Gamal Abdel Nasser جمال عبد الناصر
2nd President of Egypt 1st President of the United Arab Republic (UAR)
In office 23 June 1956 – 28 September 1970
Prime Minister	Himself Ali Sabri Zakaria Mohieddin Muhammad Sedki Sulayman Himself
Vice President	Anwar Sadat (1969–1970) Ali Sabri (1965–1968) Zakaria Mohieddine (1961–1967) Hussein el-Shafei (1961–1965) Kamal el-Din Hussein (1961–1964) Abdel Hakim Amer (1958–1965) Abdel Latif Boghdadi (1958–1962) Akram al-Hawrani (1958–1960)
Preceded by	Muhammad Naguib
Succeeded by	Anwar Sadat
2nd Secretary General of Non-Aligned Movement
In office 5 October 1964 – 8 September 1970
Preceded by	Josip Broz Tito
Succeeded by	Kenneth Kaunda
2nd Chairman of the Organization of African Unity
In office 17 July 1964 – 21 October 1965
Preceded by	Haile Selassie
Succeeded by	Kwame Nkrumah
32nd Prime Minister of Egypt
In office 19 June 1967 – 28 September 1970
President	Himself
Preceded by	Muhammad Sedki Sulayman
Succeeded by	Mahmoud Fawzi
In office 18 April 1954 – 29 September 1962
President	Muhammad Naguib Himself
Preceded by	Muhammad Naguib
Succeeded by	Ali Sabri
In office 25 February 1954 – 8 March 1954
President	Muhammad Naguib
Preceded by	Muhammad Naguib
Succeeded by	Muhammad Naguib
Personal details
Born	Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (1918-01-15)15 January 1918 Alexandria, Sultanate of Egypt
Died	28 September 1970(1970-09-28) (aged 52) Cairo, Egypt
Nationality	Egyptian
Political party	Arab Socialist Union
Spouse(s)	Tahia Kazem
Children	Hoda Abdel Nasser Mona Abdel Nasser Khalid Abdel Nasser (deceased) Abdel Hamid Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Abdel Nasser
Occupation	Military instructor
Religion	Sunni Islam
Signature
Military service
Allegiance	Egypt
Service/branch	Egyptian Army
Years of service	1938–1952
Rank	Colonel
Battles/wars	1948 Arab-Israeli War

Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (Arabic: جمال عبد الناصر حسين‎, IPA: [ɡæˈmæːl ʕæbdenˈnɑːsˤeɾ ħeˈseːn]; 15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of modernization, and socialist reform in Egypt together with a profound advancement of pan-Arab nationalism, including a short-lived union with Syria.

Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in both modern Arab history and politics in the 20th century. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal Company and came to play a central role in anti-imperialist efforts in the Arab World and Africa. The imposed ending to the Suez Crisis made him a hero throughout the Arab world. He was also instrumental in the establishment of the international Non-Aligned Movement. He is well known for his nationalist policies and version of pan-Arabism, also referred to as Nasserism, which won a great following in the Arab World during the 1950s and 1960s. Although his status as "leader of the Arabs" was badly damaged by the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War, as well as Egypt's failure to win the subsequent War of Attrition against Israel, many in the general Arab population still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.

Personal life[link]

Ancestry[link]

Gamal's father, Abdel Nasser Hussein, was born on 11 July 1888 in Beni Mur, a village near the city of Asyut in southern Egypt, to Hussein Khalil Sultan.^[1] Abdel Nasser Hussein had six brothers and one sister.^[2] Hussein Sultan's in-laws emigrated to Alexandria and in March 1904 Abdel Nasser was sent with them to attend al-Najah al-Ahlya elementary school in Alexandria.^[1] At the time, it was only required to have a Primary Education Certificate to work in the civil service. Abdel Nasser received his certificate in 1909 and joined the postal service soon after.^[3] In 1917 he married Fahima, the daughter of Mohammad Hamad, a coal merchant and contractor originally from Mallawi, Minya.^[2]

According to biographer Robert Stephens, the inhabitants of Beni Mur belonged to an Arab tribe that hailed from the Hejaz—the western part of the Arabian Peninsula. Stephens said Nasser's family had tribal inclinations and a sense of personal loyalty, differing from that of most Egyptians. Gamal Abdel Nasser's daughter, Hoda, said she was not informed of her family's lineage, but suspects the claim of its Arabian descent to be accurate. In addition, Gamal's biographers wrote that his family believed strongly in the "Arab notion of glory,"^[4] citing the naming of Gamal's brother, Izz al-Arab ("Glory of the Arabs"); the name is a rare occurrence in Egypt, as well as other parts of the Arab world.^[5]

Childhood and education[link]

Gamal Abdel Nasser was born on 15 January 1918 in Bakos, Alexandria, Egypt. He was the first son of Fahima and Abdel Nasser and was later followed by two brothers, Izz al-Arab and al-Leithi.^[1] Due to his father's work, the family traveled frequently. In 1921, they moved to Asyut and later in 1923 to Khatatba, where Abdel Nasser Hussein ran a post office. Gamal attended a primary school for the children of railway employees until he was sent in 1924 to live with his paternal uncle, Khalil Hussein, in Cairo, and attend the Nahhasin elementary school.^[6] Gamal exchanged letters with his mother and visited her on holidays. He stopped receiving messages at the end of April 1926. When Gamal returned to Khatatba, he learned that his mother had died after giving birth to his third brother Shawki and his family had kept it from him.^[7][8] According to most of his biographers, Nasser adored his mother and the injury of her death deepened when his father remarried before the year ended.^[7][9][10]

Undated photo of Nasser during his childhood

Nasser went to Alexandria in 1928 to live with his maternal grandfather, Muhammad Hammad, while attending Attarin elementary school.^[10] There, Gamal joined a demonstration even though he was not aware of its purpose.^[11] He did not do well in school and in 1929 transferred back to Cairo.^[8] His uncle Khalil left Cairo soon after and Gamal's father was posted to Suez, where there was no suitable school for Gamal. Therefore, he was sent to a private boarding school in Helwan for a year. In 1933 Khalil returned to Cairo and Gamal was sent to live with him. The following year Gamal went to Alexandria to live with his maternal grandparents, where he received a secondary education certificate from a private school. Abdel Nasser was posted to Cairo and Gamal joined his family there. He attended al-Nahda al-Masria school and received his leaving certificate in 1936.^[12]

Nasser became involved in politics at an early age, being elected chairman of the Young Egypt Society during his teenage years.^[13][14] On 12 November 1935,^[15] Nasser was wounded during an anti-British demonstration, in which several students tried to cross Abbas (el-Roda) Bridge in Cairo to clash with the police. Afterward, he was arrested and detained for two days along with several members of the Egyptian Socialist Party.^[16] The wound he sustained was superficial, but garnered his first mention in the nationalistic newspaper Al Gihad.^[13][15] 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 only attended for 45 days.^[17]

