Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian military officer and politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until he died in 1970. Nasser played a leading role in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and introduced significant land reforms the following year. After a 1954 assassination attempt by a member of the Muslim Brotherhood, he cracked down on the organization, placed President Mohamed Naguib under house arrest, and took over executive power. He was formally elected president in June 1956.
Nasser's popularity soared in Egypt and the Arab world after he nationalized the Suez Canal Company and achieved a political victory during the subsequent Suez Crisis, known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression. His calls for pan-Arab unity gained momentum, leading to the formation of the United Arab Republic, a political union with Syria that lasted from 1958 to 1961. In 1962, Nasser implemented a series of major socialist measures and modernization reforms in Egypt. Despite several setbacks to his pan-Arabist vision, by 1963, Nasser's supporters gained power in several Arab nations. However, he became embroiled in the North Yemen Civil War and the broader Arab Cold War. He began his second presidential term in March 1965 after banning his political opponents from running. Following Egypt's defeat by Israel in the Six-Day War of 1967, Nasser resigned, but public demonstrations called for his reinstatement, and he returned to office.
By 1968, Nasser had appointed himself prime minister, initiated the War of Attrition to reclaim the Israeli-occupied Sinai Peninsula, depoliticised the military, and introduced a series of political liberalization reforms. After the conclusion of the 1970 Arab League summit, Nasser suffered a heart attack and died. His funeral in Cairo attracted five to six million mourners and prompted widespread grief across the Arab world.
Nasser remains iconic in the Arab region, particularly for his efforts toward social justice, Arab unity, modernization policies, and anti-imperialist actions. His presidency coincided with a cultural boom in Egypt and the launch of large industrial projects, including the Aswan Dam and Helwan City. However, his critics point to his authoritarianism, human rights violations, antisemitism, and the dominance of the military over civil institutions during his tenure, establishing a lasting pattern of military and dictatorial rule in Egypt.
Early Life
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was born in Bakos, Alexandria, Egypt, on 15 January 1918, just before the tumultuous events of the Egyptian Revolution of 1919. Nasser's father was a postal worker from Beni Mur in Upper Egypt who was raised in Alexandria, while his mother's family came from Mallawi, el-Minya. His parents had married in 1917, and Nasser had two brothers, Izz al-Arab and al-Leithi. Biographers Robert Stephens and Said Aburish noted that Nasser's family held a strong belief in the "Arab notion of glory," as reflected in his brother's name, Izz al-Arab, which means "Glory of the Arabs."
Due to his father's job, Nasser's family frequently relocated. In 1921, they moved to Asyut and then to Khatatba in 1923, where his father managed a post office. Nasser attended a primary school for the children of railway employees until 1924 when he went to live with his paternal uncle in Cairo and attended the Nahhasin elementary school.
Nasser regularly exchanged letters with his mother and visited her during holidays. However, he stopped receiving messages at the end of April 1926. Upon his return to Khatatba, he learned that his mother had died shortly after giving birth to his third brother, Shawki and that his family had kept the news from him. Nasser later expressed that losing her in this way was a shock so profound that time could not heal it. He adored his mother, and the hurt of her death was compounded when his father remarried before the end of the year.
In 1928, Nasser moved to Alexandria to live with his maternal grandfather and attend Attarin Elementary School. In 1929, he transferred to a private boarding school in Helwan but later returned to Alexandria to enrol in Ras el-Tin Secondary School and join his father, who was then working for the city’s postal service. It was during his time in Alexandria that Nasser became involved in political activism. After witnessing clashes between protesters and police in Manshia Square, he joined a demonstration without initially understanding its purpose. The protest, organized by the ultranationalist Young Egypt Society, aimed to end colonialism in Egypt following the annulment of the 1923 Egyptian constitution by Prime Minister Isma'il Sidqi. Nasser was arrested and spent a night in detention before his father bailed him out. He briefly joined the paramilitary wing of the group, known as the Green Shirts, in 1934. Historian James Jankowski noted that this association and Nasser's active role in student demonstrations during this time "imbued him with a fierce Egyptian nationalism."
When his father was transferred to Cairo in 1933, Nasser joined him and attended al-Nahda al-Masria School. He participated in school plays for a short time and wrote articles for the school newspaper, including a piece on the French philosopher Voltaire titled "Voltaire, the Man of Freedom." On November 13, 1935, Nasser led a student demonstration against British rule in response to a statement made four days earlier by UK Foreign Minister Samuel Hoare, which rejected the restoration of the 1923 Constitution. The protest resulted in the deaths of two demonstrators, and Nasser himself was grazed on the head by a policeman's bullet. This incident marked his first mention in the press; the nationalist newspaper Al Gihad reported that he had led the protest and was among the injured. On December 12, King Farouk issued a decree restoring the constitution.
