 1917. Nasser had two brothers, Izz al-Arab and al-Leithi. Nasser's biographers Robert Stephens and Said Aburish wrote that Nasser's family believed strongly in

12035-540: The early nineteenth century." The departure of foreign residents, primarily from European and Levantine communities, accelerated under Nasser's rule. These communities consisting of British, French, Greeks , Italians , Armenians , Maltese and Jews had been established in Egypt since the 19th century. This group of foreign nationals became known as the "Egyptianized", or the Mutamassirun . The rise of Egyptian nationalism under Gamal Abdel Nasser , following

12180-475: The embargo, the British pound which as a reserve currency was used in the purchase of oil had its liquidity threatened. While the British government debated this turn of events, the military campaign dithered and proved lacklustre in its execution, thereby buying crucial time for the Nasser regime to rally support from American liberals, the Soviet Union, and others in the United Nations. Finally, when in

12325-571: The ensuing battle, which lasted two hours, 50 Egyptian policeman were killed, sparking outrage across Egypt, and the Cairo Fire riots which left 76 people dead. Afterwards, Nasser published a simple six-point program in Rose al-Yūsuf to dismantle feudalism and British influence in Egypt. In May, Nasser received word that Farouk knew the names of the Free Officers and intended to arrest them; he immediately entrusted Free Officer Zakaria Mohieddin with

12470-401: The excavated chambers of the adjacent rocks mummies of wolves have been found, confirming the origin of its name, as well as a tradition preserved by Diodorus Siculus , to the effect that an Ethiopian army, invading Egypt, was repelled beyond the city of Elephantine by packs of wolves. Osiris was worshipped under the symbol of a wolf at Lycopolis. According to a myth, he had come "from

12615-509: The following year. Following a 1954 attempt on his life by a Muslim Brotherhood member, he cracked down on the organization, put President Mohamed Naguib under house arrest and assumed executive office. He was formally elected president in June 1956. Nasser's popularity in Egypt and the Arab world skyrocketed after his nationalization of the Suez Canal Company and his political victory in

12760-649: The group's members primarily through Amer, who continued to seek out interested officers within the Egyptian Armed Force's various branches and presented Nasser with a complete file on each of them. Nasser's first battlefield experience was in Palestine during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War . He initially volunteered to serve with the Arab Higher Committee (AHC) led by Mohammad Amin al-Husayni . Nasser met with and impressed al-Husayni, but

12905-521: The influence of the former aristocracy waned, as did that of the Western governments that had hitherto dominated Egyptian affairs. The national economy grew significantly through agrarian reform , major modernisation projects, such as the Helwan steel works, and the Aswan High Dam , and the nationalisation of key parts of the economy, notably the Suez Canal Company. At its economic peak, Nasser's Egypt

13050-461: The injury of her death deepened when his father remarried before the year's end. In 1928, Nasser went to Alexandria to live with his maternal grandfather and attend the city's Attarin elementary school. He left in 1929 for a private boarding school in Helwan , and later returned to Alexandria to enter the Ras el-Tin secondary school and to join his father, who was working for the city's postal service. It

13195-439: The largest political crackdowns in the modern history of Egypt, with the arrests of thousands of dissenters, mostly members of the Brotherhood, but also communists, and the dismissal of 140 officers loyal to Naguib. Eight Brotherhood leaders were sentenced to death, although the sentence of its chief ideologue, Sayyid Qutb , was commuted to a 15-year imprisonment. Naguib was removed from the presidency and put under house arrest, but

13340-425: The late 1940s to 35% by the early 1970s. "The combination of the land-reform programme and the creation of the public sector in Egypt resulted in around 75% of Egypt's gross domestic product (GDP) being transferred from the hands of the country's rich either to the state or to millions of small owners. The closest parallel to such a large-scale social programme had been in the early days of Mohamed Ali Pasha's rule in