Influences[link]

Nasser and Tahia Kazim on their wedding day

According to Palestinian American journalist Said Aburish, the combination of living in so many cities and attending different schools did not distress Nasser but broadened his horizons, allowing him to become aware of the class divisions in Egyptian society. Despite constantly changing schools, Nasser spent most of his spare time reading, particularly in 1933 when his uncle happened to live near the National Library of Egypt. In addition to the Qur'an, the sayings of Muhammad, and the lives of the Sahaba (Muhammad's companions), he read the works of Napoleon, Gandhi, Voltaire, Victor Hugo, Charles Dickens, and many others. He was greatly influenced by the Egyptian nationalist politician Mustafa Kamel, and poet Ahmed Shawqi.^[18]

Family[link]

In 1944, Nasser married Tahia Kazim, the 22-year old daughter of a wealthy Iranian father and an Egyptian mother, both of whom died when she was young. She was introduced to Nasser through her brother Abdel Hamid Kazim, a merchant friend of Nasser's, in 1943.^[19] After their wedding, the couple moved into a house in Manshiyat al-Bakri, a suburb of Cairo, where they would live for the rest of their lives. His entry into the officer corps in 1937 secured him relatively well-paid employment in a society where most people lived in poverty. Nasser's social status was still well below the wealthy Egyptian elite, and his resentment of those born into wealth and power continued to grow.^[20] Throughout his life, Nasser did his best to keep his career separate from his family life. Although he and Tahia would sometimes discuss politics at home, he preferred to spend most of his free time with his children.^[21]

Nasser and Tahia had two daughters and three sons, Hoda, Mona, Khaled, Abdel Hamid and Abdel Hakim.^[22] Nasser's eldest daughter, Hoda, became a researcher in politics and a professor of political science in Cairo University. With her help, various rare documents regarding the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and her father's career have been gathered, documented and displayed at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina as well as on the internet.^[23] Khaled became a member of a leftist organization known as the "Egypt Revolution." In 1988, Egyptian authorities charged him with organizing and financing the killing of two Israeli officials.^[24] Mona was married to Egyptian businessman Ashraf Marwan until his death in 2007. They had two sons.^[25]

Military career[link]

Portrait of Nasser at law school in 1937

In March 1937, Nasser applied for entry to the Royal Military Academy, temporarily abandoning his political activities in favor of studying to become an army officer. However, he did not have a wasta—an influential intermediary to promote his application against many others—and was turned down. Disappointed, he enrolled in law school, but failed and then attempted to enter the police academy where he again was unsuccessful because he lacked a wasta.^[16]

Convinced that he needed a wasta, Nasser managed to secure a meeting with the Secretary-of-State, Ibrahim Kheiry Pasha, who sponsored his second attempt into the military academy. From then on, with little contact with his family, he focused on his military career. It was at the academy that he met Abdel Hakim Amer and Anwar Sadat, both of whom became important aides during his presidency.^[16] After passing his final exam at Abassia, he was posted to the town of Mankabad, near his native Beni Mur, and was commissioned as 2nd lieutenant in the infantry.^[20]

Nasser carrying the unit colours, 1940

In 1939, Nasser and Amer volunteered to serve in Sudan (which was a part of Egypt at the time), where they arrived shortly before the outbreak of World War II.^[26] Aburish states, however, that he and Amer were posted to the Sudan in 1941.^[27] During the war, Nasser and Sadat established contact with agents of the Axis powers, in particular a group of Italians, and planned a coup to coincide with an Italian offensive that would expel the British forces from Egypt. The plan, however, was never executed.^[28] After briefly returning from Sudan, Nasser returned there in September 1942, then secured a job as an instructor in the Royal Military Academy in Cairo in May 1943.^[20]

In 1942, the Egyptian Prime Minister, Ali Maher, was suspected of having pro-Axis sympathies at the time when Erwin Rommel was leading the Afrika Korps into Egypt. Lord Lampson, the British Ambassador in Egypt, backed by a battalion of British troops, marched into King Farouk's palace and ordered him to dismiss Maher and appoint the pro-British Mustafa el-Nahhas in his place. Nasser, like most Egyptians, saw this as a blatant violation of Egyptian sovereignty and wrote "I am ashamed that our army has not reacted against this attack." He said further that he prayed to Allah for "a calamity to overtake the English."^[29] Nasser also began forming a group consisting of other young military officers with strong nationalist sentiments and who supported some form of revolution.^[30] Mainly through Amer, Nasser stayed in touch with the members of the group. Meanwhile, Amer continued to discover interested officers within the various branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces and presented a full file on each of them to Nasser.^[31]

1948 Arab–Israeli War[link]

Mohammad Amin al-Husayni meeting with Nasser, 1948

As Egypt remained officially neutral until long after the Axis defeat at the Battle of el-Alamein, the Egyptian military did not participate in the war. Nasser's first experience on the battlefield was in Palestine during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War.^[32] Prior to the arrival of Arab armies to Palestine, many paramilitary groups in the Arab World, including the Muslim Brotherhood and the Arab Liberation Army (ALA), volunteered to fight. Because of Nasser's doubts about the former and his lack of respect for the governments who sponsored the ALA, he offered his services to the Arab Higher Committee led by Mohammad Amin al-Husayni, the Grand Mufti of Jerusalem. He met with al-Husayni, who was impressed by him, at his office in Cairo. The Egyptian Government refused to allow Nasser to join al-Husayni's forces, however, much to Nasser's disappointment.^[33]

In May 1948, after the end of the British mandate and army withdrawal, King Farouk sent the Egyptian army into Palestine,^[34] with Nasser serving in the 6th Infantry Battalion.^[35] During the war, he wrote of the unpreparedness of the Egyptian army, saying "our soldiers were dashed against fortifications."^[34] Nasser was deputy commander of the Egyptian forces that secured the area known as the Falluja Pocket. By August 1948, his brigade was surrounded by the Israeli Army and appeals for help from Jordan's Arab Legion went unheeded. Nonetheless, Nasser refused to surrender, but negotiations between Israel and Egypt resulted in the ceding of Falluja to Israel.^[34]

In February 1949, Nasser was sent as a member of the Egyptian delegation to Rhodes to negotiate a formal ceasefire with Israel, and reportedly considered the terms to be humiliating.^[36] After the war, he returned to his job as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy.^[37] He sent emissaries to forge an alliance with the Muslim Brotherhood in October 1948, but soon concluded that the agenda of the Brotherhood was not a nationalist one like his. From then on, he would take measures preventing influence from the Brotherhood from affecting his activities.^[34]

Revolution[link]

Free Officers[link]

The Free Officers in Cairo. To Nasser's left is Abdel Latif Boghdadi and to his right are Salah Salem and Abdel Hakim Amer, 1952.

