Editing Gamal Abdel Nasser (section)

=== Regional leadership ===
[[File:Nimeiry, Nasser and Gaddafi, 1969.jpg|thumb|right|alt=Three men walking side by side. The man in the middle is wearing a suit, while the two to his side are wearing military uniforms and hats. There are a few other men in uniform walking behind them|[[Jaafar Nimeiry]] of Sudan (left), Nasser, and [[Muammar Gaddafi]] of [[Libya]] (right) at the [[Tripoli International Airport|Tripoli Airport]], 1969. Nimeiry and Gaddafi were influenced by Nasser's pan-Arabist ideas and the latter sought to succeed him as "leader of the Arabs".]]

Through his actions and speeches, and because he was able to symbolize the popular Arab will, Nasser inspired several nationalist revolutions in the Arab world.<ref name="Osman 42" /> He defined the politics of his generation and communicated directly with the public masses of the Arab world, bypassing the various heads of states of those countries—an accomplishment not repeated by other Arab leaders.<ref name="Podehix-x">{{Harvnb|Podeh|2004|pp=ix–x}}</ref> The extent of Nasser's centrality in the region made it a priority for incoming Arab nationalist heads of state to seek good relations with Egypt, in order to gain popular legitimacy from their own citizens.<ref name="Dawisha151">{{Harvnb|Dawisha|2009|p=151}}</ref>

To varying degrees,<ref name="Cook41" /> Nasser's [[statism|statist]] system of government was continued in Egypt and emulated by virtually all Arab republics,<ref name="Podeh47">{{Harvnb|Podeh|2004|p=47}}</ref> namely Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Tunisia, [[Yemen]], Sudan, and Libya.<ref name="Cook41" /><ref name="Podeh47" /> [[Ahmed Ben Bella]], Algeria's first president, was a staunch Nasserist.<ref>{{Citation |last=Abdel-Malek |first=Anouar |author-link=Anouar Abdel-Malek |url=http://socialistregister.com/index.php/srv/article/view/5927 |title=Nasserism and Socialism |journal=The Socialist Register |volume=1 |year=1964 |page=52 |access-date=26 November 2009 |issue=1}}</ref> Abdullah al-Sallal drove out the king of North Yemen in the name of Nasser's pan-Arabism.<ref name="Aburish207" /> Other coups influenced by Nasser included those that occurred in Iraq in July 1958 and Syria in 1963.<ref>{{Harvnb|Asterjian|2007|p=52}}</ref> Muammar Gaddafi, who overthrew the [[Idris of Libya|Libyan monarchy]] in 1969, considered Nasser his hero and sought to succeed him as "leader of the Arabs".<ref>{{cite news |last=Fetini |first=Alyssa |url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1876539,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090205112422/http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1876539,00.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=5 February 2009 |title=Muammar Gaddafi |work=[[Time magazine|Time]] |date=3 February 2009 |access-date=24 November 2009}}</ref> Also in 1969, Colonel [[Gaafar Nimeiry]], a supporter of Nasser, took power in Sudan.<ref>{{Harvnb|Rubin|2010|p=41}}</ref> The [[Arab Nationalist Movement]] (ANM) helped spread Nasser's pan-Arabist ideas throughout the Arab world, particularly among the Palestinians, Syrians, and Lebanese,<ref>{{Harvnb|Kimmerling|Migdal|2003|p=225}}</ref><ref name="Dawisha156">{{Harvnb|Dawisha|2009|p=156}}</ref> and in [[South Yemen]], the [[Persian Gulf]], and Iraq.<ref name="Dawisha156" /> While many regional heads of state tried to emulate Nasser, Podeh opined that the "[[parochialism]]" of successive Arab leaders "transformed imitation [of Nasser] into parody".<ref name="Podeh47" />