Egypt History Part 7
After the VAR had failed politically in 1961 when Syria left, Egypt received a new constitution in 1964; within its framework, Nasser sought, supported by the unity Arab Socialist Union (ASU), to bring about an “Arab socialism”. He tried to promote the social and economic development of his country through development aid from East and West.
With the dispatch of troops to Yemen (1962-67), the Egyptian government came into conflict with Saudi Arabia. Based on the increasing military aid from communist states (especially the USSR), Nasser tried to resolve the Middle East conflict in favor of the Arab states. When the Gulf of Aqaba was closed to Israeli ships, it triggered the Six Day War (June 1967); in the course of this war Israel occupied the Sinai peninsula as far as the Suez Canal. After Egypt and the other Arab states involved in the war were defeated by Israel, Nasser searchedthrough rearmament of the army with the help of Soviet advisers and weapons, as well as through a “war of attrition” to resolve the conflict with Israel; at the same time, Egypt has since given increased support to the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).
After Nasser’s death (1970), his successor as President and Chairman of the ASU, A. as-Sadat, initially continued his policy. In 1971 Egypt signed a friendship treaty with the USSR, reached an agreement with Libya and Syria on the formation of a (subsequently not realized) federation of Arab states and also agreed a joint planning council with Syria. In October 1973, according to naturegnosis, Egypt and Syria attacked Israel, but after initial success had to agree to a ceasefire with Israel. In a troop unbundling agreement brokered by the American Secretary of State H. A. Kissinger (1974), Egypt regained a strip of territory on the Sinai peninsula. After Sadat Gradually limited the influence of the USSR, which had risen sharply in Egypt under Nasser, in favor of the western industrialized countries, he terminated the Egyptian-Soviet friendship treaty in 1976. With a visit to Jerusalem (November 1977) Sadat initiated a peace initiative against Israel. With the mediation of the American President J. Carter, Sadat and the Israeli Prime Minister M. Begin agreed1978 in Camp David (USA) Framework conditions for an Egyptian-Israeli peace treaty, which was concluded in March 1979, inter alia. was signed against the fierce resistance of Syria, Libya, Algeria and Iraq as well as the PLO and which led to the suspension of Egypt’s membership in the Arab League. Due to the peace treaty, Egypt regained the Sinai peninsula entirely by 1982.
In domestic politics, Sadat initiated the transition to a multi-party state in 1976. With the passing of a new party law (1977), a broader political spectrum could develop. After the dissolution of the ASU (1978), the National Democratic Party (NDP) was formed as the leading political force. In addition to strong social tensions (e.g. riots in 1977 due to price increases), there were religiously motivated clashes between Muslims and Copts.
After Sadat’s assassination (at a military parade) in October 1981, Vice President H. Mubarak took over the office of President (re-election in 1987, 1993, 1999 and, after changing the electoral law, for the first time with opposing candidates, 2005). On the basis of the state of emergency imposed after the attack, he fought the anti-state activities of radical groups, but at the same time sought national consensus with the forces of the moderate opposition. In the parliamentary elections of November / December 2005, the ruling NDP again won a two-thirds majority; The Muslim Brotherhood achieved strong gainsthat ran with independent candidates. In 2007 the constitution was revised again, which was confirmed in a referendum largely boycotted by the opposition. The government continued to act with great severity against Islamist extremists. After the parliamentary elections in 2010, which were overshadowed by allegations of fraud, serious riots broke out. The opposition could only hold a few seats against the NDP.
On January 25, 2011, protests and mass demonstrations against the regime initiated a political overthrow. First of all, Mubarak reshuffled the government on January 29, 2011 and appointed Ahmad Schafik (* 1941) as the new head of cabinet. He also appointed Omar Suleiman (* 1936, † 2012) for the first time during his tenure as a vice-president. Nonetheless, the unrest continued. Cairo’s Tahrir Square became the central protest location for the democracy movement. Over 800 people were killed in the anti-Mubarak protests. On February 11, 2011, Mubarak finally resigned. His official duties were taken over by a Supreme Military Council headed by Mohammed Hussein Tantawi (* 1935). Essam Sharaf (* 1952) was appointed interim head of government with the approval of the opposition. On March 19, 2011, the population approved a constitutional revision in a referendum. Mubarak and two of his sons were born on April 13, 2011 inter alia. detained for abuse of power and responsibility for the deaths of demonstrators. Bloody clashes between Copts, radical Muslims and security forces in October 2011 in Aswan put a strain on domestic political developments. On November 18, 2011, there were mass demonstrations against the ruling Supreme Military Council on Tahrir Square in Cairo and other Egyptian cities. At least 33 people lost their lives in clashes with security forces. In response to the unrest, a new government was appointed on December 7, 2011 under the leadership of Kamal Ahmad al-Ganzuri (* 1933, † 2021), who had already served as prime minister from 1996–99.