Coinciding with Nasser's return to Egypt was Husni al-Za'im's coup d'etat in Syria. The success of the coup and the evident support for it by the Syrian people further encouraged Nasser's revolutionary pursuits. Soon after his return, he was summoned and interrogated by Prime Minister Ibrahim Abdel Hadi for suspicions he was forming a secret group of dissenting officers, an allegation which Nasser convincingly denied according to secondhand reports. Abdel Hadi was also hesitant on taking drastic measures against the army, especially in front of its chief-of-staff who was present during the interrogation, and subsequently released Nasser.^[36] The interrogation pushed Nasser to speed up his group's activities. After 1949, the group adopted the name "Association of Free Officers" and "talked of... freedom and the restoration of their country’s dignity."^[37] He organized the founding committee of the Free Officers which eventually comprised fourteen men from different social and political backgrounds, with some being members of Young Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, and the Egyptian Communist Party, as well as the aristocracy. Nasser was unanimously elected chairman of the organization.^[36]

In the 1950 parliamentary elections, the Wafd Party of el-Nahhas gained a victory—mostly due to the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood who boycotted the elections—and posed a threat to the Free Officers because they had campaigned for demands similar to theirs. Accusations of corruption against Wafd politicians began to surface, however, breeding an atmosphere of rumors and suspicions that consequently brought the Free Officers to the forefront of Egyptian politics. By then, the organization expanded to around ninety members; according to one member, Khaled Mohieddine, "nobody knew all of them and where they belonged in the hierarchy except Nasser."^[38] Nasser felt that the Free Officers were not ready to move against the government and for nearly two years he did little beyond recruit more officers and issue his underground news bulletins.^[38]

After the Wafd government abrogated the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty—which had given the British control over the Suez Canal until 1956—on 11 October 1951 the popularity of this move as well as that of the 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."^[38] In January 1952, he and a number of unidentified officers attempted to kill the royalist general Hussein Sirri Pasha by firing their submachine guns at his car while he drove through Cairo's streets. Instead, an innocent woman passerby was wounded in the incident and apparently began to shriek and wail. Nasser recalled that her wails "haunted" him and dissuaded him against similar action in the future.^[38]

Sirri was very close to Farouk and was nominated for the presidency of the Officer's Club—a normally ceremonial office—with his backing. Nasser was determined to establish the independence of the army from the monarchy and with Amer as an intermediary, decided to field a nominee for the Free Officers; they selected Muhammad Naguib, a popular general who offered his resignation to Farouk in 1942 and was thrice wounded in the Palestine War. Naguib won overwhelmingly and the Free Officers, through their connection with a leading Egyptian daily, al-Misri, publicized his victory and praised the nationalistic spirit of the army.^[38]

Revolution of 1952[link]

On 25 January 1952, the British forces posted along the Suez Canal engaged in a major confrontation with the police force of Ismailia, resulting in the deaths of forty Egyptian policemen. The next day, protesting mobs numbering in the thousands marched in the streets of Cairo, attacking foreign and pro-British Egyptian establishments which resulted in the deaths of 76 people, including nine British subjects. Afterward, Nasser and Khaled Mohieddine published a simple six-point program for Egypt, condemning British influence in the country. A short time later, in May 1952, Nasser received word that Farouk knew the names of the Free Officers and intended to arrest them. Thus, he immediately entrusted Zakaria Mohieddine with the task of drawing up plans for the takeover of the government by army units loyal to the association.^[39]

The Free Officers did not intend to install themselves in the government, but to reestablish 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 he selected Naguib, a general, to be his "boss" and lead the coup in name. The revolution they had long sought was launched on 22 July and was declared a success the next day. The Free Officers seized control of all government buildings, radio stations, police stations, and the army headquarters in Cairo. Muhammad Naguib assumed public authority as the leader of the new revolutionary government, becoming the first President of Egypt on 18 June 1953, the day on which the Egyptian and Sudanese monarchy was abolished, and the Republic of Egypt was declared. While many of the officers were leading their units, Nasser donned civilian clothing to avoid detection by royalists and moved around Cairo to monitor the situation.^[39] In a move to prevent foreign intervention, two days before the revolution, Nasser notified the United States and Britain, both of which agreed not to aid Farouk.^[39][40] Nasser and his fellow revolutionaries also gave in to American pressure by allowing the deposed king and his family to leave Egypt unharmed and with an honorary ceremony.^[41]

According to Aburish, after assuming power, Nasser and 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.^[42] Thus, they asked Ali Maher, a former prime minister, to accept being reappointed his previous position and form an all-civilian cabinet.^[42] The Free Officers then renamed themselves the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council (RCC), with Naguib as chairman and Nasser as vice-chairman.^[43] The relationship between the RCC and Maher grew tense, however, with the latter viewing Nasser's schemes to be too radical, culminating in Maher's resignation on 7 September. The reforms Nasser pursued were agrarian reform, the abolition of the monarchy, and the reorganization of political parties.^[44] Afterward, Naguib assumed the additional role of prime minister and Nasser that of deputy prime minister and interior minister.^[45][46] In September, the Agrarian Reform Law was put into effect.^[44] For Nasser, the law gave the RCC its own identity and transformed the coup into a revolution.^[47]

Preceding the reform law, in August 1952, Communist-led riots broke out at textile factories in Kafr el-Dawwar leading to a confrontation with the army that left nine people dead. Most of the RCC, including Naguib, insisted on making an example of the riot's two ringleaders by executing them, but Nasser firmly opposed this. Nonetheless, the sentences were carried out. The Muslim Brotherhood supported the RCC and after Naguib's assumption of power, they demanded four ministerial portfolios in the new cabinet, but Nasser turned down their demands. Instead, he used a policy of divide and conquer by accepting two members of the Brotherhood who were willing to serve officially as independents, giving them minor posts.^[47]

Road to presidency[link]

Disputes with Naguib[link]

Nasser and Naguib, 1952

In January 1953, Nasser overcame opposition from Naguib and banned all political parties, creating a one-party system, the Liberation Rally, whose purpose was to function as a national movement that would replace all parties. The Communists, and the Muslim Brotherhood condemned the move, as both were excluded from participation in the new system. Simultaneously, Nasser began using the more willing among the ulema ("religious scholars") of the al-Azhar University as a counterweight to the Brotherhood's Islamic influence. Meanwhile, debate rose within the RCC as to the purpose of these measures. According to fellow officer Abdel Latif Boghdadi, Nasser was the only RCC member who, even after ordering the dissolution of political parties, favored to hold parliamentary elections. Outvoted, he still advocated holding elections by 1956.^[48]

Nasser was negotiating a British withdrawal from the Suez Canal and personally led the Egyptian negotiation team in March 1953. Upon pressure from him, Naguib proceeded with the abolition of the monarchy. He began showing signs of independence from Nasser, however, by moderately opposing land reform—even though the general population at the time credited Naguib for the law's implementation. Soon, the two leaders began to openly compete for control of the country. When Naguib moved to garner support from the Brotherhood and gain the backing of old political institutions such as the former leaders of the Wafd party, Nasser was determined to depose Naguib.^[49]

