Editing Anwar Sadat (section)

==Presidency==
{{further|History of Egypt under Anwar Sadat}}

[[File:Anwar Sadat (1971).jpg|thumb|190x190px|Sadat addressing the [[Arab Socialist Union (Egypt)|Arab Socialist Union]] in 1971]]

Some of the major events of Sadat's presidency were his "Corrective Revolution" to consolidate power, the break with Egypt's long-time ally and aid-giver the [[USSR]], the [[1973 October War]] with Israel, the [[Camp David Accords]] and the [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty]], the "opening up" (or [[Infitah]]) of Egypt's economy, and lastly his assassination in 1981.

Sadat succeeded Nasser as president after the latter's death in October 1970.<ref name="ottowac">{{cite news|title=Big 'yes' for Anwar Sadat|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lccyAAAAIBAJ&pg=1767,5177440|access-date=22 December 2012|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|date=16 October 1970|agency=Associated Press|location=Cairo}}</ref> Sadat's presidency was widely expected to be short-lived.<ref name=nytobit/> Viewing him as having been little more than a puppet of the former president, Nasser's supporters in government settled on Sadat as someone they could manipulate easily. Sadat surprised everyone with a series of astute political moves by which he was able to retain the presidency and emerge as a leader in his own right.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr70/fegypt1971a.htm|title=Egypt Corrective Revolution 1971|publisher=Onwar|date=16 December 2000|access-date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201042948/http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr70/fegypt1971a.htm|archive-date=1 February 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[File:Sadat_Qaddafi_Assad_1971.jpg|alt=Sadat_Qaddafi_Assad_1971|thumb|220x220px|Sadat (sitting on the left side), [[Hafez al-Assad]] (sitting on the right side) and [[Muammar Gaddafi]] (sitting in the centre) signing the [[Federation of Arab Republics]] in Benghazi, Libya, on April 18, 1971]]

On 15 May 1971,<ref name="Pharaon' p.74">''Le prophète et Pharaon'' by Kepel, p. 74</ref> Sadat announced his ''[[Corrective Revolution (Egypt)|Corrective Revolution]]'', purging the government, political and security establishments of the most ardent [[Nasserism|Nasserists]]. Sadat encouraged the emergence of an Islamist movement, which had been suppressed by Nasser. Believing Islamists to be socially conservative he gave them "considerable cultural and ideological autonomy" in exchange for political support.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kepel |first=Gilles |author-link=Gilles Kepel |others=trans. Anthony F. Roberts |date=2002 |title=Jihad: Expansion et Déclin de l"Islamisme |trans-title=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam  |title-link=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam |url=|location=Cambridge |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |page=83 |isbn=0-674-00877-4}}</ref>

In 1971, as part of the [[Jarring Mission]], three years into the [[War of Attrition]] in the Suez Canal zone, Sadat endorsed in a letter the peace proposals of UN negotiator [[Gunnar Jarring]], which seemed to lead to a full peace with [[Israel]] on the basis of Israel's withdrawal to its pre-war borders. This peace initiative failed as neither Israel nor the United States of America accepted the terms as discussed then.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/261078 | title=Egypt and Israel – Was There a Peace Opportunity Missed in 1971? | first=Mordechai |  last=Gazit | journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]] | date=January 1997| volume=32 | issue=1 | pages=97–115 | doi=10.1177/002200949703200107 | jstor=261078 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/305607-015/pdf | chapter=Chapter ten. The Jarring Mission and the Sadat Initiative (1971) | first=Elie | last=Podeh | title=Chances for Peace | via=[[De Gruyter]] | publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] | year=2015| pages=102–121 | doi=10.7560/305607-015 | isbn=978-1-4773-0561-4 }}</ref>

===Corrective Revolution===
{{main|Corrective Revolution (Egypt)}}
[[File:Sadat Egypt.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=4:07|1972 Echo [[newsreel]] about the early Sadat years|210x210px]]Shortly after taking office, Sadat shocked many Egyptians by dismissing and imprisoning two of the most powerful figures in the regime, Vice President [[Ali Sabri]], who had close ties with Soviet officials, and [[Sharawi Gomaa]], the Interior Minister, who controlled the secret police.<ref name=nytobit/> 

