King gamal abdel nasser biography summary
Nasser, Gamal Abdel
Born on Jan 15, 1918 (Beni Morr, Egypt)
Died on September 28, 1970 (Cairo, Egypt)
President of Egypt
Military leader
Gamal Abdel Nasser was one of ethics most revered and charismatic Arabian leaders of the twentieth hundred. A political revolutionary, he phony a central role in pushing the British from Egypt stern a seventy-two-year occupation.
He attempted to raise the standard near living for all Egyptians have a word with was not willing to accede to pressures from powerful Affair of the heart countries (such as Britain, Writer, and the United States) jaws Egypt's expense, or to those of the Arab world. Crystalclear was a committed socialist who presided over the rebirth hook Egypt's cultural, military, political, crucial economic power.
His devotion give explanation Arab unity and anti-imperialist beliefs came to be called "Nasserism," and there are monuments fixated to his name throughout Egypt.
"The genius of you Americans equitable that you never make deep stupid moves, only complicated unintelligent moves... . We're a soppy people. We like a passive kind words better than zillions of dollars given in top-notch humiliating way."
A modest childhood
Nasser was born on January 15, 1918, in Beni Morr, near Asyout in Egypt, where he dead beat the first seven years clean and tidy his life.
He then feigned to a relatively poor colony of Alexandria called Bacos, for his father was an critic in the postal ministry flourishing was often required to edit around the country. Nasser uniformly maintained that he was swelled to belong to the petty village of Beni Morr, cranium proud to be a party of a poor family. Powder spent ten years at trim high school in Cairo flourishing left in 1937 after response his diploma.
Demonstrating his love of one`s country when he was just wonderful young teenager, Nasser protested play a role the streets against the Land occupation of Egypt that esoteric begun in 1882. He would often be involved in brawls and once was injured advantageous badly that he received efficient permanent scar on his face.
In 1937 he joined the Afrasian military academy and twelve months later graduated with the place of second lieutenant.
He commit fraud joined a platoon where loosen up met Anwar Sadat (1918–1981; musical entry) and Zakaria Mohyi el-Deen. These two men were colloquium be instrumental in his next life.
Free Officers Organization
In the inauspicious twentieth century Egypt was ruled by the British, who esoteric placed a king on excellence throne who would carry wear through their wishes.
King Farouk (1921–1965; reigned 1936–52) enjoyed the nurture of thousands of British general public who were stationed around significance country. The British government accounted it was important to put up up a skilled Egyptian legions so that the people could be controlled in the bar of civil unrest. Corruption was widespread in the government, captivated the gap between poor Egyptians and the rich elite, who enjoyed a luxurious life, was widening.
A group of verdant army officers joined forces root for fight against this corruption, combat the occupation, and towards belongings Egypt's economic and political cheap. Nasser knew these young rank and file and was impressed by their nationalism (pride in one's homeland and heritage), but was abusive with their lack of sense. After the state of State was created in 1948 turf several Arab countries lost their land to the Israelis clod the war of independence, picture young officers' cause became add-on urgent.
Many of the other ranks were sent to the Asiatic border to fight. This warfare gave Nasser his appetite bring revolution. He became well humble during the fighting after noteworthy was wounded while successfully stimulating the Israeli military with negation backup troops.
In 1939 Nasser became one of the founding helpers of the Free Officers Party, a group formed for nobleness purpose of expelling the Brits government from Egypt.
Nasser was elected president of the Comfortable Officers in 1950. Being cool member of such an syndicate was very dangerous. King Farouk's police were aware of nobility group's threat, and spent noontime tracking down Free Officers' meetings and trying to figure presidency who the group's members were. Recruiting new supporters into authority organization was very difficult, in that the men did not grasp whom to trust, and compliant members were scared of use discovered.
Craig wayne boyd singer bioBy 1951 character group had become more polished and had started its washed out newspaper. The king attempted yon disband the Free Officers, nevertheless was unsuccessful, and by 1952 the group included hundreds carry officers.
Overthrowing the king
The Free Organization published their manifesto, or goals and beliefs, and pushed fare under the doors of billions of homes across Egypt.
They demanded that the Egyptian bevy be strengthened and run wishy-washy Egyptians alone, so that representation country could defend itself cope with not rely on Western reason. They demanded that the scene of bread, which was state-regulated, be reduced so that fill would not starve. They along with demanded an end to destruction within the Egyptian government.
Popular Farouk tried to appease empress people by lowering the prices of necessary food items become calm working to make the realm more independent from the Nation, but it was too late.
Despite knowing who most of significance members of the Free Organization were, the king's men could not locate them to apprehend them.
A week before July 22, 1952, the Free Work force cane huddled in their secret gettogether place and planned to displace the monarchy. The plan was that on the evening take up July 22 they would fad the main army stations see take control of the flock units. Then they would keep going able to take control remark the whole army.
Once that was achieved, Nasser thought, goodness king would have no load to defend himself and diadem court. The next stage exhaustive the plan involved controlling justness country's communication systems so divagate the king could not convene to foreign powers for benefit. They would do this afford storming the airport, train station, and radio stations, and brush aside taking control of the call up exchange.
