Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser ruled Egypt from 1954 to 1970 and was the dominant figure of Arab nationalism. Born in Alexandria in 1918 to a postal clerk, he took part in anti-British demonstrations as a schoolboy and was shot at, and entered the military academy after it opened to men outside the elite. He fought in the 1948 war in Palestine, was surrounded at Faluja, and came out convinced that the monarchy and its corruption had betrayed the army. He founded the Free Officers, who deposed King Farouk in July 1952. Muhammad Naguib was the figurehead; Nasser removed him and took power himself by 1954. He redistributed land from the large estates, expanded free education and industry, and built a large public sector. In July 1956, after the United States and Britain withdrew funding for the Aswan High Dam, he nationalised the Suez Canal Company. Britain, France and Israel invaded in October; American and Soviet pressure forced them out, and the political victory made him a hero across the Arab world. He pursued pan-Arab union, merging Egypt and Syria into the United Arab Republic from 1958 to 1961, backed republicans in the Yemeni civil war at heavy cost, and was a founder of the Non-Aligned Movement with Nehru and Tito. His state was authoritarian: political parties banned, the Muslim Brotherhood suppressed and Sayyid Qutb hanged, and a large secret police apparatus. In June 1967 Israel destroyed the Egyptian air force on the ground and took Sinai, Gaza, the West Bank and the Golan in six days. He resigned on television, and crowds filled the streets demanding he stay. He died of a heart attack in September 1970.
- Lived: 1918 CE – 1970 CE
- Nationality: Egyptian
- Roles: President of Egypt (1956–70)
