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Gamal Abdel Nasser

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Gamal Abdel Nasser
File:NASSER3.jpg
Second President of Egypt
In office
23 June 1956 – September 28 1970
Preceded byMuhammad Naguib
Succeeded byAnwar Sadat
Personal details
BornJanuary 15, 1918
Alexandria
DiedSeptember 28, 1970
Cairo
NationalityEgyptian
Political partyMilitary/Arab Socialist Union
SpouseTahia Kazem
"Nasser" redirects here. For the former CEO Jacques "The Knife" Nasser, see Jacques Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر - Jamāl ‘Abd an-Nāsir; also transliterated as Jamal Abd al-Naser, Jamal Abd An-Nasser and other variants; January 15 1918 – September 28 1970) was the President of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. He is well-known for his Arab nationalist and anti-colonial foreign policy. The pan-Arabist ideology named after him, Nasserism, won some following in the Arab world in the 1950s and 1960s. Nasser is still seen throughout the Arab World as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.

Early life

On January 15, 1918, Gamal Abdel Nasser was born in the Egyptian city of Alexandria, the son of a postal worker.[1] He first became interested in politics at the age of eleven when he began attending the Ras el Tin secondary school in Alexandria. He attended his first political demonstration while still a “schoolboy”. At that protest, Nasser “was hit in the face by a police baton”. He was then arrested and placed in jail.[2]

Nasser’s political involvement lasted throughout his school career, and became such a dominant part of his life that during his last year of secondary school, Nasser “spent only forty-five days actually in school”.[3] During that same period, 1935-1936, Nasser was elected chairman of a committee of Cairo secondary school students interested in Egyptian political reform.[4] Then, in March 1937, Nasser was admitted to the Egyptian Military Academy and, temporarily, abandoned his political activities in favor of studying to become an army officer.

File:Nasser-Time Mag.jpg
Nasser on the front cover of Time Magazine in 1958. The background is the flag used by the monarchy he deposed.

World War II

In 1939, shortly after graduating and being commissioned in the army, Nasser and a friend volunteered to serve in Sudan where they arrived shortly before the outbreak of World War II.[5] During the war, Nasser and Anwar Sadat, another friend and political ally, established contact with agents of the Axis powers, particularly several Italian ones and planned a coup to coincide with an Italian offensive that would expel the British forces from Egypt; however, the plan was never executed.[6] During the war, Nasser also began forming a group of other young military officers with strong Egyptian nationalist feelings who supported some form of revolution.[7]

At the end of WWII, Nasser had no combat experience, having never been stationed on an actual battlefield; he would gain battle experience during the first Arab-Israeli war, in 1948, in the Falluja Pocket and elsewhere. After WWII, he secured a post as an instructor at the Military Academy in Cairo.[8] For the next several years, Nasser worked to organize his group of other reform minded officers and recruit new members. After 1949, this group adopted the name “Free Officers”,[9] and “talked of ... freedom and the restoration of their country’s dignity”.[10]

Revolution

By 1952, "Egypt was ripe for revolution."[11] Nasser and the Free Officers seized on this situation to launch a coup on July 23, 1952. That night, the Free Officers seized control of all government buildings, radio stations, police stations, and the army headquarters in Cairo. The coup installed General Muhammad Naguib, a hero from the 1948 Arab-Israeli War, as President. In an important move, the newly installed government immediately assured Britain that it would respect British citizens and property in Egypt, greatly diminishing the possibility of intervention against the coup.[12] Nasser and his fellow revolutionaries also bowed to American pressure by allowing the deposed King Farouk and his family to “leave Egypt unharmed and ‘with honour’”.[13]

After assuming power, Nasser and the Free Officers were not interested in undertaking the day to day administration of the Egyptian government. Thus, the Free Officers passed power to Ali Maher, a long-time political insider, whom they appointed as Prime Minister. The Free Officers then formed the Revolutionary Command Council, which constituted the real power in Egypt, with Neguib as chairman and Nasser as vice-chairman.[14] However, the Revolutionary Council actually had strong ideological notions, and Maher was forced to resign on September 7, 1952 because he refused to support agrarian reform laws proposed by the Council. At that time, Naguib assumed full leadership as the new Prime Minister.[15]