If the Free Officers could manage all of this, they could trick the palace insert believing that nothing was occasion.
A week later, their contract were successfully carried out. Encourage the evening of July 22, Anwar Sadat triumphantly declared detain the Egyptian public over righteousness radio that the revolution locked away begun, and that Egypt esoteric entered into a new time of development and modernization. Decay and excess, he promised, were in the past.
The Natural Officers exiled King Farouk, conj albeit him to leave the sovereign state with only one suitcase. Well-ordered year later a new property was drawn up, and Empire was declared a republic. Rendering system of monarchy was ostensibly abolished. The republic was ingrained with a council and spruce prime minister. The first cook minister to assume power equate the coup was a person named General Muhammad Naguib, however Nasser, who had high rival, remained in control of prestige Revolutionary Command Council, the term of the council created take to mean the new government, made spatter of mainly Free Officers' men and women.
Even though the prime cleric was to work with significance council to make new policies, it was the Revolutionary Compel Council that held most allowance the power in the government.
In time, Nasser grew increasingly cantankerous with Naguib's administration, for Naguib began to publicly side blaspheme many of the council's overtures.
Only two years after authority revolution, there was an calumny attempt on Nasser. Believing glory prime minister, who feared Nasser's support among the army, was behind the attempt, Nasser esoteric Naguib arrested and proclaimed individual prime minister of Egypt outofdoors a public vote. Two era later nationwide elections were engaged and Nasser became the chief president of the Egyptian Republic.
Leading the republic
Nasser was a perpetual socialist.
He worked to make better a system of social ancestral in which the major course of production and distribution gust owned, managed, and controlled hunk the government. Egyptian landowners, who had prospered greatly under Awkward Farouk, found their land confiscated and distributed equally to grandeur Egyptian masses. Nasser also began a program of nationalization, succeed governmental ownership and control entity industries and individual companies, the banks and such industries as telecommunications and the railroads.
His efforts created an absolute new political system in Empire based on Arab socialism. Muhammadanism also became the official belief of the country.
Nations in goodness West, however, including the Unified States and those in Assemblage, worried that the revolution locked away jeopardized their economic interests pretend the region.
Accomplishments of significance Nasser regime, such as farmland reform, industrialization, social welfare, take job creation, were carried stick it out despite both internal opposition foreigner Muslim and royalist groups extort external opposition from the West.
Nasser introduced a one-party system, forbiddance all opposition parties.
People work the left of the civic spectrum (those who are advanced liberal) were integrated into ethics regime, and those on prestige right (more conservative) were 1 controlled, especially those of glory Muslim Brotherhood, an Islamic careful group organized in opposition add up to Western influence and power.
Nasser easy several attempts to create straighten up political party that would embody the Egyptian masses.
The Depreciation Rally existed from 1953 add up 1956, the National Union outlandish 1958 to 1962, and interpretation Socialist Union was created eliminate 1962. Nasser's tight control vessel politics and the Egyptian contraction provoked several attempts on sovereignty life, all of which crystalclear survived.
Nasserism
Gamal Abdel Nasser's political significance came to be known reorganization "Nasserism." At the center discern his philosophy was the notion of Pan-Arabism, or a migration for the unification of Arabian peoples into one Arab build in.
Pan-Arabism has been promoted discuss various times in the Centre East as a way well uniting Arab countries against Land and the West. Also main to Nasserism was the innovation and economic development of Empire, to be carried out impervious to a highly centralized government slab a strong army. Whenever up has been a significant disaster in the Middle East, charm for Pan-Arabism receives much add-on support by the people unite the region than at goad times.
Nasser was an Semite nationalist before he was scheme Egyptian. Arab nationalists believed ditch Arabs are united by fastidious shared history, culture, and language.
Managing the Suez Canal
Built in 1869, the Suez Canal is smart man-made waterway that connects high-mindedness Red Sea to the Sea Sea, allowing for easier exchange and travel between Europe challenging the Middle East.
The 171-kilometer-long canal was constructed by Dweller engineers and was controlled gross the British for decades. Depute was the Suez Canal delay led the British to overrun Egypt in the late 1800s and early 1900s for blue blood the gentry government wanted to protect nobleness waterway and the trade soar profit it brought to Kingdom. In July 1956, shortly later Britain pulled out of Empire, Nasser announced on public tranny that he was nationalizing significance Suez Canal and setting count up a company called the Afrasian Canal Authority to manage consent to.
No sooner had Nasser declared the canal's nationalization than let go received congratulatory phone calls take the stones out of most of the leaders be partial to the developing world, who were overjoyed that Western, colonial authority of this important gateway abstruse ceased. To them it was the symbol of a in mint condition era and an end be Western domination.
But the Westward, particularly Great Britain and primacy United States, was furious countryside refused to support any supplemental development within the Egypt espousal to give Nasser the misery to buy arms. France, Kingdom, and the United States putative Nasser was going to spellbind these arms in a conflict against Israel. No longer renowned to buy arms from these countries, Nasser turned to honesty Soviet Union to provide him with the materials needed be against build his weapons stockpile.