In February 1954, army units loyal to Nasser kidnapped Naguib and announced that he had been relieved of all his posts.^[49] The RCC then "joyfully... proclaimed Nasser as Prime Minister."^[50] Soon after, large numbers of citizens joined protests demanding that Naguib be reinstated.^[51] As a result of these demonstrations, a sizable group within the RCC, led by Khaled Mohieddine, demanded that Naguib be released and returned to the Presidency and then hold free elections to select a new president and prime minister.^[49] Nasser was forced to agree and Naguib re-assumed the presidency. Nasser still appointed himself prime minister, however, and promoted Amer as Commander of the Armed Forces—a position formerly occupied by Naguib. Consequently, several high-ranking military officers resigned in protest of what they deemed was the politicization of the army by keeping it loyal to Nasser. Mohieddine was then informally exiled to Europe to represent the RCC abroad and a campaign was launched by Nasser's sympathizers in the press, including Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, publicizing Naguib's contact with the Wafd.^[52]

In July, the feud between the two leaders was rekindled when Nasser and the British Foreign Affairs Minister, Anthony Nutting, signed an agreement, in principle, that would give way for the British withdrawal from the Suez Canal, as well as grant Sudan the right to self-determination. Naguib was half-Sudanese and popular in that country; he thought that most members of the RCC and most Egyptians believed Sudan belonged to Egypt. Nasser was accused by many in Egypt, including the Brotherhood, of distracting the issue of Sudan with the withdrawal from Suez, but the Sudanese voted overwhelmingly in favor of independence. The issue was settled in Nasser's favor when the new Sudanese government opted for total "brotherly" relations with Egypt. King Saud of Saudi Arabia attempted to mend relations between Nasser and Naguib, but to no avail. In general, Nasser's position was stronger due to the absence of Mohieddine and the Sudanese officers, the growth of the Liberation Rally, and because most of his original comrades in the RCC supported him and also favored Naguib's removal.^[53]

Assuming the presidency[link]

Sound recording of the mansheya incident.

On 26 October, a Brotherhood member, Mohammed Abdel Latif, attempted to assassinate Nasser while he was delivering a speech in Alexandria, celebrating the British withdrawal. The speech was broadcast to the Arab world via radio. 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.^[53][54] 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 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.^[54]

The crowd roared in approval and Arab audiences were electrified. The assassination attempt backfired, quickly playing into Nasser's hands.^[55] Upon returning to Cairo, he ordered one of the largest political crackdowns in the history of Egypt, with the arrests of over 20,000 people, mostly members of the Brotherhood, but also Communists, Wafd activists, and sympathizers of these groups within the military leadership. Nasser chose Gamal Salem, a loyal officer, to head the military tribunal. Eight Brotherhood leaders were sentenced to death, although the sentence of its chief ideologue, Sayyed Qutb, was commuted. President Naguib was removed from the presidency and put under house arrest, but was never tried or sentenced, and no one in the army rose to defend him. The crackdown continued well into 1955. The Brotherhood was dissolved and most of its leaders fled to other Arab countries.^[56] With his rivals neutralized, Nasser became the undisputed leader of Egypt.^[54]

Nasser's street following was still too small to sustain his plans on reform and secure him in office. To promote himself and the Liberation Rally, he toured the country giving speeches and gained exclusive control of the state media organs. Both Umm Kulthum and Abdel Halim Hafez, the leading Arab singers of the time, made songs praising his nationalism and plays were produced 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 the Arab "peoples" or the "Arab region."^[57] In January 1955, the RCC appointed him as president, pending an election to the office.^[56]

On 28 February 1955, Israeli troops attacked the Egyptian-held Gaza Strip. Although Israel declared the raid necessary to suppress Palestinian fedayeen raids, it was unanimously condemned by the UN Security Council. Nasser did not feel that Egypt was ready for a confrontation and did not retaliate. His inability to respond to Israeli military action constituted a blow to his growing popularity, since it demonstrated the weakness of his armed forces. Nasser felt if he was to maintain Egypt's position as leader of the Arab world, he needed to acquire modern weapons to arm his military with. When it became apparent that Western countries would not supply Egypt under financial and military terms acceptable to it, Nasser turned to the Soviet bloc and concluded a satisfactory armaments agreement with Czechoslovakia in September 1955. Through the "Czech arms deal," he enhanced his position as an Arab leader defying the West. The Israelis also re-militarized the Awja Demilitarized Zone on the Egyptian border in September.^[58]

Prior to the arms deal, at the Bandung Conference in Indonesia in April 1955, Nasser was treated as the leading representative of the Arab countries and emerged as one of the key figures of the conference and the newly established Non-Aligned Movement. From then on, Nasser adopted the "positive neutralism" of Josip Broz Tito and Jawaharlal Nehru as his foreign policy regarding alliances with the Soviet Union and the West in relation to the Cold War.^[59]

In January 1956, the new Constitution of Egypt was drafted, entailing the establishment of a new single-party system, the National Union, which would select a nominee for the presidential election whose name would be provided for popular approval. Nasser's nomination for the post was put to the public in referendum in June; it was approved by an overwhelming majority. Simultaneously with his election,^[60] the RCC dissolved itself and its members resigned their military commissions.^[61]

Nationalization of Suez Canal[link]

Nasser returns to cheering crowds in Cairo after announcing the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, August 1956

After the three-year transition period ended with Nasser's official assumption of power, his domestic and independent foreign policies increasingly collided with the interests of European powers in the region, namely the UK and France. The latter condemned his strong support for the Algerian struggle for independence from France; the Eden government of the UK was agitated by Egyptian campaigns undermining the Baghdad Pact which Nasser viewed as a disruption of "Arab solidarity."^[61] In addition, Nasser's adherence to neutralism and the Non-Aligned Movement, recognition of the Communist People's Republic of China, and his arms deal with the Soviet bloc, also alienated American support for his regime. Thus, the United States and the UK abruptly withdrew their offer to finance construction of the Aswan High Dam.^[61]

On 26 July 1956, in retaliation for the loss of funding and to help pay for the Aswan project, Nasser gave a speech in Alexandria where he denounced Western influence in the Arab world and announced the nationalization of the Suez Canal Company, in breach of the agreement he had signed on 19 October 1954.^[62] He also ensured that existing stockholders would be paid off.^[63] The nationalization move was greeted by the crowd very emotionally, and throughout the Arab world, thousands entered the streets shouting slogans of support.^[64] US ambassador Henry A. Byroade stated "I cannot over-emphasize [the] popularity of the Canal Company nationalization within Egypt, even among Nasser's enemies."^[62] According to Aburish, this was Nasser's largest pan-Arab triumph at the time and "soon his pictures were to be found in the tents of Yemen, the souks of Marrakesh, and the posh villas of Syria."^[64] The official reason given for the nationalization was that funds from the Suez Canal would be used for the construction of the dam in Aswan.^[62]