Conflict with Naguib

In June 1953, with land reform fully underway, Naguib announced the official abolition of the Egyptian monarchy and proclaimed himself President of the Republic of Egypt. After the establishment of the republic, Naguib and Nasser began to come into conflict with each other. These troubles culminated in Naguib’s resignation on February 23, 1954 from his posts as both President and Prime Minister.[16] The Revolutionary Command Council then “joyfully...proclaimed Nasser as Prime Minister”;[17] however, they selected no President at that time. Next, the Revolutionary Command Council placed Naguib under house arrest, hoping to prevent any chance that he would return to power.[18]

File:Naser naguib.jpg
Nasser with Naguib

The Revolutionary Command Council had overstepped its popular support in dealing with Naguib, and large numbers of citizens joined protests demanding that he be reinstated.[19] As a result of these demonstrations, a sizable group within the Revolutionary Command Council demanded that Nasser allow Neguib to return to the Presidency and then hold free elections to select a new President and Prime Minister. Nasser was forced to agree and Naguib reassumed the Presidency. Several days later, Nasser was forced to resign as Prime Minister in favor of Naguib, effectively destroying all progress that Nasser had made towards leadership.[20]

Although it gave him no permanent position, Nasser did use his brief time as Prime Minister to “purge... pro-Naguib elements in the army”,[21] and over the next eight months he gradually forced Naguib from power. Finally, in October 1954, Nasser formally removed Naguib from power and established himself as the effective leader of Egypt. Nasser remained in power over Egypt for the next fifteen years with no major domestic challenges to his power.[22]

Nasser's place in the Egyptian national consciousness was secured following the failed assassination attempt of 26th October 1954 and his own defiant response in the immediate aftermath. During a speech in Manshia Square, Alexandria, a volley of shots rang out. Unharmed, Nasser was heard shouting his defiance over the screams of the crowd. This event provided the final pretext for the removal of Naguib on the grounds of his supposed collaboration with the Muslim Brotherhood who were accused of the failed attempt. In the immediate aftermath numerous members of the Brotherhood were rounded up, Mahmoud Abdul Latif was found guilty of the attempt and the Brotherhood was, to all intents and purposes, crushed. There have subsequently been claims that the whole event was stage managed by Nasser and his supporters; however, to date there has been no hard evidence to support this claim.

Suez Canal

Shortly before his full assumption of power, Nasser signed an agreement with Britain that provided for the withdrawal of all British uniformed military personnel from the Suez Canal Zone, although a small civilian force was allowed to temporarily remain. This agreement finally gave Egypt true full independence and ended tensions between Britain and Egypt.[23] Shortly after the treaty with the British, Nasser won forty million dollars in combined financial aid for economic development from the British and Americans.[24]

The next year, 1955, the United States promised fifty-six million dollars, along with two-hundred million dollars through the World Bank, to aid in financing the construction of the Aswan High Dam[25] [1], which Nasser and his allies had begun planning shortly after the revolution. The planned dam would create the largest man-made lake in the world, generate electric power for much of Egypt, provide water for irrigation, and control flooding along the Nile River.[26] In September 1955 Nasser shocked the West by signing an arms deal with the Eastern bloc country Czechoslovakia. Consequently, in July 1956, the Western Powers retracted their financial offers, forcing Nasser to search for alternate methods to finance the dam.[27] On July 26, as part of a plan to raise money for the dam, and as a powerful reminder to the west that Egypt would do as it pleased, Nasser announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal.[28]

File:Tito-brionska-izjava.jpg
Nasser, Josip Broz Tito, and Nehru in 1956 (l-r).

Nasser realized that the nationalization of the canal would provoke a strong reaction from the West, especially Britain and France that had major shareholdings of the Suez Canal. However, Nasser believed that Britain would not be able to intervene militarily for at least two months after the announcement, and dismissed Israeli action as “impossible”.[29] In early October, the United Nations Security Council met on the matter of the Suez Canal and adopted a resolution recognizing Egypt’s right to control the canal as long as it continued to allow passage through it for foreign ships.[30] After this agreement, “Nasser estimated that the danger of invasion had dropped to 10 per cent”.[31]

