Anwar Sadat
From ArticleWorld
Anwar Sadat (1918 – 1981), was the third President of the Arab Republic of Egypt from September 1970 till he was assassinated by Islamic extremists in October 1981. Al Sadat is one of the most influential Egyptian and Arab leaders in modern history.
Contents |
History
Mohamed Anwar Al Sadat was born in Al Minufiyah, Egypt to an Egyptian-Sudanese family consisting of 13 brothers and sisters. He attended the Egyptian Royal Military Academy, and was appointed in the Signal Corps. He was a member of the Free Officers army movement that overthrew King Farouq, and freed Egypt from the British occupation. Sadat was jailed by the British forces during the WWII for trying to get help from the Axis Powers, in order to free Egypt from the British. After the 1952 revolution, he was assigned to announce the news of the revolution to the Egyptian people.
During Gamal Abdel Nasser presidency, he was appointed Minister of State and Speaker of the People's Council. In 1969, Sadat became the Vice-President of President Gamal Abdel Nasser. After Nasser's death, Sadat became the President starting the Corrective Revolution.
Presidency
On October 6th 1973, Sadat along with Syria, initiated the Yom Kippur War (Six of October War). The Egyptian Army succeeded in crossing the Suez Canal and regaining parts of Sinai, which had been captured by Israel in the Six-Day War during Nasser's time. Though Egypt's achievements in this war were limited, this initial victory succeeded in getting the Suez Canal back and raising the Egyptian morale after 1967 defeat. It also led to signing the peace treaty between Egypt and Israel several years later.
In November 1977, Sadat made the historical visit to Israel, making him the first Arab leader to visit the country and speak before the Israeli National Assembly, "Knesset." He met with the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and sought a permanent peace treaty. Sadat faced strong opposition from the rest of the Arab countries, because he recognized Israel's right to exist. In 1978, both Sadat and Begin signed the Camp David Peace Agreement, for which both leaders received the Nobel Peace Prize. However, this was faced by a complete outrage in the Arab World. During Nasser's presidency Egypt was the symbol of Arab nationalism, and signing the peace agreement with Israel was viewed by the Arabs as a betrayal of their cause. In 1979, Egypt was suspended from the League of Arab States, and the League moved its headquarter from Cairo to Tunis. As part of the peace treaty, Israel gradually withdrew from the Sinai Peninsula, returning the entire area to Egypt by 1983.
Assassination
In 1981, Sadat cracked down on Muslim and Coptic organizations, suppressing any opposition and arresting at least 1500 persons. One month after these arrests, Sadat was assassinated by Islamic extremists, during a military parade honoring the 8th anniversary of the 1973 October war. The assassins, who were members of the army, were also part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization, which opposed the peace negotiations with Israel and Sadat's arrests. Following Sadat's death, his Vice-President Mohamed Hosni Mubarak became President and kept Egypt's commitment to its treaty with Israel.
Writings of Sadat
Sadat wrote 13 books during his life. Few examples are:
- The Full Story of the Revolution
- Unknown Pages of the Revolution
- Son, This Is Your Uncle Gamal
- In Search of Self
- Revolt on the Nile