13485-660: The later had suffered under the new regime, unlike the Europeans, most Jewish property survived the Egyptianization. Consequently, Israel, which had previously been used as an interlocuteur for both Soviet and American support for the RCC still had substantial elements operating in Egypt. Now the British and French decided to use this to their advantage once Israel saw the large threat Nasser posed to their continued existence. Under their plan, Israeli elements in Egypt with launch false flag operations which would be used as

13630-433: The major assets' confiscation programme, the dramatic growth in university education, the creation of a dominating public sector flattened the social curve. From academic year 1953-54 through 1965–66, overall public school enrollments more than doubled. Millions of previously poor Egyptians, through education and jobs in the public sector, joined the middle class. Doctors, engineers, teachers, lawyers, journalists, constituted

13775-493: The nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, as other events during Nasser's rule, showed Nasser's inclination to solitary decision making. He considers Nasser to be far from a rational, responsible leader. On 22 February 1958, Egypt united with Syria , creating the United Arab Republic (UAR). The 1956 Constitution was abrogated following the union and a provisional one decreed . The Egyptian National Assembly

13920-586: The northern approach of Upper Egypt . In Graeco-Roman Egypt , it was called Lycopolis or Lykopolis ( Greek : Λυκόπολις , " ἡ Λύκων πόλις "), ('wolf city') Lycon , or Lyco . Ancient Asyut was the capital of the Thirteenth Nome of Upper Egypt ( Lycopolites Nome ) around 3100 BC. It was located on the western bank of the Nile . The two most prominent gods of ancient Egyptian Asyut were Anubis and Wepwawet , both funerary deities. During

14065-655: The novel as his inspiration to launch the coup d'état that began the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 . In 1937, Nasser applied to the Royal Military Academy for army officer training, but his police record of anti-government protest initially blocked his entry. Disappointed, he enrolled in the law school at King Fuad University , but quit after one semester to reapply to the Military Academy. From his readings, Nasser, who frequently spoke of "dignity, glory, and freedom" in his youth, became enchanted with

14210-510: The pact is an example of his pragmatic diplomatic strategy. Nasser's pragmatism towards Jordan meant that he aimed to force the Jordan regime to decline to join the pact, but he did not himself attempt to overthrow the regime. This stance was rewarded with Jordanian support for Egypt during the Suez Crisis the following year in 1956. The dispute over Jordanian membership in the Baghdad Pact lasted from November to December 1955. Nasser's goal

14355-441: The party to prevent "sedition". Both Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez , the leading Arab singers of the era, performed songs praising Nasser's nationalism. Others produced plays denigrating his political opponents. According to his associates, Nasser orchestrated the campaign himself. Arab nationalist terms such "Arab homeland" and "Arab nation" frequently began appearing in his speeches in 1954–55, whereas prior he would refer to

14500-450: The post and the new constitution were put to public referendum on 23 June and each was approved by an overwhelming majority. A 350-member National Assembly was established, elections for which were held in July 1957. Nasser had ultimate approval over all the candidates. The constitution granted women's suffrage , prohibited discrimination by sex, and entailed special protection for women in

14645-632: The president has the power to appoint and dismiss ministers. An elections law was passed on 3 March granting women the right to vote for the first time in Egyptian history. Nasser was elected as the second president of the Republic on 23 June. In 1957, Nasser announced the formation of the National Union ( Al-Ittihad Al-Qawmi ), paving the way to July elections for the National Assembly, the first parliament since 1952. The original revolutionaries wanted an end to British occupation but did not have

14790-610: The pro-Western, pro-Soviet, and neutralist conference factions over the composition of the "Final Communique" addressing colonialism in Africa and Asia and the fostering of global peace amid the Cold War between the West and the Soviet Union . At Bandung, Nasser sought a proclamation for the avoidance of international defense alliances, support for the independence of Tunisia , Algeria , and Morocco from French rule , support for