Nasser's political activity intensified throughout his school years, resulting in him attending only 45 days of classes during his final year of secondary school. Despite the near-universal support for the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty among Egypt's political forces, Nasser strongly opposed it because it permitted the continued presence of British military bases in the country. Nevertheless, political unrest in Egypt diminished significantly, allowing Nasser to resume his studies at al-Nahda, where he later obtained his leaving certificate.
Aburish argues that Nasser was not troubled by his frequent relocations, as they broadened his perspective and highlighted the class divisions within Egyptian society. Coming from a social status well below that of the wealthy elite, Nasser's discontent with those born into privilege grew over time. He spent much of his spare time reading, particularly in 1933 when he lived near the National Library of Egypt. His reading included the Qur'an, the sayings of Muhammad, the lives of the Sahaba (Muhammad's companions), the biographies of nationalist leaders like Napoleon, Atatürk, Otto von Bismarck, and Garibaldi, as well as the autobiography of Winston Churchill.
Nasser was significantly influenced by Egyptian nationalism, which was championed by politicians such as Mustafa Kamel and poet Ahmed Shawqi, as well as by his anti-colonialist instructor at the Royal Military Academy, Aziz al-Masri. Nasser expressed his gratitude to al-Masri in a 1961 newspaper interview. He was particularly inspired by Egyptian writer Tawfiq al-Hakim's novel *Return of the Spirit*, in which al-Hakim suggested that the Egyptian people were in search of "a man in whom all their feelings and desires will be represented, and who will be for them a symbol of their objective." Nasser later credited this novel as the motivation behind his decision to launch the coup d'état that initiated the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.
Military Career
In 1937, Nasser applied to the Royal Military Academy for army officer training, but his police record of anti-government protests initially blocked his entry. Disappointed, he enrolled in the law school at King Fuad University but quit after one semester to reapply to the Military Academy. Influenced by his readings and frequently speaking of "dignity, glory, and freedom" in his youth, Nasser became captivated by the stories of national liberators and heroic conquerors, leading him to prioritize a military career.
Realizing he needed a "Wasta," or influential intermediary, to promote his application, Nasser arranged a meeting with the Under-Secretary of War Ibrahim Khairy Pasha, who was responsible for the academy's selection board and requested his assistance. Khairy Pasha agreed to sponsor Nasser’s second application, which was accepted in late 1937. From that point forward, Nasser focused on his military career and had little contact with his family. At the academy, he met Abdel Hakim Amer and Anwar Sadat, both of whom would become important aides during his presidency. After graduating from the academy in July 1938, he was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the infantry and posted to Mankabad. It was here that Nasser and his closest comrades, including Sadat and Amer, first discussed their dissatisfaction with widespread corruption in the country and their desire to topple the monarchy. Sadat later stated that due to Nasser's "energy, clear-thinking, and balanced judgment," he emerged as the group's natural leader.
In 1941, Nasser was posted to Khartoum, Sudan, which was part of Egypt at the time. He returned to Egypt in September 1942 after a brief stay in Sudan and secured a position as an instructor at the Cairo Royal Military Academy in May 1943. In February 1942, during what became known as the Abdeen Palace Incident, British soldiers and tanks surrounded King Farouk's palace to compel him to dismiss Prime Minister Hussein Sirri Pasha in favour of Mostafa El-Nahas, who the British government believed would be more sympathetic to their war efforts against the Axis. The British Ambassador, Miles Lampson, marched into the palace and threatened the King with bombardment, removal from power, and exile unless he complied with British demands. Ultimately, the 22-year-old King submitted and appointed El-Nahas. Nasser viewed this as a blatant violation of Egyptian sovereignty, later expressing his shame that the army did not react against the attack and wishing for "calamity" to befall the British. Later that year, Nasser was accepted into the General Staff College, where he began forming a group of young military officers with strong nationalist sentiments who were supportive of some form of revolution. He primarily stayed in touch with the group through Amer, who sought out interested officers across various branches of the Egyptian Armed Forces and provided Nasser with a complete profile of each of them.
Nasser's first battlefield experience came during the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, where he initially volunteered to serve with the Arab Higher Committee (AHC) led by Mohammad Amin al-Husayni. Although he impressed al-Husayni, he was ultimately denied entry into the AHC's forces by the Egyptian government for unclear reasons.
In May 1948, following the British withdrawal, King Farouk sent the Egyptian army into Israel, with Nasser serving as a staff officer in the 6th Infantry Battalion. During the war, he remarked on the Egyptian army's unpreparedness, stating, "Our soldiers were dashed against fortifications." Nasser was the deputy commander of the Egyptian forces that secured the Faluja pocket (commanded by Said Taha Bey, nicknamed the "Sudanese tiger" by the Israelis). On July 12, he was lightly wounded in the fighting. By August, his brigade found itself surrounded by the Israeli Army. Appeals for assistance from Transjordan's Arab Legion went unheeded, but the brigade refused to surrender. Negotiations between Israel and Egypt eventually resulted in the ceding of Faluja to Israel. According to veteran journalist Eric Margolis, the defenders of Faluja, including young army officer Gamal Abdel Nasser, became national heroes for enduring Israeli bombardment while isolated from their command.