That same day, Egypt closed the canal to Israeli shipping.^[65] Egypt also closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, and blockaded the Gulf of Aqaba, in contravention of the Constantinople Convention of 1888. Many argued that this was also a violation of the 1949 Armistice Agreements.^[66][67]

Suez Crisis[link]

From a legal standpoint Nasser had the right to nationalize the canal as long as he paid off its shareholders. However, France and Britain were the largest shareholders in the Suez Canal Company and they saw it as yet another hostile measure aimed at them by the Egyptian regime. Nasser was aware that the canal's nationalization would instigate an international crisis and believed the prospect of intervention by the two countries was 80%.^[68] He believed, however, that the UK would not be able to intervene militarily for at least two months after the announcement, and dismissed Israeli action as "impossible."^[69] In early October, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) met on the matter of the canal's nationalization 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.^[70] According to Heikal, after this agreement, "Nasser estimated that the danger of invasion had dropped to 10 percent."^[71] Shortly thereafter, however, the UK, France, and Israel colluded in a secret agreement to take over the Suez Canal and occupy parts of Egypt.^[62][72] Britain was also determined to prevent Nasser from achieving his stated aim of annexing the Sudan.^[73]

Universal newsreel reporting on Nasser announcing Egypt's take over of the Suez Canal

On 29 October 1956, Israel crossed the Sinai, overwhelmed Egyptian army posts, and quickly advanced through the peninsula to achieve their objectives. Two days later, British and French planes bombarded Egyptian airfields in the canal zone. Amer panicked and withdrew Egyptian forces from the Sinai and advised Nasser to make a ceasefire. According to Boghdadi, Nasser described the Egyptian army as "shattered" and resembled a "broken man."^[62] Nonetheless, his prestige at home and among Arabs was undamaged.^[74] Nasser personally took over command of the military and, aware that he was unable to stop the invasion, he coordinated with King Saud to land Egyptian Air Force planes in Saudi Arabia and Sudan to avoid destruction. He then telephoned King Hussein of Jordan and Shukri al-Kuwatli of Syria, asking them to stay out of the fighting. When Hussein objected and offered to participate in Egypt's defense, Nasser warned him "to save his army from destruction." He followed by issuing orders to block the canal by sinking or otherwise disabling forty-nine ships at its entrance. In Port Said, he berated Amer and fellow Free Officer Salah Salem, who both continually insisted on surrendering, in front of other officers and vowed that "Nobody is going to surrender."^[75]

Meanwhile, the American Eisenhower administration was outraged at the tripartite aggression, the British and French abandonment of international diplomacy, and its timing during the crisis in Hungary. Dwight Eisenhower publicly condemned it and supported United Nations resolutions demanding withdrawal, Israel's return to the 1949 armistice lines and for a United Nations Emergency Force (UNEF) to be stationed in the Sinai. By the end of December, the British and French forces had totally withdrawn from Egyptian territory;^[76] after additional UN resolutions and intense US pressure, Israel completed its withdrawal on 8 March 1957.^[77] On 8 April 1957, the canal was reopened.^[78] With this, Nasser's political position was enormously enhanced by the widely perceived failure of the invasion and Anglo-French attempt to topple him. Anthony Nutting claimed the crisis "established Nasser finally and completely" as the rayyes ("President") of Egypt.^[62] He used his new status to urge Arab nations to reduce oil exports to Western Europe. Several countries instituted petrols rations in response.

Pan-Arabism[link]

In January 1957, the US adopted the Eisenhower Doctrine, pledging to protect Middle Eastern countries from Communism and its "agents." Although Nasser was not a supporter of Communism, his promotion of Arab nationalism threatened surrounding pro-Western states. Eisenhower attempted to isolate and reduce him by considering support of his ally King Saud as a counterweight.^[79] Previously, in October 1956, a pan-Arabist coalition won parliamentary elections in Jordan, making Sulayman al-Nabulsi, a staunch supporter of Nasser, the country's prime minister. Relations between Nasser and King Hussein soured when al-Nabulsi and all other pro-Nasser elements in the cabinet and army were subsequently arrested and dismissed; Hussein alleged that Nasser and his Jordanian allies were attempting to overthrow him. Nasser berated Hussein on his Cairo-based Voice of the Arabs radio station, accusing him of being "a tool of the imperialists."^[80] Meanwhile, King Saud gradually came to resent Nasser's popularity among the Saudi people and his references to Saudi oil as belonging to all the Arabs; when Hussein requested military assistance from Saud, he complied, sending 4,000 troops to Jordan as a protective measure.^[80]

Despite opposition from the governments of Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iraq, and Lebanon, Nasser gained influence among many of the citizens of those and other Arab countries. In Jordan, many of the indigenous citizens supported him and Palestinian refugees and citizens saw him as the only Arab leader that could challenge Israel. Together, they formed Arab unity clubs, youth organizations, and secret civilian formations. Nasser's followers in Lebanon and the Egyptian embassy in Beirut—the press center of the Arab world—bought outlets of the Lebanese media to sponsor him. Many Lebanese politicians were salaried by Egypt to take pro-Nasser stands, but others like Kamal Jumblatt and Saeb Salam, genuinely supported him. Nasser also enjoyed the full support of Arab nationalist organizations throughout the region, including the Arab Nationalist Movement (ANM), Najd al-Fatat (in Saudi Arabia), the Popular Front for the Liberation of Arabia, and to a certain degree the Ba'ath party which operated in a number of countries. His followers were numerous and well-funded, but lacked any permanent structure and organization. They called themselves "Nasserists", despite Nasser's objection to the label (he preferred the term "Arab nationalist.")^[81]

By the end of 1957, Nasser nationalized all remaining British and French assets in Egypt, including the tobacco, cement, pharmaceutical, and phosphate industries. Because the previous opening to outside investment and the offering of tax incentives had yielded no results, he nationalized more companies and made them a part of his economic development organization. He stopped short of total government control: two-thirds of the economy was still in private hands. Yet, this effort did achieve a measure of success, with agricultural production increasing and investment in industrialization rising. Nasser initiated the Helwan steelworks, which were on their way to becoming Egypt's largest enterprise, providing the country with product and the employment of tens of thousands of people. Nasser also decided to cooperate with the USSR in the construction of the Aswan High Dam since the US withdrew its offer following the nationalization of the Suez Canal. Nasser eventually abolished the Liberation Rally, with the National Union taking its place. The National Assembly was to be the national representative body, allowing Nasser to sideline former Liberation Rally leaders Gamal Salem and Anwar Sadat. In addition, arbitrary crackdowns against the Brotherhood and the Communists occurred during this period, particularly in April 1957.^[82]

United Arab Republic[link]

Nasser with Syrian delegation pushing for unity between Syria and Egypt. He is shaking hands with Afif al-Bizri. To Nasser's left is Abdel Hakim Amer and next to him is Amin al-Hafiz, January 1958.