Sadat's rising popularity would accelerate after he cut back the powers of the hated secret police,<ref name=nytobit/> expelled Soviet military from the country<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Hughes|first=Geraint |date=5 April 2020 |title=Courting Sadat: The Heath Government and Britain's Arms Sales to Egypt, 1970–1973 |journal=The International History Review|volume=43|issue=2 |pages=317–332 |doi=10.1080/07075332.2020.1745256|s2cid=216279788|issn=0707-5332}}</ref> and reformed the Egyptian army for a renewed confrontation with Israel.<ref name=nytobit/>

===Yom Kippur War===
{{main|Yom Kippur War}}
[[File:Egyptianbridge.jpg|alt=Egyptianbridge|thumb|Egyptian vehicles crossing the Suez Canal on October 7, 1973, during the Yom Kippur War]]

On 6 October 1973, in conjunction with [[Hafez al-Assad]] of [[Syria]], Sadat launched the [[Yom Kippur War|October War]], also known as the Yom Kippur War (and less commonly as the Ramadan War), a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Egyptian [[Sinai Peninsula]],<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/130705-egypt-morsi-government-overthrow-military-revolution-independence-history | title=The Egyptian Military's Huge Historical Role | first1=Anna | last1=Kordunsky | first2=Michael | last2=Lokesson | url-access=registration | work=[[National Geographic]] | date=5 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708073756/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130705-egypt-morsi-government-overthrow-military-revolution-independence-history/ |archive-date=8 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the Syrian [[Golan Heights]] in an attempt to retake these respective Egyptian and Syrian territories that had been occupied by Israel since the Six Day War six years earlier. The Egyptian and Syrian performance in the initial stages of the war astonished both Israel, and the Arab World. The most striking achievement ([[Operation Badr (1973)|Operation Badr]], also known as The Crossing) was the Egyptian military's advance approximately 15&nbsp;km into the occupied Sinai Peninsula after penetrating and largely destroying the [[Bar Lev Line]]. This line was popularly thought to have been an impregnable defensive chain.

[[File:Sadat_and_A_Ismail.jpg|thumb|Sadat and [[Ahmad Ismail Ali]] attending the re-opening ceremony of Suez Canal after Yom Kippur war, June 5, 1975|200x200px]]

As the war progressed, three divisions of the Israeli army led by General [[Ariel Sharon]] had crossed the [[Suez Canal]], trying to encircle first the Egyptian Second Army. Although this failed<!-- the Egyptian Third Army-->, prompted by an agreement between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|Resolution 338]] on 22 October 1973, calling for an immediate ceasefire.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mary Ann Fay| title=A Country Study|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+eg0051)|pages=Chapter 1, Egypt: The Aftermath of War: October 1973 War|publisher=The Library of Congress|date=December 1990|access-date=13 February 2008}}</ref> Although agreed upon, the ceasefire was immediately broken.<ref>{{cite web| title=Situation report in the Middle East |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/octwar-59.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031018153432/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/octwar-59.pdf |archive-date=18 October 2003 | work=[[United States Department of State]] | via=[[George Washington University]] |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alexei Kosygin]], the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers (Soviet Union)|USSR Council of Ministers]], cancelled an official meeting with [[Prime Minister of Denmark|Danish Prime Minister]] [[Anker Jørgensen]] to travel to Egypt where he tried to persuade Sadat to sign a peace treaty. During Kosygin's two-day long stay it is unknown if he and Sadat ever met in person.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/004711789201100106?download=true&journalCode=ireb | last=Golan | first=Galia | title=Soviet Policies in the Middle East: From World War Two to Gorbachev |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1990|isbn=978-0-521-35859-0|page=89| doi=10.1177/004711789201100106 }}</ref>