Still stationed in the Faluja enclave after the war, Nasser agreed to an Israeli request to identify 67 soldiers from the "religious platoon" who had been killed. The expedition was led by Rabbi Shlomo Goren, and Nasser personally accompanied him, ordering the Egyptian soldiers to stand at attention. They spoke briefly, and according to Goren, after learning about the square phylacteries found with the soldiers, Nasser told him that he "now understands their courageous stand." In a 1971 interview on Israeli TV, Rabbi Goren claimed that the two had agreed to meet again when the time for peace arrived.
Despite reservations from the royal government—pressured by the British to prevent the reception—Egyptian singer Umm Kulthum hosted a public celebration for the returning officers. The evident disparity between the government’s stance and the general public’s attitude increased Nasser’s determination to topple the monarchy. He felt bitter that his brigade had not been relieved despite demonstrating resilience during the conflict. During the siege, he began writing his book, "Philosophy of the Revolution."
After the war, Nasser resumed his role as an instructor at the Royal Military Academy. He sent emissaries to ally with the Muslim Brotherhood in October 1948 but soon realized that the Brotherhood's religious agenda was incompatible with his nationalist goals. Consequently, Nasser worked to limit the Brotherhood's influence over his cadres' activities while maintaining ties with the organization. In February 1949, he was sent as a member of the Egyptian delegation to Rhodes to negotiate a formal armistice with Israel. He reportedly considered the terms of the armistice humiliating, particularly because the Israelis had easily occupied the Eilat region while negotiating with the Arab representatives in March.
Revolution
Nasser's return to Egypt coincided with Husni al-Za'im's coup d’état in Syria. The success of this coup, along with its evident popular support among the Syrian people, inspired Nasser in his revolutionary pursuits. Shortly after his return, he was summoned and interrogated by Prime Minister Ibrahim Abdel Hadi due to suspicions that he was forming a secret group of dissenting officers. According to secondhand reports, Nasser convincingly denied the allegations. Abdel Hadi was hesitant to take drastic measures against the army, particularly in front of its chief of staff, who was present during the interrogation, and ultimately decided to release Nasser. This interrogation motivated Nasser to expedite his group's activities.
After 1949, the group adopted the name "Association of Free Officers" and focused on advocating for freedom and the restoration of their country's dignity. Nasser organized the Free Officers' founding committee, which eventually included fourteen men from various social and political backgrounds, representing groups such as Young Egypt, the Muslim Brotherhood, the Egyptian Communist Party, and the aristocracy. Nasser was unanimously elected as the chairman of the organization.
In the 1950 parliamentary elections, the Wafd Party, led by el-Nahhas, achieved victory—largely due to the absence of the Muslim Brotherhood, which boycotted the elections. The Wafd's campaign, which mirrored many of the Free Officers' demands, was perceived as a threat by them. However, accusations of corruption against Wafd politicians began to emerge, fostering an atmosphere of rumour and suspicion that ultimately propelled the Free Officers to the forefront of Egyptian politics. By this time, their organization had grown to around ninety members. According to Khaled Mohieddin, "Nobody knew all of them and where they belonged in the hierarchy except Nasser." Nasser felt that the Free Officers were not yet ready to act against the government, and for nearly two years, he focused mainly on officer recruitment and issuing underground news bulletins.
On October 11, 1951, the Wafd government abrogated the unpopular Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, which granted the United Kingdom the right to maintain its military forces in the Suez Canal Zone. The popularity of this decision, along with government-sponsored guerrilla attacks against the British, increased pressure on Nasser to take action. According to Sadat, Nasser decided to launch "a large-scale assassination campaign." In January 1952, he and Hassan Ibrahim attempted to assassinate the royalist general Hussein Sirri Amer by firing submachine guns at his car as he drove through the streets of Cairo. Instead of killing the general, they inadvertently wounded an innocent bystander. Nasser later recalled that the screams of the wounded woman "haunted" him and strongly deterred him from undertaking similar actions in the future.
Sirri Amer was close to King Farouk and had the king's backing for nomination to the presidency of the Officer's Club—typically a ceremonial position. Nasser was determined to establish the army's independence from the monarchy. With Amer as a significant intercessor, Nasser and his group decided to field a nominee from the Free Officers. They chose Mohamed Naguib, a popular general who had previously offered his resignation to Farouk in 1942 due to British interference and who had been wounded three times during the Palestine War. Naguib won overwhelmingly, and the Free Officers, through their connection with the leading Egyptian daily, al-Misri, publicized his victory and praised the nationalistic spirit of the army.