Despite his popularity, Nasser's credentials as Arab leader were at stake after the events in Jordan. Later in 1957, Turkish troops massed along the border with Syria, accusing it of harboring Communist rebels. In response, Saud announced his support for Arab Syria against Turkey. To outdo him, in August, Nasser decided to land 4,000 Egyptian troops in the Syrian port city of Latakia, reclaiming his prestige, especially with the Syrian people.^[83]

Beginning in 1957, Syria appeared close to becoming a Soviet satellite; it had a highly organized Communist Party and the army's chief of staff, Afif al-Bizri, was a Communist sympathizer. Nasser told an initial Syrian delegation that they needed to rid their government of Communists, but the delegation countered and warned him that only total union with Egypt would defuse the "Communist threat." Although Nasser initially turned them down, suggesting that it would take a minimum of five years to establish a feasible political union,^[83] he became more afraid of a Communist takeover when the second Syrian delegation composed of military officers was led by Bizri on 11 January 1958; Bizri personally discouraged Syro-Egyptian unity.^[83][84] Afterward, Nasser opted for a total merger and the resulting United Arab Republic (UAR) came into being on 1 February 1958. Nasser became the republic's president and very soon carried out a crackdown against the Syrian Communists and opponents of the union, which included dismissing Bizri and former prime minister Khaled al-Azem from their posts.^[83][85]

Nasser signing unity pact with Syrian president Shukri al-Quwatli, forming the United Arab Republic, February 1958

On 24 February, Nasser traveled to Damascus in a surprise visit to celebrate the union. He was welcomed by crowds of tens of thousands. Ahmad bin Yahya, King of North Yemen, dispatched Crown Prince Imam Badr to Damascus with proposals to include their country in the new republic. Nasser and Quwatli agreed to establish a loose federal union with Yemen, rather than a total integration, creating the United Arab States. While Nasser was in Syria, King Saud was allegedly planning on having him assassinated during his flight back to Cairo. He offered to pay the head of the Syrian security services, Abdel Hamid Sarraj, to order Syrian jet fighters to shoot down Nasser's plane. Sarraj, however, was a staunch supporter of Nasser and pretended to agree with Saud's plan only to reveal the plot to Nasser. On 4 March, Nasser stood on the balcony of the Diafa Palace of Damascus and waved a copy of the Saudi check in the air for the masses to witness. As a consequence of Saud's scheme, he was forced by senior members of the Saudi royal family to informally cede most of his powers to his brother, King Faisal, an advocate of pan-Islamic unity rather than Arab nationalism and a major opponent of Nasser.^[86]

A day after announcing the attempt on his life, Nasser established a new provisional constitution proclaiming a 600-member National Assembly (400 from Egypt and 200 from Syria) and the disbanding of all political parties, including the Ba'ath. Nasser gave each of the provinces two vice-presidents; Boghdadi and Amer were assigned to Egypt and Sabri al-Assali and Akram al-Hawrani to Syria. Nasser then left for Moscow to meet with Nikita Khrushchev. At the meeting, Khrushchev pressed Nasser to lift the ban on the Communist Party, but Nasser refused, stating it was an internal matter which was not a subject of discussion with outside powers. Khrushchev was reportedly taken aback and denied he had meant to interfere in the UAR's affairs and the issue was settled since both leaders did not want a rift between their two countries.^[87]

Influence on the Arab world[link]

In neighboring Lebanon, president Camille Chamoun, an opponent of Nasser, viewed the creation of the UAR with worry. Pro-Nasser factions in the country began clashing with supporters of Chamoun, culminating in a civil strife by May 1958. The former favored merging with the UAR, while the latter feared the new country was a Communist satellite and threatened Lebanon's independence. Although Nasser claimed no intention to covet Lebanon, seeing it as a "special case,"^[88] he backed his supporters in the country through sending money, light arms, and training officers in order to prevent Chamoun from gaining a second term as president.^[89] Almost simultaneously, on 14 July, Iraqi army officers Abdel Karim Qasim and Abdel Salam Aref staged a military coup against King Faisal of Iraq, who was immediately killed. Two days later Nasser's most serious Arab enemy in the Middle East, Nuri as-Said, the prime minister of Iraq, was also killed. Nasser, who was in Belgrade, Yugoslavia while the coup was undertaken, extended recognition of the new government and stated that "any attack on Iraq was tantamount to an attack on the UAR."^[90] The next day US Army paratroops, marines and British special forces landed in Lebanon and Jordan, respectively, to protect the two countries from falling to pro-Nasser forces as well. To Nasser, the revolution in Iraq left the road for Arab nationalism unblocked.^[90] Although most members of the Iraqi Revolutionary Command Council (RCC) were Nasserists and favored joining Iraq with the UAR, Qasim held animosity towards him. Aburish states that reasons for this could have included Nasser's refusal to cooperate with the Iraqi Free Officers a year before the coup or Qasim's view that Nasser threatened his supremacy as leader of Iraq.^[91]

Later in July, Fuad Chehab was to be elected Lebanon's new president and he met Nasser at the Lebanese-Syrian border. He explained to Chehab that he would not pursue unity with Lebanon, but he did not want the country to be used as a base against him. Resulting from this meeting was an agreement ending the crisis in Lebanon, with Nasser ceasing to supply his partisans and the US setting a deadline for withdrawing from the area.^[93] In Damascus, on 19 July, Nasser gave one of his most important speeches addressing the new regional realities. According to researcher May Oueida's thesis on the speech, he adopted a theme of successfully bridging the different sounds of Egyptian, Syrian, and Iraqi Arabic, and rose to a classical Arabic without losing or boring his audience. For the first time Nasser was opting for full Arab union. He had no plan, however, on how to incorporate Iraq into the UAR.^[92]

Gamal Abdel Nasser gives a homeless Egyptian a job, July 1959.

