- Title: FILE: Timeline of Egypt: From the revolution of 1952 to the present day uprising
- Date: 11th February 2011
- Summary: SINAI, EGYPT (FILE - APRIL 1982) (ORIGINALLY 4:3) (REUTERS) ISRAELI FLAG LOWERED DURING HAND-OVER CEREMONY EGYPTIAN FLAG RAISED DURING HAND-OVER CEREMONY
- Embargoed: 26th February 2011 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Jerusalem, Gaza, Egypt, Usa
- City:
- Country: Palestinian Territories
- Topics: International Relations,Domestic Politics
- Reuters ID: LVAAHJFK0QIRFGMK84U2WRCZ7Z09
- Aspect Ratio:
- Story Text: Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak has so far resisted calls for him to step down despite over two weeks of unprecedented public protest to his 30 years of one-man rule. Despite a strong military presence, pro-democracy protesters have consolidated a new encampment around Cairo's parliament building and are planning another major push on the streets on Friday (February 11) when they plan to move on to the state radio and television building.
EGYPTIAN REVOLUTION OF 1952
The Free Officers Movement, led by General Mohamed Naguib and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, staged a bloodless military coup on July 23, 1952 forcing the Egyptian monarch King Farouk I to abdicate in favour of his infant son, Faud. The monarchy was abolished in June 1953 and General Naguib became Egypt's first President. The following year Naguib was ousted by Nasser and put under house arrest. Nasser was appointed Egypt's second president in June 1956.
SUEZ CRISIS
President Nasser announced the nationalisation of the Suez Canal in July 1956 intending to use the income to finance the construction of the Aswan Dam. In October 1956 British, French and Israeli forces responded by invading Egypt. International pressure, in particular from the United Sates, and the threat of Soviet intervention forced a halt to the attacks. Ten days after invading, Britain and France agreed to a United Nations ceasefire and by the end of December had completed withdrawing their forces.
UNITED ARAB REPUBLIC
In February 1958 Egypt and Syria united to form the United Arab Republic under President Nasser's leadership. The attempt at Arab unity was short-lived and discontent led to Syria seceding to form the independent Syrian Arab Republic in 1961. Egypt continued to be known officially as the United Arab Republic until 1971.
SOVIET AID
Soviet influence in Egyptian affairs began when the U.S.S.R stepped in after the United States and Britain withdrew their offers of financial aid for the construction of the Aswan High Dam. The Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev visited the project in May 1964 to mark the completion of the first stage of the construction. The Soviet Union also supplied Egypt with considerable military aid.
SIX DAY WAR; PRESIDENT NASSER IS PERSUADED NOT TO RESIGN
On June 5, 1967, Israel launched pre-emptive strikes against Egypt, Syria and Jordan in what became known as the Six Day War. Israel succeeded in capturing the Sinai Peninsula and Gaza Strip from Egypt, the Golan Heights from Syria and the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan. In a televised broadcast on June 9, one day after accepting a United Nations cease-fire, Nasser announced his intention to resign from the presidency. The National Assembly rejected the decision and huge demonstrations in his favour persuaded him to stay on.
PRESIDENT NASSER DIES, SUCCEEDED BY VICE-PRESIDENT ANWAR SADAT
President Nasser died of a heart attack in Cairo at the age of 52 on September 28, 1970. An estimated four million ordinary Egyptians poured onto the streets of Cairo for his funeral which was also attended by all Arab heads of state. Egyptian Vice-President Anwar Sadat was sworn in as his successor on October 17.
RELATIONS WITH SOVIET UNION
With the signing of the May 1971 Friendship Treaty, President Sadat won a pledge of full-scale military and political support from the Soviet Union for the next 15 years, but relations between Moscow and Cairo soon deteriorated. In 1972 Sadat expelled 17,000 Soviet military advisers and turned to the United States for arms supplies. In December 1979 he closed down consulates and cultural centres of several East Bloc countries, accusing them of interfering in Egypt's internal affairs.
OCTOBER 1973 WAR
A joint attack by Egypt and Syria on Israeli positions on the East bank of the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights in 1973 on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year, brought Israel to the brink of defeat. Although Israel regained the initiative President Sadat was able to negotiate a peace formula which enabled Egypt to gain ground both territorially and politically.
FOOD RIOTS
Up to 65 people were killed in two days of food riots across Egypt in September 1975. The rioting was in response to government plans to increase food, cooking-gas and petrol prices. President Sadat was forced to suspend the increases and appeal for international aid.