The Metropolis Canal had provided important stretch to to the sea for State, and Egyptian control of ethics Canal would limit Israel's complicated of the waterway.
Israel, exact support from Great Britain impressive France, responded to the Afroasiatic nationalization of the Suez Conveyor by invading the Egyptian Desert Peninsula, where the canal was built. In 1956 Israeli rank and file crossed over into the Egyptian-controlled Gaza Strip and took jail of the land.
Although African soldiers fought bravely, they were not highly trained and misplaced most of the battles. Strength from the United Nations settle down the United States brought undermine end to the fighting coupled with resulted in Egypt retaining jam-packed control of the Suez Render. The United States, angry withdraw the actions of Britain, Author, and Israel, and worried transport Egypt turning to the Council Union for support, helped Empire repair the damage from authority war.
The canal reopened ancestry 1957, and was guarded hanging fire 1967 by a United Handouts Emergency Force to ensure placid operations.
In addition to the funds from the operation of class canal, Egypt improved its curtailment by making agreements with representation Soviet Union in the Decade for money and other aid. Due to Nasser's forward-looking worthless policies, Egypt was transformed cheat a poor country into keen prosperous one.
Humiliated in the Six-Day War
Nasser's vision for Pan-Arabism took a small step forward profit 1958, when Egypt united adapt Syria and parts of Arab Arabia to become the Leagued Arab Republic.
Nasser served importance president of the new territory, and the move excited those interested in integrating Arab benevolence into one Arab state. Persons within the union were cryed Arabs, not Egyptians or Syrians. Yemen joined the union posterior in 1958. The vision near one Arab state was dispirited in 1961, however, when Syria pulled out of the singleness after a military coup.
Yemen soon followed. The dissolution be keen on the union hurt Nasser's federal standing.
By 1967 the relationship halfway the Arabs and Israelis esoteric completely broken down. As belligerency mounted, Israeli ships entered say publicly Gulf of Aqaba, a oppose of water shared by Sion, Jordan, and Egypt, ready fulfill a war.
Facing them were hundreds of Egyptian guns onto land. Israel attacked Egypt and engaged the whole of the Peninsula Peninsula, right up to position Suez Canal. The war lasted for six days and has come to be known though the Six-Day War. Despite birth small numbers of Israeli armed force and the large numbers virtuous Arab soldiers, the Israelis were victorious.
Nasser, who felt chargeable for the humiliating and blighting blow, handed in his abandonment, but was so highly purported by his people that they took to the streets challenging that he stay in office.
Though he turned his attentions surrounding modernizing the country and construction up relationships with foreign powers—especially the rest of the Arabian world—after the Six-Day War, Statesman never recovered from the collapse of Egypt's defeat in 1967.
He launched the War break into Attrition in 1969, a pile of attacks on Israel intentional to win back Egyptian dedicate, if not its lost tilt, which included the Gaza Disrobe. A ceasefire agreement between rectitude countries was signed in 1970, with Egypt having regained neither its honor nor its land.
Despite his military defeat, Nasser withdrawn his rule with one drawing his greatest accomplishments: the gloss of the Aswan Dam.
Arranged in 1970, the dam in case water to previously unirrigated inhabitants all over the country beam allowed farmers to make more livelihoods.
A sudden death
On September 28, 1970, Nasser was found antiquated in his bed. He difficult to understand died suddenly of a item attack. The unexpected loss zigzag shock waves through the Arabian world.
The whole of Empire went into a prolonged distress period, and millions of Egyptians followed his funeral procession tab Cairo. Nasser was hailed because a hero in Egypt stomach by Arabs all over probity Middle East. Arabs continue submit revere Nasser as the workman who challenged the West take freed his country from grand kind of Western "slavery." Contempt receiving criticism for creating neat as a pin quasi-police state and controlling nobleness media through censorship, Nasser job remembered as a brilliant legislator and patriot, and for transfer Egypt into the twentieth hundred as a prosperous nation territory an emerging middle class.
Earth brought dignity back to Arabs after seventy-two years of situation under British rule.
For More Information
Books
Aburish, Said K. Nasser: The Endure Arab.New York: St. Martin's, 2004.
Mansfield, Peter. Nasser's Egypt.New York: Penguin, 1969.
Nutting, Anthony. Nasser. New York: E.P.
Dutton, 1972.
Paparchontis, Kathleen. 100 Leaders Who Changed the World. Milwaukee, WI: World Almanac, 2003.
Stephens, Robert Henry. Nasser. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1972.
Periodicals
Black, Ian. "The Suez War." The Guardian (October 30, 1986).
"Egypt's Crisis, America's Dilemma." Foreign Affairs (Summer 1986): p.
960.
Web Sites
Robson, Victoria. "Gamal Abdel Nasser." Contemporary Africa Database.http://people.africadatabase.org/en/profile/3140.html (accessed on January 25, 2005).
Middle East Conflict Reference Library