The Israeli military then continued their drive to encircle the Egyptian army. The encirclement was completed on 24 October, three days after the ceasefire was broken. This development prompted superpower tension, but a second ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on 25 October to end the war. At the conclusion of hostilities, Israeli forces were 40 kilometres (25&nbsp;mi) from [[Damascus]] and 101 kilometres (63&nbsp;mi) from [[Cairo]].<ref>{{cite book| last1=Morris| first1=Benny |title=Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–1998| date=2001 |publisher=1999 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-679-42120-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xC_uIe9G2FYC&q=Morris+2011+righteous+victims |access-date=6 October 2017}}</ref>

===Peace with Israel===
{{main|Egypt–Israel peace treaty|Anwar Sadat's visit to Israel, 1977}}
{{external media | width=210px | float=right | audio1=[https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/sadat.html National Press Club Luncheon Speakers] Anwar Sadat, 6 February 1978, [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]]. Speech begins at 7:31<ref name="npc">{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/sadat.html| title=National Press Club Luncheon Speakers, Anwar Sadat, February 6, 1978 | publisher=[[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]] via [[Library of Congress]] | date=February 6, 1978}}</ref> }}
[[File:Carter, Sadat, and Begin at the Peace Treaty Signing, March 26, 1979 (10729561495).jpg|thumb|right|President Jimmy Carter shaking hands with Sadat and Israeli prime minister [[Menachem Begin]] at the signing of the [[Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty]] on the grounds of the [[White House]], 1979]]
The initial Egyptian and Syrian victories in the war restored popular morale throughout Egypt and the Arab World and, for many years after, Sadat was known as the "Hero of the Crossing". Israel recognized Egypt as a formidable foe, and Egypt's renewed political significance eventually led to regaining and reopening the [[Suez Canal]] through the peace process. His new peace policy led to the conclusion of two agreements on disengagement of forces with the Israeli government. The first of these agreements was signed on 18 January 1974, and the second on 4 September 1975.

One major aspect of Sadat's peace policy was to gain some religious support for his efforts. Already during his visit to the US in October–November 1975, he invited Evangelical pastor [[Billy Graham]] for an official visit, which was held a few days after Sadat's visit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=200199&dt=2476&dl=1345 |title=Text of diplomatic cable regarding Graham's visit to Egypt (US government website)|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> In addition to cultivating relations with Evangelical Christians in the US, he also built some cooperation with the Vatican. On 8 April 1976, he visited the Vatican for the first time, and got a message of support from [[Pope Paul VI]] regarding achieving peace with Israel, to include a just solution to the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Palestinian issue]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/speeches/1976/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19760408_presidente-egitto_en.html |title=Text of Pope's message to Sadat |publisher=Vatican|year=1976 |access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> Sadat, on his part, extended to the Pope a public invitation to visit Cairo.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=80873&dt=2082&dl=1345| title=John Anthony Volpe (US Ambassador to Italy), cable describing Sadat's visit to the Vatican| access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref>{{Failed verification|date=April 2021}}

Sadat also used the media to promote his purposes. In an interview he gave to the Lebanese magazine ''[[Al Hawadeth]]'' in early February 1976, he claimed he had secret commitment from the US government to put pressure on the Israeli government for a major withdrawal in Sinai and the Golan Heights.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.sadat.umd.edu/archives/remarks/AAFX%20Hawadeth2.3.76.pdf.PDF|title=Sadat interview to El Hawadeth |access-date=2 February 2011| archive-date=12 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112220609/http://sadat.umd.edu/archives/remarks/AAFX%20Hawadeth2.3.76.pdf.PDF}}</ref> This statement caused some concern to the Israeli government, but Secretary of State Henry Kissinger denied such a promise was ever made.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://foia.state.gov/documents/Kissinger/0000D748.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816133434/http://foia.state.gov/documents/Kissinger/0000D748.pdf |archive-date=2011-08-16 |url-status=live|title=Telephone conversation between Kissinger and Rabin, February 5, 1976|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref>