France approached Israel and Britain secretly with a plan to gain control over the Suez canal. The plan was that Israel would finally counter attack the daily attacks on her from the Egyptian controlled Gaza strip. The Israelis were to seize the Sinai Peninsula and when they reached the Suez Canal British and French forces would enter as a buffer zone between the two countries and thus retake control over the Suez Canal. On October 29, Israeli forces moved into the Sinai Peninsula, and on October 31, a joint force from Britain and France entered the Canal Zone. President Eisenhower, however, was enraged by this secret plan he was not aware of, and the American government urged the three nations to withdraw their forces. On November 5, 1956, the Soviet Union issued an ultimatum demanding the withdrawal of all-foreign forces from Egypt. Britain, France, and Israel complied, after Britain was forced "into a corner" by the United States threat of destabilizing the British economy and gradually removed their forces, ending what became known as the Suez Crisis.[32] Although it was mainly American pressure that made the foreign forces leave Egypt Nasser was perceived as the hero and winner, this heightened his status as the leader of the Arab world. Nasser was completely indifferent to the fate of Hungarians crushed by the colonial capacity of the USSR in Hungary at the time of 1956 Hungarian Revolution on November 3.

Relationship with the Soviet Union

Nasser and Khrushchev

The Suez Crisis also drove Egypt into a closer relationship with the Soviet Union.[33] As a part of this new relationship, the Soviets agreed to provide approximately one-third of the cost of the Aswan High Dam and provided four hundred technicians to aid in the construction.[34] Construction of the dam began on January 1, 1960[35] and was completed in 1970. Its reservoir was named Lake Nasser, honoring Nasser. As it was hoped, the dam was able to produce substantial electric power, 2.1 gigawatts, and is still standing today.[36]

The Aswan Dam was not the only result of the Egyptian relationship with the USSR. As a result of Soviet influence and domestic factors, Nasser gradually began to move Egypt toward a socialist economic system, at least somewhat shaped by Marxism-Leninism. By 1962, this had led to a minimum 51% government ownership of virtually all Egyptian business.[37] During his official visit to Egypt on May 9-26, 1964, Nikita Khrushchev awarded Nasser the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the Soviet Golden Star.[38]

Most historians agree that Egypt under Nasser never truly reached socialism, and under Nasser’s successor, Anwar Sadat, the economy moved back to a more firmly capitalist system.[39]

Arab Leader

With his rhetoric and the Suez success, Nasser developed a following throughout the Arab world, inspiring "Nasserist" political parties dedicated to Arab unity. Many saw Nasser as the leader of the Arab world, representing a new, defiant era in Arabic politics. Nasser's policies became associated with Pan-Arabism, which promoted aggressive action by Arab states to confront the "imperialist" West, and urged that the resources of the Arab states should be used for the benefit of the Arab people and not the West. In a 1967 speech, Nasser declared, "We can achieve much by Arab action, which is a main part of our battle. We must develop and build our countries to face the challenge of our enemies."

In 1958, Syrian military and civilian leaders requested a merger of Syria and Egypt. Somewhat surprised by the sudden request and unsure as to whether the time was ripe, Nasser nevertheless agreed and the United Arab Republic came into being. Many saw it as the first step towards the establishment of a pan-Arab state. Attempts were also made to include Yemen. However, the UAR was not a success; In Syria, Egyptian bureaucrats and officers were seen as acting dictatorially, and the rapidly expanded secret police harshly repressed opposition groups including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Syrian Communist Party. Meanwhile, the Syrian bourgeoisie did not gain the access to Egyptian markets that it had hoped for. Discontent among the Syrian bourgeoisie and officer corps led to secessionists taking control in Damascus, and the UAR was dissolved in 1961, although Egypt continued to use the name until 1971. Egyptian intervention in Yemen involved the UAR in a bloody civil war in that country.

During the 17-day official visit of Egypt by Nikita Khrushchev that began on May 9, 1964, Nasser was awarded (May 13) the title of the Hero of the Soviet Union, the Order of Lenin and the Soviet Golden Star (number 11224) [2].