14935-581: The protesters, but his requests were rebuffed by the heads of the security forces. On 29 March, Nasser announced the decrees' revocation in response to the "impulse of the street". Between April and June, hundreds of Naguib's supporters in the military were either arrested or dismissed, and Mohieddin was informally exiled to Switzerland to represent the RCC abroad. King Saud of Saudi Arabia attempted to mend relations between Nasser and Naguib, but to no avail. On 26 October 1954, Muslim Brotherhood member Mahmoud Abdel-Latif attempted to assassinate Nasser while he

15080-469: The region by escalating tension between them. The British later attempted to bring Jordan into the Baghdad Pact in late 1955 after Nasser agreed to purchase arms from Czechoslovakia in the Soviet bloc. The British were determined to bring Jordan into the Baghdad Pact and to apply pressure to try to force Jordan to join. Nasser had opposed the Baghdad Pact, and his successful effort to prevent Jordan from joining

15225-432: The relative strategic weakness which the British and French found themselves in the post-war period. For although the British and French still had substantial force projection capabilities and were the overwhelming military power in the region, both countries were heavily dependent on American support for their economies through the purchase of British and French debt, American direct investment, and most importantly, through

15370-512: The release of over 100 films yearly, compared to the production of just more than a dozen annually during Hosni Mubarak's presidency (1981–2011). On 22–26 July 1952, the Free Officers , a group of disaffected officers in the Egyptian army founded by Gamal Abdel Nasser and headed by General Muhammad Naguib , initiated the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 which overthrew King Farouk , whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in

15515-405: The rental rate for land; established cooperatives for farmers ; minimum wages, etc. During the presidency of Nasser, cultivated land in Egypt increased by almost a third (an achievement that had reportedly eluded Egyptians for more than a millennium). Egypt's economy grew at an average rate of 9% per annum for almost a decade. The share of manufacturing to Egypt's GDP rose from around 14% in

15660-548: The resilience it displayed. He started writing his book Philosophy of the Revolution during the siege. After the war, Nasser returned to his role as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy. He sent emissaries to forge an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood in October 1948, but soon concluded that the religious agenda of the Brotherhood was not compatible with his nationalism. From then on, Nasser prevented

15805-524: The revolution, Nasser had notified the American and British governments of his intentions, and both had agreed not to aid Farouk. Under pressure from the Americans, Nasser had agreed to exile the deposed king with an honorary ceremony. On 18 June 1953, the monarchy was abolished and the Republic of Egypt declared, with Naguib as its first president . According to Aburish, after assuming power, Nasser and

15950-465: The royalist general Hussein Sirri Amer by firing their submachine guns at his car as he drove through the streets of Cairo. Instead of killing the general, the attackers wounded an innocent female passerby. Nasser recalled that her wails "haunted" him and firmly dissuaded him from undertaking similar actions in the future. Sirri Amer was close to King Farouk, and was nominated for the presidency of

16095-498: The sake of your freedom and honor. Let them kill me; it does not concern me so long as I have instilled pride, honor, and freedom in you. If Gamal Abdel Nasser should die, each of you shall be Gamal Abdel Nasser ... Gamal Abdel Nasser is of you and from you and he is willing to sacrifice his life for the nation. The crowd roared in approval and Arab audiences were electrified. The assassination attempt backfired, quickly playing into Nasser's hands. Upon returning to Cairo, he ordered one of

16240-501: The seats in the ASU are to be filled by farmers and workers. Elected ASU units are set up in factories, firms, agricultural cooperatives, ministries and professional syndicates. In 1962, Egypt became involved in the civil war in Yemen , supporting the revolutionary regime of Abdullah al-Sallal that had ousted the country's former ruler, Imam Badr , and declared a republic. This proved to be

16385-526: The shades" as a wolf to aid Isis and Horus in their combat with Typhon . Other ancient Egyptian monuments discovered in Asyut include; the Asyut necropolis (west of the modern city), tombs which date to dynasties Nine , Ten and Twelve , and the Ramessid tombs of Siese and Amenhotep . In Graeco-Roman times, there was a distinct dialect of Coptic spoken in Asyut, known as " Lycopolitan ", after

