3. Gamal Abdel Nasser
• Gamal Abdel Nasser, Arabic Jamāl ʿAbd al-Nāṣīr, (born January 15,
1918, Alexandria, Egypt—died September 28, 1970, Cairo), Egyptian
army officer, prime minister (1954–56), and then president (1956–70)
of Egypt who became a controversial leader of the Arab world,
creating the short-lived United Arab Republic (1958–61), twice
fighting wars with Israel (1956, 1967), and engaging in such inter-Arab
policies as mediating the Jordanian civil war (1970).
4. Uprising was a charismatic young army officer
called Gamal Abdel Nasser.
• In 1954 Gamal Abdel Nasser took control of Egypt. One of Nasser's
goals was to modernize Egypt. He wanted to build the Aswan Dam as
a major part of the improvement. The United States and the British
had agreed to loan Egypt the money for the Dam, but then pulled
their funding due to Egypt's military and political ties to the Soviet
Union. Nasser was angry.
5. Suez Canal
• The Suez Canal is an important man-made waterway in Egypt. It
connects the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. This is important for
ships traveling from Europe to and from the Middle East and India.
The Suez Canal was built by French developer Ferdinand de Lesseps.
It took over 10 years and an estimated one and a half million workers
to complete. The canal was first opened on November 17, 1869.
• The Suez Crisis was an event in the Middle East in 1956. It began with
Egypt taking control of the Suez Canal which was followed by a
military attack from Israel, France, and Great Britain.
6. Suez Crisis
• Seizing the Canal
In order to pay for the Aswan Dam, Nasser decided to take over the Suez
Canal. It had been controlled by the British in order to keep it open and
free to all countries. Nasser seized the canal and was going to charge for
passage in order to pay for the Aswan Dam.
• Israel, France, and Great Britain Collude
The British, the French, and the Israelis all had issues with Nasser's
government at the time. They decided to use the canal as a reason to
attack Egypt. They secretly planned that Israel would attack and seize the
canal. Then the French and the British would enter as peacekeepers taking
control of the canal.
7. • Suez Crisis, (1956), international crisis in the Middle East, precipitated
on July 26, 1956, when the Egyptian president, Gamal Abdel Nasser,
nationalized the Suez Canal. The canal had been owned by the Suez
Canal Company, which was controlled by French and British interests.
• Israel Attacks
Just like they had planned, the Israeli's attacked and grabbed the
canal. Then the British and French jumped in. They told both sides to
stop, but when Egypt wouldn't they bombed Egypt's air force.
8. The Suez Crisis was provoked by an American and British decision
not to finance Egypt’s as they had promised, in response to Egypt’s growing
ties construction of the Aswan High Dam,
with communist Czechoslovakia and the Soviet Union.
Nasser reacted to the American and British decision by declaring
martial law in the canal zone and seizing control of
the Suez Canal Company, predicting that the tolls collected
from ships passing through the canal would pay for the dam’s
construction within five years.
9. • Britain and France feared that Nasser might close the canal and cut
off shipments of petroleum flowing from the Persian Gulf to western
Europe. When diplomatic efforts to settle the crisis failed, Britain and
France secretly prepared military action to regain control of the canal
and, if possible, to depose Nasser. They found a ready ally in Israel,
whose hostility toward Egypt had been exacerbated by Nasser’s
blockage of the Straits of Tīrān (at the mouth of the Gulf of Aqaba)
and the numerous raids by Egyptian-supported commandos into
Israel during 1955–56.
10. • On October 29, 1956, 10 Israeli brigades invaded Egypt and advanced
toward the canal, routing Egyptian forces. Britain and France,
following their plan, demanded that Israeli and Egyptian troops
withdraw from the canal, and they announced that they would
intervene to enforce a cease-fire ordered by the United Nations. On
November 5 and 6, British and French forces landed at Port Said and
Port Fuad and began occupying the canal zone. This move was soon
met by growing opposition at home and by U.S.-sponsored
resolutions in the UN (made in part to counter Soviet threats of
intervention), which quickly put a stop to the Anglo-French action. On
December 22 the UN evacuated British and French troops, and Israeli
forces withdrew in March 1957.
11. • Nasser emerged from the Suez Crisis a victor and a hero for the cause
of Arab and Egyptian nationalism. Israel did not win freedom to use
the canal, but it did regain shipping rights in the Straits of Tīrān.
