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1975 EGYPT ORIGINAL PHOTO ANWAR SADAT BAGNEUX VINTAGE PARIS RADAR CYRANO For Sale

1975 EGYPT ORIGINAL PHOTO ANWAR SADAT BAGNEUX VINTAGE PARIS RADAR CYRANO
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1975 EGYPT ORIGINAL PHOTO ANWAR SADAT BAGNEUX VINTAGE PARIS RADAR CYRANO:
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A VINTAGE ORIGINAL 7 X 9 1/2 INCH PHOTO OF EGYPT\'S PRESIDENT ANWA SADAT LOKING AT A CRADAR DEVICE IN PARIS CALED CYRANO DURING HIS VISIT THIS MORNING OF THE C.S.F. THOMSON PLANT AT BAGNEUXThe assassination of Anwar Sadat occurred on 6 October 1981. Anwar Sadat, the President of Egypt, was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo to celebrate Operation Badr, during which the Egyptian Army had crossed the Suez Canal and taken back a small part of the Sinai Peninsula from Israel at the beginning of the Yom Kippur War.[1] The assassination was undertaken by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad.[2]Contents1 Background1.1 Egyptian Islamic Jihad2 Assassination3 Aftermath3.1 Burial3.2 Assassins4 References4.1 Citations4.2 Bibliography5 External linksBackgroundFollowing the Camp David Accords, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. However, the subsequent 1979 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty was received with controversy among Arab nations, particularly the Palestinians. Egypt\'s membership in the Arab League was suspended (and not reinstated until 1989).[3] PLO Leader Yasser Arafat said \"Let them sign what they like. False peace will not last.\"[4] In Egypt, various jihadist groups, such as Egyptian Islamic Jihad and al-Jama\'a al-Islamiyya, used the Camp David Accords to rally support for their cause.[5] Previously sympathetic to Sadat\'s attempt to integrate them into Egyptian society,[6] Egypt\'s Islamists now felt betrayed, and publicly called for the overthrow of the Egyptian president and the replacement of the nation\'s system of government with a government based on Islamic theocracy.[6] A fatwa approving the assassination had been obtained from Omar Abdel-Rahman, a cleric later convicted in the US for his role in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing.[citation needed]
The last months of Sadat\'s presidency were marked by internal uprising. He dismissed allegations that the rioting was incited by domestic issues, believing that the Soviet Union was recruiting its regional allies in Libya and Syria to incite an uprising that would eventually force him out of power. Following a failed military coup in June 1981, Sadat ordered a major crackdown that resulted in the arrest of numerous opposition figures. Though he still maintained high levels of popularity in Egypt, it has been said that he was assassinated \"at the peak\" of his unpopularity.[7]
Egyptian Islamic JihadEarlier in Sadat\'s presidency, Islamists had benefited from the \"rectification revolution\" and the release from prison of activists jailed under Gamal Abdel Nasser,[8] but his Sinai treaty with Israel enraged Islamists, particularly the radical Egyptian Islamic Jihad. According to interviews and information gathered by journalist Lawrence Wright, the group was recruiting military officers and accumulating weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch \"a complete overthrow of the existing order\" in Egypt. Chief strategist of El-Jihad was Abbud al-Zumar, a colonel in the military intelligence whose \"plan was to kill the main leaders of the country, capture the headquarters of the army and State Security, the telephone exchange building, and of course the radio and television building, where news of the Islamic revolution would then be broadcast, unleashing—he expected—a popular uprising against secular authority all over the country.\"[9]
In February 1981, Egyptian authorities were alerted to El-Jihad\'s plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information. In September, Sadat ordered a highly unpopular roundup of more than 1,500 people, including many Jihad members, but also the Coptic Pope and other Coptic clergy, intellectuals and activists of all ideological stripes.[10] All non-government press was banned as well.[11] The roundup missed a jihad cell in the military led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli, who would succeed in assassinating Anwar Sadat that October.[12]
According to Tala\'at Qasim, ex-head of the Gama\'a Islamiyya interviewed in Middle East Report, it was not Islamic Jihad but his organization, known in English as the \"Islamic Group\", that organized the assassination and recruited the assassin (Islambouli). Members of the Group\'s \"Majlis el-Shura\" (\"Consultative Council\")—headed by the famed \"blind shaykh\"—were arrested two weeks before the killing, but they did not disclose the existing plans, and Islambouli succeeded in assassinating Sadat.[13]
Assassination
Sadat (left), with President Jimmy Carter, in Washington, D.C. on 8 April 1980, during a visit to the White HouseOn 6 October 1981, a victory parade was held in Cairo to commemorate the eighth anniversary of Egypt\'s crossing of the Suez Canal.[1] Sadat was protected by four layers of security and eight bodyguards, and the army parade should have been safe due to ammunition-seizure rules. As Egyptian Air Force Mirage jets flew overhead, distracting the crowd, Egyptian Army soldiers and troop trucks towing artillery paraded by. One truck contained the assassination squad, led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli. As it passed the tribune, Islambouli forced the driver at gunpoint to stop. From there, the assassins dismounted and Islambouli approached Sadat with three hand grenades concealed under his helmet. Sadat stood to receive his salute; Anwar\'s nephew Talaat El Sadat later said, \"The president thought the killers were part of the show when they approached the stands firing, so he stood saluting them\",[14] whereupon Islambouli threw all his grenades at Sadat, only one of which exploded (but fell short), and additional assassins rose from the truck, indiscriminately firing AK-47 assault rifles and Port Said submachine guns into the stands until they had exhausted their ammunition, and then attempted to flee. After Sadat was hit and had fallen to the ground, people threw chairs around him to shield him from the hail of bullets.
