Editing United Arab Republic (section)

===Origins===
{{Main|History of Egypt|History of Syria|Gaza Strip#History}}
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| image1            = Flag of Egypt (1922-1958).svg
| caption1          = Flag of the [[Republic of Egypt (1953–1958)|Republic of Egypt]]
| image2            = Flag of Syria (1930–1958, 1961–1963).svg
| caption2          = Flag of the [[Second Syrian Republic|Syrian Republic]]
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| image3            = Flag of Hejaz (1917).svg
| caption3          = Flag of the [[All-Palestine Protectorate|State of Palestine]]
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[[File:1958-02-03 First US Satellite Launched.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=2:29|start=105|right|[[Universal Newsreel]] about the founding of the Republic]]
[[File:Voting card for the Syrian referendum on unification with Egypt, 1958.jpg|left|thumb|208x208px|Voting card for the Syrian referendum on unification]]
The United Arab Republic was established on 1 February 1958<ref name="feb1">{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96294492/egypt-syria-union-aims-at-arab-unity/|title=Egypt, Syria Union Aim at Arab Unity|work=The San Francisco Examiner|date=2 February 1958|agency=Associated Press|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=4 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104130338/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96294492/egypt-syria-union-aims-at-arab-unity/|url-status=live}}</ref> as the first step towards a larger [[Pan-Arabism|pan-Arab]] state, originally being proposed to Egyptian President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] by a group of political and military leaders in [[Second Syrian Republic|Syria]].

[[Pan-Arabism|Pan-Arab sentiment]] traditionally was very strong in Syria, and Nasser was a popular heroic figure throughout the Arab world following the [[Suez Crisis|1956 Tripartite Aggression]]. There was thus considerable popular support in Syria for union with [[History of Egypt under Gamal Abdel Nasser|Nasser's Egypt]]. The [[Ba'ath Party|Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party]] was the leading advocate of such a union.<ref name="books.google.lv">{{cite book|author=James P. Jankowski|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yN_dBBIxAwC|title=Nasser's Egypt, Arab Nationalism, and the United Arab Republic|publisher=Lynne Rienner Publishers|year=2002|isbn=9781588260345|access-date=2016-08-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171010035402/https://books.google.com/books?id=0yN_dBBIxAwC|archive-date=2017-10-10|url-status=live}}</ref>

In mid-1957, Western powers began to worry that Syria was close to a Communist takeover; it had a highly organized [[Syrian Communist Party|Communist Party]] and the newly appointed [[Syrian Armed Forces|army]]'s chief of staff, [[Afif al-Bizri]], was a Communist sympathizer. This caused the [[Syrian Crisis of 1957]] after which Syrians intensified their efforts to unite with Egypt.<ref name=brti>{{cite encyclopedia|url=http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615447/United-Arab-Republic-UAR|title=United Arab Republic (U.A.R.)|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=2012-08-24|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120814103230/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/615447/United-Arab-Republic-UAR|archive-date=2012-08-14|url-status=live}}</ref> Nasser told a Syrian delegation, including [[President of Syria|President]] [[Shukri al-Quwatli]] and [[Prime Minister of Syria|Prime Minister]] [[Khalid al-Azm]], that they needed to rid their government of Communists, but the delegation countered and warned him that only total union with Egypt would end the "Communist threat".<ref name=brti /> According to [[Abdel Latif Boghdadi (politician)|Abdel Latif Boghdadi]], Nasser initially resisted a total union with Syria, favoring instead a [[Federalism|federal]] union. However, Nasser was "more afraid of a Communist takeover" and agreed on a total merger.<ref name=brti /> The increasing strength of the Syrian Communist Party, under the leadership of [[Khalid Bakdash]], worried the [[Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party – Syria Region|Syrian Ba'ath Party]], which was suffering from an internal crisis from which prominent members were anxious to find an escape.<ref name=brti/> Syria had a democratic government since the overthrow of [[Adib Shishakli]]'s military government in 1954, and popular pressure for Arab unity was reflected in the [[1954 Syrian parliamentary election|composition of parliament]].<ref name=brti/>
[[File:Nasser with Syrian Delegation.jpg|thumbnail|right|Nasser shaking hands with al-Bizri]]

On 11 January 1958, the Syrian Chief of Staff Afif al-Bizri headed a Syrian delegation composed of military officers which came uninvited and unannounced to Cairo. The delegation was received by Egyptian Chief of Staff [[Abdel Hakim Amer]] and petitioned for a Syrian-Egyptian union. Only Syrian advocates of unity, including [[Salah al-Din al-Bitar]] and [[Akram al-Hourani]] had prior knowledge of this delegation; Quwatli and Azm were notified a day later and considered it tantamount to a "military coup".<ref name="Aburish151"/><ref>{{Harvnb|Podeh|1999|pp=43}}</ref>

Nasser's final terms for the union were decisive and non-negotiable: "a plebiscite, the dissolution of parties, and the withdrawal of the army from politics". While the plebiscite seemed reasonable to most Syrian elites, the latter two conditions were extremely worrisome. They believed it would destroy political life in Syria.<ref>{{Harvnb|Palmer|1966|pp=53}}</ref> Despite these concerns, the Syrian officials knew it was too late to turn back. Caught between Western and Soviet pressures, the members of the elite in Syria viewed the merger with Egypt as the least bad option to insulate from either side. They believed that Nasser's terms were unfair, but given the intense pressure that their government was undergoing, they believed that they had no other choice.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hinnebusch |first=Raymond |url=https://www.google.ch/books/edition/The_International_Politics_of_the_Middle/DcEg3zHm7-wC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=%22united+arab+republic%22+merger,+syrian+elite,+unfair&printsec=frontcover |title=The International Politics of the Middle East |date=2003-07-18 |publisher=Manchester University Press |isbn=978-0-7190-5346-7 |pages=26 |language=en}}</ref>

A plebiscite was held on 21 February 1958, with Egyptians and Syrians voting in favor of the merger.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96295215/nasser-to-head-egypt-syria-union/|title=Nasser to Head Egypt-Syria Union|newspaper=The Nottingham Evening Post|date=22 February 1958|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=4 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104130336/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96295215/nasser-to-head-egypt-syria-union/|url-status=live}}</ref> The result was announced on 22 February<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96296582/nearly-all-voters-in-egypt-approve-arab/|title=Nearly All Voters in Egypt Approve Arab Republic|newspaper=The Pantagraph|location=Bloomington, Illinois|date=22 February 1958|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=4 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104130346/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96296582/nearly-all-voters-in-egypt-approve-arab/|url-status=live}}</ref> and Nasser was declared the new president of the United Arab Republic.<ref name=feb23>{{cite news|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96296879/cairo-wild-as-nasser-takes-post/|title=Cairo Wild as Nasser Takes Post|newspaper=Fort Lauderdale News|date=23 February 1958|access-date=24 February 2022|archive-date=4 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104130337/https://www.newspapers.com/clip/96296879/cairo-wild-as-nasser-takes-post/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Egyptian and Syrian leaders signed the protocols, although Azm did so reluctantly.<ref>{{Harvnb|Podeh|1999|pp=49}}</ref> Nasser became the republic's president and very soon carried out a crackdown against the Syrian Communists and opponents of the union. This included dismissing Bizri and Azm from their posts.<ref name="Aburish151">{{Harvnb|Aburish|2004|pp=150–151}}</ref><ref>{{Harvnb|Podeh|1999|pp=44–45}}</ref>
[[File:NasserQuwatliUAR.jpg|thumb|right|Nasser signing unity pact with Syrian president [[Shukri al-Quwatli]], forming the United Arab Republic, 1 February 1958]]