Britain and France, less fortunate, lost most of their influence in the
Middle East as a result of the episode.
12. The Crisis Ends
The Americans were angry with the French and the British. At the same
time of the Suez Crisis, the Soviet Union was invading Hungary. The
Soviet Union had also threatened to enter the Suez Crisis on the side of
the Egyptians. The United States ended up forcing the Israelis, the
British, and the French to withdraw in order to prevent conflict with
the Soviet Union.
13. Results
• One result of the Suez Crisis was that the esteem of Great Britain was
never quite the same again. It was clear that the two world
superpowers at the time were the United States and the Soviet
Union. This was the Cold War and when something had an impact on
the interests of the United States and the Soviet Union, they were
going to get involved and assert their power.
The Suez Canal had strategic and economic impact for both the Soviet
Union and the United States. It was in both of their interests to keep
the canal open.
14. Interesting Facts About the Suez Crisis
•Sir Anthony Eden was the British Prime Minister at the time.
• He resigned shortly after the crisis ended.
•The Suez Canal is still open today and is free for all countries.
•It is owned and ran by the Suez Canal Authority of Egypt.
•The canal is 120 miles long and 670 feet wide.
•Nasser ended up gaining popularity both in Egypt and
throughout the Arab world for his part in the event.
•The crisis is known in Egypt as the "tripartite aggression"
15. Nasser as Arab Hero
• Arab Unity: Nasser's Revolution
• In 1952, an Egyptian army officer stepped forward to lead the drive for
Arab unity.
• The years between 1952 and 1970 saw the drive for Arab unity at its
strongest. It was an age of solidarity and the pursuit of unity through
mass political movements. And it was an era dominated by a leader the
likes of whom the Arabs had not seen in a long time.
• Part five of Al Jazeera's nine-part series, A Question of Arab Unity,
examines the achievements of Gamal Abdel Nasser, the second president
of the Arab Republic of Egypt, and asks if one person could really close
the gap between the dream and reality of Arab unity.
16. • Cairo, the capital of Egypt, is the Arab World's largest city. Home to
over 18 million people, it is often called the heart of the Arab World.
• It is also considered by many to be the cradle of modern Arab
nationalism for it was in Cairo that the idea of a unified Arab nation
found its greatest expression.
17. Winning Arab hearts
• Daoud says: "For the first time an Egyptian leader from the people and not from
the upper classes, was able to win the hearts of the Arab people, there was now
contact with various Arab forces and dialogue, there was a common language,
one with which all Arabs could identify, this paved the way for a common Arab
strategy." Nasserism had taken Arabism a step further. He believed Arabs would
be stronger if united, that they shared a common struggle against colonial powers
and that the liberation of Palestine should be an Arab duty.
Nasser's vision extended far beyond Egypt. He believed that the lessons of the
revolution should be applied in other Arab countries.
• His charisma and influence were so great that he inspired Arabs elsewhere to
dream of a unified Arab nation. His defiant attitude towards Egypt's former
colonial masters made him even more popular. Nasserism swept the region.
18. Arab hero
• In Lebanon, events in 1958 led to a minor civil war between the
existing regime and more revolutionary currents, influenced by
Nasser's ideas. The US was asked to intervene. US forces landed on
Beirut's shores in support of the local government but in the end it
was Nasser who brokered a political agreement among the warring
factions.
• But the most notable spread of Nasserism in 1958 came in Syria.
• A power struggle erupted within the military between Baathist and
Nasserist currents. Fearing their country might be divided and that
this could derail the drive towards Arab unity, a group of Syrian army
officers asked Nasser to join Egypt with Syria.
19. • Nasser was reluctant as the two countries had different political
systems and experiences; he preferred a federation of two states. But
with increasing pressure to find a rapid solution to Syria's situation,
Nasser finally agreed, stressing that the two nations would be ruled
on his terms.
The United Arab Republic (UAR) was born.
20. How did Gamal Abdel Nasser change the world?
• Gamal Abdel Nasser was revered by the masses throughout the Arab
world. Even the losses of two wars did not dim his popularity. In 1958
Syria and Egypt formed the United Arab Republic, which Nasser
hoped would someday include the entire Arab world. Syria withdrew
in 1961, but Egypt remained the United Arab Republic until 1971.
