Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser ({{ll|Arabic}}: ???? ??? ??????) ‎ (January 15, 1918 – September 28, 1970) was the second President of Egypt after Muhammad Naguib and is considered one of the most important Arab leaders in history. He was the foremost exponent of Arab Nationalism during the 1950s and 1960s.

Six Day War

Nasser, who had long urged the destruction of Israel, was a leading actor in provoking the Six Day War in 1967. Nasser sought the remilitarization of the Sinai peninsula and demanded that U.N.E.F. evacuate the Sinai, a request with which UN Secretary-General U Thant complied. Nasser proceeded to begin re-militarization of the Sinai. On May 23, Nasser closed the Straits of Tiran to Israeli shipping, blockading the Israeli port of Eilat, at the northern end of the Gulf of Aqaba, Israel's only access to the Indian Ocean. The closure of the straits was considered by Israel to be a casus belli. Nasser convinced Jordan and Syria to join him in united Arab action against Israel and declared in a speech, "The battle will be a general one and our basic objective will be to destroy Israel." However, Israel's offensive in the Six Day War routed the Arab states.

Related Topics:
Israel - Six Day War - Sinai - U.N.E.F. - U Thant - May 23 - Straits of Tiran - Casus belli - Jordan - Syria

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After a defeat in the 1967 Six-Day War against Israel, Nasser sought to resign from his position. However, widespread calls from the Egyptian people for Nasser to remain convinced him to remain in power. He consequently led Egypt through the War of Attrition in 1969-1970. Nasser died of a heart attack only a few weeks after the war ended, on September 28, 1970. His funeral was the largest in history with an estimated 5 million people in attendance.

Related Topics:
1967 - Six-Day War - War of Attrition - September 28 - 1970

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He was succeeded by Anwar Sadat.

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