16530-454: The stories of national liberators and heroic conquerors; a military career became his chief priority. Convinced that he needed a wasta , or an influential intermediary to promote his application above the others, Nasser managed to secure a meeting with Under-Secretary of War Ibrahim Khairy Pasha, the person responsible for the academy's selection board, and requested his help. Khairy Pasha agreed and sponsored Nasser's second application, which

16675-537: The subsequent Suez Crisis , known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression . Calls for pan-Arab unity under his leadership increased, culminating with the formation of the United Arab Republic with Syria from 1958 to 1961. In 1962, Nasser began a series of major socialist measures and modernization reforms in Egypt. Despite setbacks to his pan-Arabist cause, by 1963 Nasser's supporters gained power in several Arab countries, but he became embroiled in

16820-545: The support American oil companies provided for European consumption. Consequently, by the time when the Anglo-French armada began its reinforcement of British and French positions on the Canal, the American government had already come under massive pressure from the United Nations, the Soviet Union, and most importantly from American oil companies which saw the British and French as impediments to their commercial expansion in

16965-448: The task of planning the government takeover by army units loyal to the association. The Free Officers' intention was not to install themselves in government, but to re-establish a parliamentary democracy. Nasser did not believe that a low-ranking officer like himself (a lieutenant colonel ) would be accepted by the Egyptian people, and so selected General Naguib to be his "boss" and lead the coup in name. The revolution they had long sought

17110-660: The terminus of the Cairo -Asyut gas pipeline and the beginning of the proposed Asyut- Qena gas pipeline, the last two being part of the Nile Valley Gas Company Pipeline Project. Aysut is next to the Aysut Dam across the Nile river in the neighboring port of Al-Hamra . The dam was built in 1902 and a hydroelectric plant was added in the 1980s. On 10 August 1947, a Coptic Catholic eparchy ( Eastern Catholic Diocese) of Assiut (or Lycopolis)

17255-554: The terms of the Canal Treaty, the British and French troops attacked the Canal Zone on 31 October using a combined force of air strikes, naval bombardment, and parachute drops. Large amphibious and infantry units were steaming from Cyprus and Algeria toward the canal for the final occupation and push into Cairo. Whilst the operation had all the elements necessary for surprise and legerdemain , it lacked quickness of speed given

17400-441: The time of peace comes. The Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum hosted a public celebration for the officers' return despite reservations from the royal government, which had been pressured by the British to prevent the reception. The apparent difference in attitude between the government and the general public increased Nasser's determination to topple the monarchy. Nasser had also felt bitter that his brigade had not been relieved despite

17545-443: The time of the fall of the Egyptian monarchy in the early 1950s, less than half a million Egyptians were considered upper class and rich, four million middle class and 17 million lower class and poor. Fewer than half of all primary-school-age children attended school, and most of them being boys. Nearly 75% of the population over ten years of age, and over 90% of all females were illiterate. Nasser's policies changed this. Land reform,

17690-541: The widest difference of temperatures between days and nights of any city in Egypt, with almost 16 °C (29 °F) difference. The city of Asyut is sandwiched between two mountain ranges of about 600m height. There is also a lowering in elevation in mid Egypt , from the Mediterranean and the Red Sea . This gives the city and nearby towns and villages the similar properties of a continental climate , meaning that

17835-419: The workplace. Coinciding with the new constitution and Nasser's presidency, the RCC dissolved itself and its members resigned their military commissions as part of the transition to civilian rule. During the deliberations surrounding the establishment of a new government, Nasser began a process of sidelining his rivals among the original Free Officers, while elevating his closest allies to high-ranking positions in

17980-399: Was 51 °C (124 °F), recorded on July 23, 1994, while the lowest record temperature was −2 °C (28 °F), recorded on January 16, 2008. The Alexan Pasha Palace was constructed in 1910 as a riverside residence of a local aristocratic family. It remained in possession of the family until 1995 when it was sold to the state. There are plans to restore the mansion and turn it into