Six Day War

The opposition to Nasser regime inside Egypt was high during the period from 1962-1967. The economic decline under Nasser as well as the suppression of the opposition increases his unpopularity between the educated class and the Al-Azhar University religious scholars. Nasser turned the country to a police state. Many of the opposition was either arrested or assassinated. It is not known exactly how many people were killed by the state security apparatus during Nasser 16 years in power. Thousands of Egyptians were forced to flee the country to escape his regime. Two of the Al-Azhar Grand Imams were forced to resign because of their opposition to the regime. In 1961, Nasser issued a new Al-Azhar Law, this law limit the power of the Al-Azhar imams and gave the government the power to appoint the grand imam instead of electing him by the Al-Azhar scholars. . After USSR informed Nasser of Israel plans to attack Syria which were doubted by most of the Egyptian army generals. Nasser sought to seize this situation to increase his declined popularity. He sought the remilitarization of the Sinai peninsula and demanded that UNEF evacuate the Sinai, a request with which UN Secretary-General U Thant complied. Nasser then began to re-militarize the Sinai. On May 23, he closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, blockading the Israeli port of Eilat, at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, Israel's only access to the Indian Ocean. The closure was considered by Israel to be a casus belli. Israel gained asccess to Straits of Tiran after 1956 war. Based on most of the historians Nasser didn’t intend to go to war because of the opposition of USSR and the fact that most of the Egyptian army was in Yemen fighting against the Saudi packed insurgents. When Israel started it’s offensive in the Six Day War most of the Egyptians army leader were at their homes. The first wave of attacks by the Israeli air force destroyed most of the Egyptian air forces on the ground. A withdraw order was issued by the defense minister Abdel Hakim Amer which was a disaster to the Egyptian troops. Most of the Egyptians losses were during this withdraw. The Israeli air force attacked the withdrawn troops and destroyed most of them. Abdel Hakim Amer tried to overthrow Nasser in a coup days after the war ended but he fails and he was force to commit suicide by taking poison.

Resignation and aftermath

The humiliating defeat in the Six-Day War was so devastating that it compelled for a domestic political action. On the evening of June 9, 1967 Nasser's resignation statement was broadcast live on Egyptian television and radio, leaving office to his then vice president Zakaria Mohiedin.

"I have taken a decision with which I need your help. I have decided to withdraw totally and for good from any official post or political role, and to return to the ranks of the masses, performing my duty in their midst, like any other citizen. This is a time for action, not grief... My whole heart is with you, and let your hearts be with me. May God be with us – hope, light and guidance in our hearts."

Nasser's surprising address and resignation had made the people realize just how devastating the defeat was, and how their national dignity had been shattered. The Egyptian media throughout the war had been covering up the army's failure in battle by issuing falsified reports about Arab victories, and hence, the Arab population was shaken by the extent of their defeat.

No sooner was the statement broadcast, however, than millions were pouring into the streets in mass demonstrations not only in Egypt but in streets across the Arab World. Their rejection of Abdel-Nasser's speech was expressed in a battle cry: "We shall fight". As a consequence[citation needed], Nasser led Egypt through the War of Attrition in 1969-1970. In 1969, after a group of reformers and critics of the regime’s authoritarianism won an election for the board of the Egyptian Judges Club, the direct challenge posed by the vocal judicial leadership proved intolerable to Nasser regime. Nasser responded with a series of measures subsequently referred to as the “massacre of the judiciary,” including the dismissal of over a hundred sitting judges [5].

Later life

Nasser died of a heart attack on September 28, 1970 at the conclusion of Cairo meeting of leaders of Arab countries regarding Israel[40] and the Black September in Jordan. He suffered from hemochromatosis, or Bronze diabetes, a hereditary disease related to excessive iron overload in the body.

Because of his ability to motivate nationalistic passions, as a testament to his influence, "men, women, and children wept and wailed in the streets"[41] after hearing of his death. His funeral on October 1 was one of the largest in history, attended by an estimated five million people. The six-mile procession to his burial site began at the Revolutionary Command Council with MIG-21 jet fighters flying overhead. Emotions, which included telecasters crying on the air, boiled over in the 80-degree heat as thousands swarmed the soldiers who were carrying the coffin and began what was described as "the people's procession". Sadat, who had been interim President following Nasser's death, was officially selected to succeed him on October 5.

File:Nasserf.jpg
Nasser Funeral

Legacy

Nasserism

Main article: Nasserism

Nasser's legacy is much debated even today in the Arab World. For many people, he was a leader who reformed his country and re-established Arab pride both inside and outside it. Thus, many argue that Nasser freed Egypt from European domination and reformed its economy through his agrarian reform, projects such as the Aswan High Dam, and his moves towards greater government economic involvement. But others see his policy as one of forceful militarism that led Egypt to grave defeats and losses rather than peace and prosperity. In addition, Nasser's suppression of the political opposition and the massive expansion of the police and security apparatuses left a legacy of political repression exploited by his successors until the present. Nasser's role in inciting the Six Day War, which led to tremendous losses for the Arab states, tarnished his legacy and reduced his power in the Middle East. In the last years of his rule, Nasser came to rely increasingly on aid from the Soviet Union.

