Editing Gamal Abdel Nasser (section)

=== Domestic reforms and governmental changes ===
Nasser appointed himself the additional roles of prime minister and supreme commander of the armed forces on 19 June 1967.<ref>{{Harvnb|Aburish|2004|p=276}}</ref> Angry at the military court's perceived leniency with air force officers charged with negligence during the 1967 war, workers and students launched protests calling for major political reforms in late February 1968.<ref>{{Harvnb|Brownlee|2007|p=88}}</ref><ref name="Farid97">{{Harvnb|Farid|1996|p=97}}</ref> Nasser responded to the demonstrations, the most significant public challenge to his rule since workers' protests in March 1954, by removing most military figures from his cabinet and appointing eight civilians in place of several high-ranking members of the Arab Socialist Union (ASU).<ref name="Brownlee89">{{Harvnb|Brownlee|2007|p=89}}</ref><ref name="Kandil92">{{Harvnb|Kandil|2012|p=92}}</ref> By 3 March, Nasser directed Egypt's intelligence apparatus to focus on external rather than domestic espionage, and declared the "fall of the [[Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate|mukhabarat]] state".<ref name="Kandil92" />

On 30 March, Nasser proclaimed a manifesto stipulating the restoration of civil liberties, greater parliamentary independence from the executive,<ref name="Farid97" /> major structural changes to the ASU, and a campaign to rid the government of corrupt elements.<ref name="Brownlee89" /> A public referendum approved the proposed measures in May, and held subsequent elections for the Supreme Executive Committee, the ASU's highest decision-making body.<ref name="Farid97" /> Observers noted that the declaration signaled an important shift from [[political repression]] to liberalization, although its promises would largely go unfulfilled.<ref name="Brownlee89" />

Nasser appointed Sadat and Hussein el-Shafei as his vice presidents in December 1969. By then, relations with his other original military comrades, namely Khaled and Zakaria Mohieddin and former vice president Sabri, had become strained.<ref name="Aburish299">{{Harvnb|Aburish|2004|pp=299–301}}</ref> By mid-1970, Nasser pondered replacing Sadat with Boghdadi after reconciling with the latter.<ref name="Aburish304">{{Harvnb|Aburish|2004|p=304}}</ref>