18125-415: Was able to secure primacy over his RCC colleagues and gained relatively unchallenged decision-making authority, particularly over foreign policy. In January 1956, the new Constitution of Egypt was drafted, entailing the establishment of a single-party system under the National Union (NU), a movement Nasser described as the "cadre through which we will realize our revolution". The NU was a reconfiguration of

18270-511: Was accepted in late 1937. Nasser focused on his military career from then on, and had little contact with his family. At the academy, he met Abdel Hakim Amer and Anwar Sadat , both of whom became important aides during his presidency. After graduating from the academy in July 1938, he was commissioned a second lieutenant in the infantry, and posted to Mankabad . It was here that Nasser and his closest comrades, including Sadat and Amer, first discussed their dissatisfaction at widespread corruption in

18415-571: Was arrested and detained for a night before his father bailed him out. Nasser joined the paramilitary wing of the group, known as the Green Shirts , for a brief period in 1934. His association with the group and active role in student demonstrations during this period "imbued him with a fierce Egyptian nationalism", according to the historian James Jankowski. When his father was transferred to Cairo in 1933, Nasser joined him and attended al-Nahda al-Masria school. He took up acting in school plays for

18560-440: Was based on Egyptian national interests – he wanted to prevent Jordanian membership in the Baghdad Pact, which was more important to him than the fate of the Jordanian regime. He was thus prepared to offer the Jordanian regime a way out in which it could survive if it did not join the pact. Nasser's strategy during the debate over the Baghdad Pact was to apply rhetorical pressure using Egyptian propaganda to launch broadcasts attacking

18705-433: Was capable of not only offering free education and healthcare to its own citizens but also to the citizens of other Arab and African countries, who were offered full scholarships and living allowances to undertake higher education in Egypt before returning to their home countries. However, the substantial economic growth that marked the early 1960s took a downturn later in the decade, particularly as Egypt's military quagmire in

18850-472: Was delivering a speech in Alexandria, broadcast to the Arab world by radio, to celebrate the British military withdrawal. The gunman was 25 feet (7.6 m) away from him and fired eight shots, but all missed Nasser. Panic broke out in the mass audience, but Nasser maintained his posture and raised his voice to appeal for calm. With great emotion he exclaimed the following: My countrymen, my blood spills for you and for Egypt. I will live for your sake and die for

18995-599: Was deputy commander of the Egyptian forces that secured the Faluja pocket (commanded by Said Taha Bey nicknamed the "Sudanese tiger" by the Israelis). On 12 July, he was lightly wounded in the fighting. By August, his brigade was surrounded by the Israeli Army . Appeals for help from Transjordan 's Arab Legion went unheeded, but the brigade refused to surrender. Negotiations between Israel and Egypt finally resulted in

19140-582: Was dissolved. On 2 April, Nasser issued a decree establishing the flag of the Republic as three horizontal bars of red, white and black with two stars. There was a crackdown on communists on 31 December for their allegedly lukewarm response to the Union with Syria. Following Syrian secession in 1962, a Preparatory Committee of the National Congress of Popular Forces was convened in Cairo to prepare for

19285-616: Was established on southern Egyptian territory split off from the Coptic Catholic Eparchy of Luqsor , each suffragan of Coptic Catholic Patriarch of Alexandria . Its episcopal see is the cathedral of the Mother of Divine Love, in Assyut. (all Coptic Rite ) Köppen-Geiger climate classification system classifies its climate as hot desert (BWh). It is the driest city of Egypt . Luxor , Minya , Qena and Asyut have

19430-487: Was in Alexandria that Nasser became involved in political activism. After witnessing clashes between protesters and police in Manshia Square, he joined the demonstration without being aware of its purpose. The protest, organized by the ultranationalist Young Egypt Society , called for the end of colonialism in Egypt in the wake of the 1923 Egyptian constitution 's annulment by Prime Minister Isma'il Sidqi . Nasser

