| Egyptian revolution of 1952 | |||||||
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| Part of the decolonisation of Africa and Asia, the Cold War, and the Arab Cold War | |||||||
 The leaders of the Revolution, Mohamed Naguib (left) and Gamal Abdel Nasser (right) in a car | |||||||
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| Belligerents | |||||||
 Kingdom of EgyptSupported by:  United Kingdom |
 Free Officers MovementSupported by:  United States[1][2] | ||||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||||
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Farouk Ahmed Naguib el-Hilaly |
Mohamed Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser Anwar Sadat Khaled Mohieddin Abdel Latif Boghdadi Abdel Hakim Amer Gamal Salem Salah Salem Zakaria Mohieddin Hussein el-Shafei Hassan Ibrahim Kamal el-Din Hussein Abdel Moneim Amin | ||||||
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President (1956–1970)
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The Egyptian revolution of 1952 (Arabic: ثورة 23 يوليو),[3] also known as the 1952 coup d'état (Arabic: انقلاب 1952) [4][5][6] and 23 July Revolution,[7] was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952 the revolution began with the toppling of King Farouk in a coup d'état by the Free Officers Movement. This group of army officers was led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser.[8] The Revolution ushered in a wave of revolutionary politics in the Arab World, and contributed to the escalation of decolonisation, and the development of Third World solidarity during the Cold War.[9][10]
Though initially focused on grievances against King Farouk, the movement had more wide-ranging political ambitions. In the first three years of the Revolution, the Free Officers moved to abolish the constitutional monarchy and aristocracy of Egypt and Sudan, establish a republic, end the British occupation of the country, and secure the independence of Sudan (previously governed as an condominium of Egypt and the United Kingdom).[11] The revolutionary government adopted a staunchly nationalist, anti-imperialist agenda, which came to be expressed chiefly through Arab nationalism, and international non-alignment.[12][13]
The Revolution was faced with immediate threats from Western imperial powers, particularly the United Kingdom, which had occupied Egypt since 1882, and France, both of whom were wary of rising nationalist sentiment in territories under their control throughout Africa, and the Arab World. The ongoing state of war with Israel also posed a serious challenge, as the Free Officers increased Egypt's already strong support of the Palestinians.[14] These two issues converged in the fifth year of the Revolution when Egypt was invaded by the United Kingdom, France, and Israel in the Suez Crisis of 1956 (known in Egypt as the Tripartite Aggression). Despite enormous military losses, the war was seen as a political victory for Egypt, especially as it left the Suez Canal in uncontested Egyptian control for the first time since 1875, erasing what was seen as a mark of national humiliation. This strengthened the appeal of the revolution in other Arab countries.[15][16]
Wholesale agrarian reform, and huge industrialisation programmes were initiated in the first decade and half of the Revolution,[17] leading to an unprecedented period of infrastructure building, and urbanisation. By the 1960s, Arab socialism had become a dominant theme,[18] transforming Egypt into a centrally planned economy. Official fear of a Western-sponsored counter-revolution, domestic religious extremism, potential communist infiltration, and the conflict with the State of Israel were all cited as reasons compelling severe and longstanding restrictions on political opposition, and the prohibition of a multi-party system.[19] These restrictions on political activity would remain in place until the presidency of Anwar Sadat from 1970 onwards, during which many of the policies of the Revolution were scaled back or reversed.[20]
The early successes of the Revolution encouraged numerous other nationalist movements in other countries, such as Algeria, where there were anti-imperialist and anti-colonial rebellions against European empires.[3] It also inspired the toppling of existing pro-Western monarchies and governments in the MENA region. The Revolution is commemorated each year on 23 July.[21]
- ^ Wilford, Hugh (2013). America's Great Game: The CIA's Secret Arabists and the Making of the Modern Middle East. Basic Books. pp. 135–139. ISBN 978-0465019656.
... whether or not the CIA dealt directly with the Free Officers prior to their July 1952 coup, there was extensive secret American-Egyptian contact in the months after the revolution.
- ^ Morsy, Laila Amin (1995). "American Support for the 1952 Egyptian Coup: Why?". Middle Eastern Studies. 31 (2): 307–316. doi:10.1080/00263209508701055. ISSN 0026-3206. JSTOR 4283718.
- ^ a b Stenner, David (2019). Globalizing Morocco. Stanford University Press. doi:10.1515/9781503609006. ISBN 978-1-5036-0900-6. S2CID 239343404.
- ^ "Military seizes power in Egypt". 1952.
- ^ "The revolution and the Republic".
- ^ T. R. L (1954). "Egypt since the Coup d'Etat of 1952". The World Today. 10 (4): 140–149. JSTOR 40392721.
- ^ Matthew, Holland (1996). America and Egypt: From Roosevelt to Eisenhower. United States: Praeger. p. 27. ISBN 0-275-95474-9.
- ^ Gordon 1992.
- ^ "Egypt – Revolution, Republic, Nile | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ "Egypt's 23 Revolution – and beyond: challenges and gains". EgyptToday. 2020-07-23. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ Lahav, Pnina (July 2015). "The Suez Crisis of 1956 and its Aftermath: A Comparative Study of Constitutions, Use of Force, Diplomacy and International Relations". Boston University Law Review. 95 (4): 15–50.
- ^ Poljarevic, Emin (2009-01-01). "Egypt, Revolution of 1952". International Encyclopedia of Revolution and Protest: 1–4. doi:10.1002/9781405198073.wbierp0501. ISBN 978-1-4051-8464-9.
- ^ "Egypt's Revolution and the Lessons for Today - AIIA". Australian Institute of International Affairs. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ Chin, John J.; Wright, Joseph; Carter, David B. (13 December 2022). Historical Dictionary of Modern Coups D'état. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 790. ISBN 978-1-5381-2068-2.
- ^ Omar Ashour (7 February 2011). "Egypt's Revolution: Two Lessons from History".
- ^ "Egyptian Revolution of 1952". EgyptToday. 2017-02-19. Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ Rezk, Dina (2017). The Arab world and Western intelligence: analysing the Middle East, 1956–1981. Intelligence, surveillance and secret warfare. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. ISBN 978-0-7486-9891-2.
- ^ Hanna, Sami A.; Gardner, George H. (1969). Arab Socialism. [al-Ishtirakīyah Al-ʻArabīyah]: A Documentary Survey. University of Utah Press. ISBN 978-0-87480-056-2.
- ^ Abd El-Nasser, Gamal (1954). The Philosophy of the Revolution. Cairo: Dar Al-Maaref.
- ^ Mansour, Thaer (2022-07-22). "Egypt's 1952 revolution: Seven decades of military rule". Retrieved 2024-02-25.
- ^ Babar, Sadia (2022-07-23). "Egypt celebrates 70th anniversary of Revolution Day". The Diplomatic Insight. Retrieved 2023-08-27.