In the fall of 1958, Nasser formed a tripartite committee, consisting of Mohieddine, al-Hawrani, and Salah al-Din Bitar to oversee developments in Syria. By moving the latter two, who were Ba'athists, to Cairo, he neutralized important political figures who had their own ideas about how Syria should be run within the UAR. He put Syria under Sarraj, who effectively reduced the province into a police state by imprisoning and exiling Communists—including party leader Khalid Bakdash—and landholders who objected to the introduction of Egyptian agricultural reform in Syria. In December 1959, aware that things were not working in Syria, Nasser appointed Amer as governor-general alongside Sarraj. Syria's leaders reacted with opposition to the appointment and many resigned from their government posts. Nasser later met with the opposition leaders, which included al-Hawrani, Bitar, and Ba'ath founder Michel Aflaq, and in a heated conversation, exclaimed that he was the "elected" president of the UAR and those who did not accept his authority could "walk away."^[94]

Meanwhile, Nasser began smuggling agents from Syria into Iraq and senior Iraqi army officers began asking for support in launching a coup against Qasim. On 8 March 1959, an anti-Qasim rebellion broke out in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul led by Abdel Wahhab al-Shawaf, a member of the Iraqi RCC who was previously in touch with UAR authorities. Turmoil soon spread throughout Iraq, with the country's ethnic and religious groups attacking each other while pro-Qasim forces gained the upper hand against al-Shawaf. Nasser considered dispatching UAR troops into Iraq to aid his sympathizers, but soon decided against it.^[95] His advisers, namely Sarraj and Amer, insisted that the pro-Nasser forces were winning and Qasim was about to be toppled. Within four days, however, Qasim's forces captured Mosul and al-Shawaf was killed. Already strained relations between Nasser and Qasim grew increasingly bitter, with the former considering the latter as unworthy and dependent on the USSR while Qasim looked down on Nasser's Arab nationalism, believing only an alliance with the USSR would help the Arabs succeed against Israel. Nasser blamed the Arab nationalist defeat on the Communists and upon returning to Cairo, he dismissed and arrested many Communists who held influential positions in the press and government, including his old comrade Khaled Mohieddine, who had been allowed reentry into Egypt in 1956.^[96]

Collapse of the UAR and aftermath[link]

Nasser speaking to the masses in Homs, Syria, 1961

In Syria, opposition to union with Egypt mounted; Syrian Army officers resented being subordinated to Egyptian officers, Bedouin tribes received funds from Saudi Arabia to prevent their loyalty to Nasser, Egyptian-style land reform was blamed for damaging Syrian agricultural production, Communists began to gain influence among lower-income workers, and the intellectuals within the Ba'ath party who had initially supported union rejected the single-party system. Aburish states Nasser was not fully capable to address problems in Syria because they were "foreign to him" and instead of appointing Syrians to administer Syria, he handed this task to Amer.^[97] In Egypt, the economic situation was more positive, with a GNP growth of 4.5 percent and a rapid growth of industry. In 1960, Nasser nationalized the Egyptian press, effectively reducing it to his personal mouthpiece.^[98]

On 28 September 1961, Syrian Army units in Damascus rose against the UAR and declared Syria's independence. Amer and Sarraj were exiled, and army units in northern Syria loyal to the union failed to prevent the country's secession. Nasser sent Egyptian Special Forces to Latakia to oppose Syria's withdrawal, but ordered them withdrawn after two days, claiming he refused to allow inter-Arab fighting. In a speech to the Arab world, he admitted making mistakes with Syria, refused to condemn the secessionists, and accepted personal responsibility for the UAR's breakup. Privately, however, he accused Qasim, the Saudis, the Jordanians, and other Arab governments of contributing to the fall of the UAR. According to Heikal, Nasser suffered something resembling a nervous breakdown and his health began to deteriorate after the dissolution of the union. He also began smoking more heavily.^[99]

Fearing similar action in Egypt, he sought to pursue an increasingly socialist agenda in the country.^[100] In October 1961, Nasser embarked on a major nationalization program, believing the total adoption of socialism was the answer to his problems and would have protected him from what happened in Syria. The Charter for National Action was undertaken, creating youth groups, socialist study institutes, laws regarding the acquisition of wealth, and agricultural cooperatives. In the process, the National Union was renamed the Arab Socialist Union.^[101] By 1962, as a result of these measures, government ownership of Egyptian business reached 51 percent.^[102] With the measures also came more domestic repression, with thousands of Islamists being imprisoned, including dozens of military officers.^[101] Nasser's tilt toward a Soviet-style system led his aides Abdel Latif Boghdadi and Hussein el-Shafei to submit their resignations in protest. At an Arab League summit in August 1962, Nasser pulled out his delegation after arguments with Syria, which wanted the dismissal of the organization's secretary-general, Abdel Khalek Hassouna, complaining that he only followed Nasser's orders.^[103]

Revival on Arab stage[link]

Nasser with Algerian President Ahmed Ben Bella after Algeria's independence from France, 1962

Nasser's fortunes on the Arab stage unexpectedly changed when Yemeni officers led by Abdullah as-Sallal, a supporter of Nasser, overthrew Imam al-Badr of the Kingdom of North Yemen, on 27 September 1962.^[103] The officers proclaimed their country the Yemen Arab Republic and Nasser immediately recognized its legitimacy. Meanwhile, al-Badr and his partisans were receiving increasing support from Faisal of Saudi Arabia to reinstate the kingdom, convincing Nasser to dispatch Egyptian troops to strengthen the new government on 6 October. The pro-Nasser forces were unable to decisively defeat the royalists who by then controlled a third of the country and as the war continued many Yemenis came to resent the Egyptian presence, despite Nasser's attempts to foster economic growth and offer military support for Sallal's government. His influence on the ruling politicians also made Nasser many enemies.^[104] Most of his old colleagues questioned the wisdom of continuing the war, but Amer reassured him numerous times that victory was near.^[105] By 1963, Nasser had sent 15,000 Egyptian soldiers to Yemen, but the war remained in a stalemate.^[104]

The Yemen War resulted in serious complications for the Saudi monarchy when a pro-Nasser clique in the royal family was formed, culminating in the declaration of the Free Princes by Talal ibn Abd al-Aziz. After Nasser allowed the Free Princes movement to operate from Cairo, it gained a considerable following among minor Saudi princes and the co-founder of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), Abdullah al-Tariki. In addition to those developments, Algeria became independent of France. A staunch political and financial supporter of the Algerian independence movement, Nasser considered this a personal victory. Then, on 8 February 1963, a military coup led by a Ba'athist-Nasserist alliance was staged in Iraq, toppling Qasim who was subsequently shot dead. Although Ahmed Hassan al-Bakr orchestrated the coup, Abdel Salam Aref, a Nasserist, was chosen to be the new president.^[105] The Iraqi and Syrian regimes, both ruled by the Ba'ath party, soon sent Nasser delegations to push for a new Arab union on 14 March 1963. Nasser responded by berating the delegates for being "phony nationalists" and constantly changing direction.^[106] He presented them a detailed plan for unity, favoring a federal system which began with the merger of the countries' defense and foreign policies. A four-year term for president was stipulated, in addition to legislative councils being responsible for overseeing the functions of the state. The measures would be implemented slowly and in segments. By the end of his lecture, Nasser defiantly stated that he was the "leader of the Arabs and without me you are nothing. Either take what I have to offer you or leave and never return."^[106]

Modernization of Egypt and internal dissent[link]