19575-535: Was in opposition to the continuation of the British and French Empires, the British government's position on its control of the Suez Canal collapsed. Henceforth it was not military operations but the liquidation of what remained of British and French assets and prestige which allowed the Anglo-French armies to remain until finally, on 22 December they were removed. As a result, all British and French banks and companies, 15,000 establishments in all, were nationalized,

19720-434: Was launched on 22 July and was declared a success the next day. The Free Officers seized control of all government buildings, radio stations, and police stations, as well as army headquarters in Cairo. While many of the rebel officers were leading their units, Nasser donned civilian clothing to avoid detection by royalists and moved around Cairo monitoring the situation. In a move to stave off foreign intervention two days before

19865-407: Was led by Rabbi Shlomo Goren and Nasser personally accompanied him, ordering the Egyptian soldiers to stand at attention. They spoke briefly, and according to Goren, after learning what the square phylacteries found with the soldiers were, Nasser told him that he "now understands their courageous stand". During an interview on Israeli TV in 1971, Rabbi Goren claimed the two agreed to meet again when

20010-515: Was never tried or sentenced, and no one in the army rose to defend him. With his rivals neutralized, Nasser became the undisputed leader of Egypt. Nasser's street following was still too small to sustain his plans for reform and to secure him in office. To promote himself and the Liberation Rally, he gave speeches in a cross-country tour, and imposed controls over the country's press by decreeing that all publications had to be approved by

20155-474: Was not distressed by his frequent relocations, which broadened his horizons and showed him Egyptian society's class divisions . His own social status was well below the wealthy Egyptian elite, and his discontent with those born into wealth and power grew throughout his lifetime. Nasser spent most of his spare time reading, particularly in 1933, when he lived near the National Library of Egypt . He read

20300-489: Was present during the interrogation, and subsequently released Nasser. The interrogation pushed Nasser to speed up his group's activities. After 1949, the group adopted the name " Association of Free Officers " and advocated "little else but freedom and the restoration of their country's dignity". Nasser organized the Free Officers' founding committee, which eventually comprised fourteen men from different social and political backgrounds, including representation from Young Egypt,

20445-528: Was technically in breach of the international agreement he had signed with the UK on 19 October 1954, although he ensured that all existing stockholders would be paid off. History of Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser The era witnessed a rapid increase in living standards unparalleled in Egypt's millennia of history, and is regarded as a time when ordinary Egyptian citizens enjoyed unprecedented access to housing, education, employment, healthcare, and nourishment, as well as other forms of social welfare , while

20590-425: Was that his popularity had been demonstrated – even before the Suez crisis – when he became a leading critic of the 1955 Baghdad Pact . The Baghdad Pact was initially an alliance between Iraq and Turkey, which Britain supported with the goal of strengthening its power within the Middle East. Nasser considered the Baghdad Pact to be part of a British effort to split the Arab countries into differing groups, and to divide

20735-529: Was to maintain Egypt's regional leadership position he needed to acquire modern weaponry to arm his military. When it became apparent to him that Western countries would not supply Egypt under acceptable financial and military terms, Nasser turned to the Eastern Bloc and concluded a US$ 320,000,000 armaments agreement with Czechoslovakia on 27 September. Through the Czechoslovakian arms deal ,

20880-458: Was treated as the leading representative of the Arab countries and was one of the most popular figures at the summit. He had paid earlier visits to Pakistan (9 April), India (14 April), Burma , and Afghanistan on the way to Bandung, and previously cemented a treaty of friendship with India in Cairo on 6 April, strengthening Egyptian–Indian relations on the international policy and economic development fronts. Nasser mediated discussions between

21025-507: Was ultimately refused entry to the AHC's forces by the Egyptian government for reasons that were unclear. In May 1948, following the British withdrawal, King Farouk sent the Egyptian army into Israel, with Nasser serving as a staff officer of the 6th Infantry Battalion. During the war, he wrote of the Egyptian army's unpreparedness, saying "our soldiers were dashed against fortifications". Nasser

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