PEACE TREATY WITH ISRAEL
President Sadat's historic visit to Jerusalem on November 19, 1977 heralded the Camp David accords which culminated in the 1979 Peace Treaty and the end of 30 years of hostilities between Egypt and Israel. Sadat's initiative was hailed as a major contribution to world stability by western nations but the Arab world considered his unilateral bid for peace with Israel as detrimental to Arab unity. When the Arab League responded by severing diplomatic and economic links with Egypt only Oman, Sudan and Somalia continued to maintain diplomatic relations with Cairo.
PRESIDENT SADAT ASSASSINATED, SUCCEEDED BY VICE-PRESIDENT HOSNI MUBARAK
On October 6, 1981 President Sadat was assassinated by Moslem militants opposed to the 1979 Peace Treaty with Israel. The 62-year-old president was shot while watching the annual military parade commemorating the 1973 war against Israel. Vice-President Hosni Mubarak, who was seated next to Sadat and was slightly injured in the attack, was sworn-in as
his successor.
ISRAEL HANDS BACK SINAI PENINSULA
President Mubarak presided over the return to Egypt of large parts of the Sinai Peninsula which had been occupied by Israel during the October 1967 Six Day War. Israel finally withdrew from Sinai in April 1982.
GULF WARS
Egypt supported Iraqi President Saddam Hussein during Iraq's 1980-88 war with Iran but President Mubarak helped rally Arab support against Baghdad after Iraq occupied Kuwait in 1990. Egypt contributed troops in the United States-led alliance which drove the Iraqis out of Kuwait in 1991.
EGYPT RE-ESTABLISHES POSITION IN THE ARAB WORLD
In 1989 Egypt was readmitted to the Arab League and in 1991 the League moved back into its former headquarters in Cairo. After more than a decade as an outcast, Egypt had re-established its position as a leader in the Arab world.
CRACKDOWN ON ISLAMIC MILITANT GROUPS
More than 1,200 people were killed between 1992 and 1997 as militant groups waged a six-year armed campaign for a purist Islamic state. The political violence, led by al-Gama'a al-Islamiya (Islamic Group), climaxed in the bloody Luxor massacre of November 1997 when six gunmen killed 58 foreign tourists and four Egyptians.
Military courts played a crucial role in the government's campaign to crush the militants. Tens of thousands were arrested and detained under emergency laws which had remained in force since Sadat's assassination.
MIDDLE EAST PEACE PROCESS
Beginning in the 1990's President Mubarak acted as an unofficial patron of the Middle East peace process, mediating between Israelis and Palestinians, and between rival Palestinian factions in an elusive quest for a settlement. Critics at home and in the Arab world accused him of giving too much weight to U.S. and Israeli interests, to the detriment of ordinary Palestinians.
CONSTITUTION AMENDED
In May 2005, the Egyptian parliament voted to change the constitution to allow contested presidential elections, dismissing opposition complaints that strict rules would prevent genuine competition. A referendum later in May overwhelmingly confirmed the constitutional change.
MUBARAK WINS FIFTH CONSECUTIVE TERM
Mubarak won a fifth consecutive term following Egypt's first multi-candidate presidential elections in September 2005, gaining 89 percent of the vote with a 23 percent turnout. The 78-year-old president gave every indication he planned to retain the leadership for the remainder of his life during a parliamentary address he gave in November 2006.
The ruling National Democratic Party (NDP) amended its internal structure the following year, ensuring the eligibility of Mubarak's younger son Gamal to run for the presidency.
FOOD RIOTS
Public anger over soaring food prices and low wages lead to deadly riots in April 2008. Prices for bread and grains jumped 31.9 percent and the government was forced to extend its ration card system to provide more than 70% of Egypt's population of 75 million with access to subsidised food.
PRESIDENT OBAMA GIVES HISTORIC SPEECH IN CAIRO
United States President Barack Obama chose the Egyptian capital for an address aimed at repairing ties with the Muslim world in an effort to win the support of moderate Muslim countries and revive stalled Middle East peace talks. Obama declared a "new beginning" in U.S.-Muslim relations after the tensions over the September 11, 2001 attacks and Washington's response, but offered no new initiative to end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict.
PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS
Elections in November 2010 removed most dissenting voices from a parliament dominated by Mubarak's National Democratic Party. The government's main rival, the Islamist Muslim Brotherhood, which controlled a fifth of seats in the outgoing parliament, boycotted the second round and demanded an investigation into the election's legitimacy.
MASS DEMONSTRATIONS AGAINST PRESIDENT MUBARAK
Inspired by the downfall of Tunisia's President Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali, anti-government demonstrations erupted throughout Egypt in January as hundreds of thousands of protesters demanded an end to Mubarak's 30-year rule. In a first indication that he was preparing an eventual handover of power, Mubarak responded by appointing his intelligence chief Omar Suleiman as Vice-President.
On February 1, Mubarak announced he would not run again for Egypt's presidency but insisted he would serve out his six-year term working for a smooth transfer of power. - Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2015. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None