June 23 - Gamal Abdel Nasser Becomes Egyptian President

This Day in History: 23 June 2020

 

23 June 1956

 

64 years ago, today, Gamal Abdel Nasser was elected as the first president of the Republic of Egypt. He had toppled the Egyptian monarchy four years prior in a military coup, deposing the regime of King Farouk, and he was the only presidential candidate on the ballot. In the same ballot, Nasser's new constitution, where Egypt would become a one-party socialist state with Islam as its official religion, was approved by 99.8% of voters. However, this socialist constitution was consciously nonaligned with the communist and democratic-capitalist systems of the Cold War world.

 

Nasser's first major crisis as President occurred when the United States and Great Britain reversed their decision to finance a dam on the River Nile, in response to an Egyptian arms agreement with the USSR. Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal in light of this, sparking a later attack from Israel, Britain and France. As the nations were pressured into withdrawing, the Suez Canal was left in Egyptian hands, elevating Nasser's prestige in the Arab world. The Aswan High Dam was finally completed in 1970, with help from the Soviets, but two months later, Nasser died of a heart attack, and was succeeded by Anwar el-Sadat. Throughout Nasser's time in power, he was a consistently popular leader, whose economic policies and land reforms improved many Egyptians' quality of life. His independent policies won him respect not just in the Arab world, but internationally as well.

 

Want to find out more about the life of President Nasser? Click here for more information, or here for an interview with him from 1969.