Nasser addressing first PLO conference, 1964

Beginning in 1961, Nasser sought to firmly establish Egypt as the leader of the Arab world and to promote a second revolution in Egypt with the purpose of merging Islamic and socialist thinking to satisfy the will of the general populace. To achieve this, he began enacting several reforms to modernize the al-Azhar Mosque, which serves as the de facto leading authority in Sunni Islam, and ensure its prominence over the Muslim Brotherhood and the more conservative Wahhabism promoted by Saudi Arabia. Nasser used his influence with al-Azhar to create changes in the syllabus, which trickled to the lower levels of Egyptian education. He allowed gender-mixed schools, introduced evolution as an acceptable subject matter to discuss, amended divorce laws, and merged religious courts with civil ones. He also forced al-Azhar to issue a fatwa readmitting Shia Muslims, Alawites, and Druze into mainstream Islam; for centuries before, al-Azhar deemed them as "heretics" and non-Muslims.^[107]

During this time, Nasser became highly concerned with Amer's inability to train and modernize the army, as well as the state within a state he created by transforming the army and the intelligence apparatus—the latter was led by Salah Nasr—into "a separate fiefdom loyal to him personally," according to Aburish.^[108] None of Nasser's old colleagues had informed him of the corruption and lawlessness undertaken by Amer and the army officers loyal to him since they thought the relationship between Nasser and Amer, his second-in-command, was solid. Therefore, any claims of power abuse would be dismissed. After realizing the extent of Amer's control in the country, however, Nasser appointed himself Chief of the Armed Forces, replacing Amer, in 1963. Although Amer was officially demoted, he remained in a strong position and many high-ranking officers continued to express loyalty to him.^[109] According to Boghdadi, the stress caused by the collapse of the UAR and Amer's increasing autonomy forced Nasser, who had already had diabetes, to practically live on painkillers from then on.^[108]

In order to organize and solidify his popular base with Egypt's citizens to counter the influence of the army, Nasser introduced a new constitution and the National Charter in 1964. The latter called for universal health care, the provision of housing, building of vocational schools, widening of the Suez Canal, expanding women's rights, and developing a program for family planning. In addition, he attempted to maintain oversight of the country's civil service to prevent it from inflating and consequently becoming a burden to the state.^[109]

Efforts were made during Nasser's time in office to realise the social goals of the National Charter. After 1952, women were granted both the right to vote and to stand in elections, together with wider access to employment and education. Laws were also passed which provided workers with a minimum wage, profit shares, and free education and health care, reduced working hours, and encouraged worker participation in management. Land reforms guaranteed the security of tenant farmers,^[110] promoted agricultural growth and reduced rural poverty. The rural poor not only benefited from new tenure relations and land redistribution, but also benefited from improved welfare security and price and crop guarantees.^[111] In addition, electrification of villages was carried out, together with the construction of housing for workers.^[112]

Nasser being sworn in for another term as Egypt's president, 25 March 1965

In January 1964, Nasser called for an Arab League summit in Cairo, with the stated purpose of establishing a unified Arab response against Israel's plans to divert water from the Jordan River to irrigate the Negev Desert. Although he discouraged Syria and Palestinian paramilitary factions from provoking the Israelis, admitting that he had no plans for war with Israel, Nasser nonetheless called for the creation of the United Arab Command (UAC). Nasser blamed the lack of unity among the Arab states for what he deemed "the disastrous situation" regarding Israel's water diversion scheme.^[113] In a move to cede or share his responsibility and leadership position of the Palestine issue, Nasser decided to support the establishment of an entity to represent the Palestinians. In May, the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO), an umbrella group that included various Palestinian factions, was founded and its head was to be Ahmad Shukeiri, Nasser's personal nominee.^[113] Nasser aligned himself with the ANM of George Habash and used the PLO to counter the support Fatah (not a PLO member) was receiving among Palestinians.^[114] Although Nasser made secret contacts with Israel in 1954–55, he concluded that peace with Israel would be impossible, considering it an "expansionist state that viewed the Arabs with disdain."^[115] Later in 1964, Nasser was made president of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and held the second conference of the organization in Cairo that same year.^[116]

During the presidential elections in Egypt, Nasser was re-elected to another six-year term, taking his oath on 25 March 1965. He was the only candidate for the position, with virtually all of his political opponents being forbidden by law from running for office and his fellow party members being reduced to mere followers. That same year, he imprisoned Sayyed Qutb, the Muslim Brotherhood's chief ideologue. Qutb wrote a book from his jail cell condemning Nasser as the representative of a "new age of ignorance."^[117] Unable to silence Qutb by incarceration, Nasser accused him of conspiring with the Saudis in attempt to assassinate him and had Qutb executed in 1966 as a result; the Muslim Brotherhood consequently sentenced Nasser to death.^[117] Sometime during 1966, he suffered, but survived, a massive heart attack.^[118]

Six-Day War[link]

22 May 1967, Nasser with Egyptian Air Force pilots at Bir Gifgafa air base in the Sinai, just prior to the war

In early 1967, Soviet premier Alexei Kosygin sent Nasser a warning through Sadat, who was visiting Moscow, that Israel was about to carry out a large-scale assault against Syria. More warnings followed in the next few months, and King Hussein, aware of the intelligence situation, cautioned Nasser in April not to be dragged into a war. That same month, pressure on him to act by Syria, Saudi Arabia, and the PLO, as well as the general Arab populace, mounted after an aerial battle between Syria and Israel resulted in the downing of six Syrian planes. Convinced that Israel was determined to attack Syria, he asked UN Secretary-General U Thant to withdraw UNEF forces from Sinai. On 23 May, Egyptian troops moved into Sharm el-Sheikh and Nasser ordered the Straits of Tiran closed to Israeli shipping. On 27 May he stated "Our basic objective will be the destruction of Israel. The Arab people want to fight."^[119] After the blockade, he gave a speech to the United Nations General Assembly on 29 May saying, "the issue was not UNEF or closing the Strait of Tiran; the issue is the rights of the Palestinian people."^[120] This was the same message delivered a week earlier during a visit to an air base in the Sinai. The speeches signaled that Nasser believed war was inevitable.^[120]

King Hussein arrived in Cairo on 30 May and committed Jordan to the United Arab Command—an alliance which also included Egypt and Syria— under the command of Egyptian general Muhammad Sidqi. Amer anticipated an Israeli attack and advocated Egypt launch a preemptive strike. He was backed by former Syrian prime minister Amin al-Hafiz. Due to assurances, however, from the American administration and the USSR that Israel would not attack, Nasser refused Amer's suggestion, insisting that Egyptian forces in the Sinai should only act defensively. In addition, he questioned the Egyptian military's readiness since the air force lacked pilots, the army reserve lacked training, and Nasser doubted the competence of Amer's hand-picked officers. Simultaneously, Egypt was facing a financial crisis leading him to believe that the country could not afford a war that would last even a few days. Nonetheless, Nasser eventually began changing positions from avoiding war to giving speeches claiming war was inevitable.^[121]