In January 1977, a series of [[1977 Egyptian Bread Riots|'Bread Riots']] protested Sadat's economic liberalization and specifically a government decree lifting [[price controls]] on basic necessities like bread. The riots lasted for two days and included hundreds of thousands in Cairo. 120 buses and hundreds of buildings were destroyed in Cairo alone.<ref>Mary Ann Weaver, ''Portrait of Egypt'', p. 25</ref> The riots ended with the deployment of the army and the re-institution of the subsidies/price controls.<ref>{{cite book| last=Olivier|first=Roy|page=[https://archive.org/details/failureofpolitic00royo/page/56 56]|title=Failure of Political Islam| location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=1994|isbn=978-0-674-29140-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/failureofpolitic00royo/page/56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Weaver |first=Mary Ann |page=[https://archive.org/details/portraitofegyptj00weav/page/25 25]|title=Portrait of Egypt |location=New York| publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=1999|isbn=978-0-374-23542-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/portraitofegyptj00weav/page/25}}</ref> During this time, Sadat was also taking a new approach towards improving relations with the West.<ref name=nytobit/>

The United States and the Soviet Union agreed on 1 October 1977, on principles to govern a Geneva conference on the Middle East.<ref name=nytobit/> Syria continued to resist such a conference.<ref name=nytobit/> Not wanting either Syria or the Soviet Union to influence the peace process, Sadat decided to take more progressive stance towards building a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel.<ref name=nytobit/>

The [[1977 visit by Anwar Sadat to Israel]] was the first time an Arab leader officially visited Israel. Sadat met with Israeli prime minister [[Menachem Begin]], and spoke before the [[Knesset]] in [[Jerusalem]] about his views on how to achieve a comprehensive peace to the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]], which included the full implementation of [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 242|UN Resolutions 242]] and [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|338]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-723321 | title=Looking back at Egypt's Anwar Sadat's historic Jerusalem visit, 45 years ago – opinion | first=Mark | last=Regev  | work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] | date=November 24, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://ecf.org.il/issues/issue/836 | title=Egyptian President Sadat's Speech in Jerusalem (1977) | publisher=[[Economic Cooperation Foundation]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://direct.mit.edu/isec/article-abstract/45/1/127/95253/Sadat-and-the-Road-to-Jerusalem-Bold-Gestures-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext | title=Sadat and the Road to Jerusalem: Bold Gestures and Risk Acceptance in the Search for Peace | first=Shahin | last=Berenji | journal=[[International Security (journal)|International Security]] | date=1 July 2020| volume=45 | pages=127–163 | doi=10.1162/isec_a_00381 }}</ref>

The Peace treaty was finally signed by Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in Washington, D.C., United States, on 26 March 1979, following the [[Camp David Accords]], a series of meetings between Egypt and Israel facilitated by US president [[Jimmy Carter]]. Both Sadat and Begin were awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for creating the treaty. In his acceptance speech, Sadat referred to the long-awaited peace desired by both Arabs and Israelis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/al-sadat-lecture.html|title=Anwar Al-Sadat |access-date=22 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209035459/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/al-sadat-lecture.html|archive-date=9 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The main features of the agreement were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and the complete withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the rest of the [[Sinai Peninsula]], which Israel had captured during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]].

