Anwar Sadat





Anwar Sadat (December 25, 1918 – October 6, 1981) was an Egyptian
politician and President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981. He participated in the
1952 coup which dethroned King Farouk I. In 1969, after holding many
positions in the Egyptian government, he was chosen to be Vice-President to
his friend Gamal Abdal Nasser. When Nasser died the following year, Sadat
became President.

In 1973, Sadat, together with Syria, led Egypt into the Yom Kippur War with
Israel, trying to reclaim parts of the Sinai Peninsula, which had been
conquered by Israel during the Six-Day War. Sadat's victory managed to
restore the Egyptian morale, laying the ground for a peace settlement
several years later.

In 1977, Sadat visited Jerusalem at the invitation of Israeli Prime Minister
Menachem Begin, which was the start of peace talks between Israel and Egypt.
In 1978, this resulted in the Camp David Peace Agreement, for which Sadat
and Begin received the Nobel Peace Prize. However, the action was extremely
unpopular in the Arab world and especially amongst Muslim fundamentalist
groups. Many believed that only a threat of force would make Israel
negotiate over Palestine, and the Camp David accords removed the possibility
of Egypt, the major Arab military power, from providing such a threat.

In September of 1981, Sadat cracked down on Muslim organizations, including
student groups, and Coptic organizations, making nearly 1600 arrests and
earning worldwide condemnation for the extremity of his techniques.

On October 6 of the same year, Sadat was assassinated during a parade by
army members who were part of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad organization, who
opposed his negotiations with Israel as well as his brutal use of force in
the September crackdown. He was succeeded by the vice president Hosni
Mubarak (also an air force pilot), who, in the aftermath of the
assassination, made use of illegal arrests, torture and detention without
trial to suppress radical Islamic groups.