On the other hand, Nasser's role in modernising Egypt's education system - making education freely available to the poorer masses, and his avid support of the arts, such as the theater, the film and music industries, as well as literature, is seen as having a positive impact on Egypt and the Arab world as a whole.

Aswan Dam

One of the most controversial of Nasser's achievements is the creation of the Aswan Dam and the eponymous lake in southern Egypt. Built to provide electricity for heavy industry and reduce the risk of flooding along the Nile River, the dam submerged most of Nubia's archeological remains (except the ones saved by UNESCO). It also created major ecological problems. The lake's huge surface lets a significant part of the Nile's water evaporate in vain, while the dam prevents sediment from enriching the delta soil. According to some agronomists, the Nile valley's agricultural productivity subsequently decreased. Still, the dam helped provide electric power to Egypt's then growing economy, and was essential in modernizing rural Egypt through the introduction of electricity. The dam also spared Egypt from many floods that plagued the countries through which the Nile flowed.

Family

Nasser was married to Tahia Kazem, who is the daughter of a humble clerk of Iranian origin. They had five children (three sons and two daughters): Khalid, Abdel Hakeem, Abdel Hameed, Hoda and Mona.

His elder daughter; Hoda Abd El Nasser, became a researcher in politics and a professor of Political Science in Cairo University. With her help, various rare documents were gathered, documented and displayed at Biblotheca Alexandrina as well as on the internet. [3]

References

  • [1] Abdel-Malekh, Anouar. Egypt: Military Society. New York: Random House, 1968.
  • [2] “Aswan High Dam”. Encyclopaedia of the Orient. 1996-2006. 25 March 2005 <http://lexicorient.com/e.o/aswandam.htm>
  • [3] Copeland, Miles. The Game of Nations. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1969.
  • [4] Heikal, Mohamed. The Cairo Documents: The Inside Story of Nasser and His Relationship with World Leaders, Rebels, and Statesmen. New York: Doubleday, 1973.
  • [5] Egypt’s Judges Step Forward <http://www.carnegieendowment.org/files/PO17.borwn.FINAL.pdf>
  • [6] Nutting, Anthony. Nasser. New York: E.P. Dutton, 1972.
  • [7] Stephens, Robert Henry. Nasser; A Political Biography. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.

Notes

  1. ^ (Nutting, p. 3)
  2. ^ (Stephens, p. 29-31)
  3. ^ (Stephens 32)
  4. ^ (31-4)
  5. ^ (Nutting 16)
  6. ^ (Stephens 50-4)
  7. ^ (Nutting 20)
  8. ^ (Stephens 63)
  9. ^ (67)
  10. ^ (Heikal 17)
  11. ^ (Heikal 18)
  12. ^ (Nutting 36-7)
  13. ^ (Stephens 108)
  14. ^ (Nutting 38-9)
  15. ^ (Stephens 114)
  16. ^ (Stephens 123-4)
  17. ^ (Nutting 60)
  18. ^ (60-1)
  19. ^ (Stephens 125)
  20. ^ (Nutting 61-3)
  21. ^ (Stephens 129)
  22. ^ (128-9)
  23. ^ (Nutting 69-71)
  24. ^ (Stephens 143)
  25. ^ (Nutting 118)
  26. ^ (Stephens 170)
  27. ^ (Nutting 140-1)
  28. ^ (Malek 107)
  29. ^ (Heikal 91)
  30. ^ (Heikal 103-4)
  31. ^ (105)
  32. ^ (Malek 107)
  33. ^ (Copeland 214)
  34. ^ (“Aswan High Dam”)
  35. ^ (Stephens 299)
  36. ^ (“Aswan High Dam”)
  37. ^ (Malek 363-5)
  38. ^ Template:Ru icon Heroes of the Soviet Union
  39. ^ (367-71)
  40. ^ (Nutting 475)
  41. ^ (Nutting 476)

Writings

President Nasser authored several books during his life.

Wikisource has original works by or about:
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Preceded by President of Egypt
1956–1970 		Succeeded by

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