The agreement also provided for the free passage of Israeli ships through the [[Suez Canal]] and recognition of the [[Strait of Tiran]] and the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] as international waterways. The agreement notably made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel. The peace agreement between Egypt and Israel has remained in effect since the treaty was signed.
[[File:Egyptian_President_Anwar_el-Sadat_waves_as_he_departs_from_a_state_visit_to_the_US_-_DPLA_-_8defc24ecf4c7ea5f6db9bc6cdfdb66d.jpeg|thumb|Sadat in 1978]]
The treaty was extremely unpopular in most of the Arab World and the wider Muslim World.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vatikiotis |first=P.J. |title=The History of Modern Egypt |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00vati |url-access=registration |edition=Fourth |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00vati/page/443 443] |location=Baltimore |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University]] |year=1992|isbn=978-0-8018-4214-6}}</ref> His predecessor Nasser had made Egypt an icon of Arab nationalism, an ideology that appeared to be sidelined by an Egyptian orientation following the 1973 war (see [[National identity of Egyptians]]). The neighboring Arab countries believed that in signing the accords, Sadat had put Egypt's interests ahead of Arab unity, betraying Nasser's [[pan-Arabism]], and destroyed the vision of a united "Arab front" for the support of the Palestinians against the "Zionist Entity". However, Sadat decided early on that peace was the solution.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/07/obituaries/anwar-el-sadat-daring-arab-pioneer-peace-with-israel-sadat-s-innovations-sprang.html |title=Anwar el-Sadat, the Daring Arab Pioneer of Peace with Israel |last=Pace |first=Eric |work=[[The New York Times]]  |date=7 October 1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/press.html|title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1978 – Presentation Speech|publisher=Nobel prize|year=1978|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> Sadat's shift towards a strategic relationship with the US was also seen as a betrayal by many Arabs. In the United States his peace moves gained him popularity among some [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] circles. He was awarded the Prince of Peace Award by [[Pat Robertson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patrobertson.com/Teaching/patprophecy.asp|title=Teaching|publisher=Pat Robertson|access-date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221080848/http://patrobertson.com/Teaching/patprophecy.asp|archive-date=21 December 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1979, the [[Arab League]] suspended Egypt in the wake of the Egyptian–Israel peace agreement, and the League moved its headquarters from [[Cairo]] to [[Tunis]]. Arab League member states believed in the elimination of the "Zionist Entity" and Israel at that time. It was not until 1989 that the League re-admitted Egypt as a member, and returned its headquarters to Cairo. As part of the peace deal, Israel withdrew from the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in phases, completing its withdrawal from the entire territory except the town of Taba by 25 April 1982 (withdrawal from which did not occur until 1989).<ref name=nytobit/> The improved relations Egypt gained with the West through the [[Camp David Accords]] soon gave the country resilient economic growth.<ref name=nytobit/> By 1980, however, Egypt's strained relations with the Arab World would result in a period of rapid inflation.<ref name=nytobit/>

===Relationship with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran===
[[File:Queen Farah of Persia Egyption President Anwar Sadat Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Persia 1975.jpg|thumb|Queen [[Farah Diba]], President Anwar Sadat and Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] in Tehran in 1975]]
The relationship between Iran and Egypt had fallen into open hostility during [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]'s presidency. Following his death in 1970, President Sadat turned this around quickly into an open and close friendship.<ref name="psalm">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VGnBQAAQBAJ&q=%22dear+brother%22+%22sadat%22&pg=PA134| title=Psalm 83: A New Discovery |isbn=978-1-4917-5074-2 |last1=Zephyr|first1=Alexander |date=2014| publisher=iUniverse }}</ref>

In 1971, Sadat addressed the [[Iranian parliament]] in [[Tehran]] in fluent [[Persian language|Persian]], describing the 2,500-year-old historic connection between the two lands.<ref name="psalm" />

Overnight, the Egyptian and Iranian governments were turned from bitter enemies into fast friends. The relationship between [[Cairo]] and [[Tehran]] became so friendly that the [[Shah]] of Iran, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], called Sadat his "dear brother".<ref name="psalm" />

After the 1973 war with Israel, Iran assumed a leading role in cleaning up and reactivating the blocked [[Suez Canal]] with heavy investment. The country also facilitated the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied [[Sinai Peninsula]] by promising to substitute the loss of the oil to the Israelis with free Iranian oil if they withdrew from the Egyptian oil wells in western Sinai.<ref name="psalm" />

All these added more to the personal friendship between Sadat and the Shah of Iran. (The Shah's first wife was [[Princess Fawzia Fuad of Egypt|Princess Fawzia of Egypt]]. She was the eldest daughter of Sultan Fuad I of Egypt and Sudan (later King [[Fuad I]]) and his second wife Nazli Sabri.)<ref name="psalm" />

After his overthrow, the deposed Shah spent the last months of his life in exile in Egypt. When the Shah died, Sadat ordered that he be given a [[state funeral]] and be interred at the [[Al-Rifa'i Mosque]] in Cairo, the resting place of Egyptian [[Khedive]] [[Isma'il Pasha]], his mother Khushyar Hanim, and numerous other members of the [[Muhammad Ali Dynasty|royal family of Egypt and Sudan]].<ref>An Ideology of Martyrdom – ''Time''</ref>