The attack lasted about two minutes. Sadat and ten others were killed outright or suffered fatal wounds, including Major General Hassan Allam, Khalfan Nasser Mohammed (a general from the Omani delegation), Eng. Samir Helmy Ibrahim, Al Anba\' Samuel, Mohammed Yousuf Rashwan (the presidential photographer), Saeed Abdel Raouf Bakr, Chinese engineer Zhang Baoyu [zh],[15] as well as the Cuban ambassador to Egypt, and a Coptic Orthodox bishop, Anba Samuel of Social and Ecumenical Services.
Twenty-eight were wounded, including Vice President Hosni Mubarak, Irish Defence Minister James Tully, and four US military liaison officers. Security forces were momentarily stunned, but reacted within 45 seconds. The Swedish ambassador Olov Ternström managed to escape unhurt.[16][17] One of the attackers was killed, and the three others injured and arrested. Sadat was airlifted to a military hospital,[18] where eleven doctors operated on him.[citation needed] He died nearly two hours after he was taken to the hospital.[18] Sadat\'s death was attributed to \"violent nervous shock and internal bleeding in the chest cavity, where the left lung and major blood vessels below it were torn.\"[19]
Aftermath[icon] This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (February 2011)
A marker at the Unknown Soldier Memorial, where Sadat is buried.In conjunction with the assassination, an insurrection was organized in Asyut in Upper Egypt. Rebels took control of the city for a few days, and 68 policemen and soldiers were killed in the fighting. Government control was not restored until paratroopers from Cairo arrived. Most of the militants convicted of fighting received light sentences and served only three years in prison.[20]
BurialSadat was buried in the Unknown Soldier Memorial, located in the Nasr City district of Cairo. The inscription on his grave reads: \"The hero of war and peace\".[14]
At first, Sadat was succeeded by Sufi Abu Taleb as Acting President of Egypt for eight days until 14 October 1981, when Sadat\'s Vice President, Hosni Mubarak, became the new Egyptian President for nearly 30 years until his resignation as a result of the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
AssassinsIslambouli and the other assassins were tried, found guilty, and sentenced to death. They were executed on 15 April 1982, two army men by firing squad and three civilians by hanging.[21]
Anwar Sadat, in full Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, Sadat also spelled Sādāt, el-Sadat, or al-Sadat, (born December 25, 1918, Mīt Abū al-Kawm, Al-Minūfiyyah governorate, Egypt—died October 6, 1981, Cairo), Egyptian army officer and politician who was president of Egypt from 1970 until his assassination in 1981. He initiated serious peace negotiations with Israel, an achievement for which he shared the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. Under their leadership, Egypt and Israel made peace with each other in 1979.
Anwar SadatAnwar SadatSee all mediaBorn: December 25, 1918 EgyptDied: October 6, 1981 (aged 62) Cairo EgyptTitle / Office: president (1970-1981), EgyptAwards And Honors: Nobel Prize (1978)Role In: Yom Kippur WarSadat graduated from the Cairo Military Academy in 1938. During World War II he plotted to expel the British from Egypt with the help of the Germans. The British arrested and imprisoned him in 1942, but he escaped two years later. In 1946 Sadat was arrested after being implicated in the assassination of pro-British minister Amin Othman; he was imprisoned until his acquittal in 1948. In 1950 he joined Gamal Abdel Nasser’s Free Officers organization; he participated in its armed coup against the Egyptian monarchy in 1952 and supported Nasser’s election to the presidency in 1956. Sadat held various high offices that led to his serving in the vice presidency (1964–66, 1969–70). He became acting president upon Nasser’s death, on September 28, 1970, and was elected president in a plebiscite on October 15.
Anwar SadatAnwar SadatAnwar Sadat, 1981.Bill Foley—AP/Shutterstock.comEgyptREAD MORE ON THIS TOPICEgypt: The Sadat regimeNasser died on September 28, 1970, and was succeeded by his vice president, Sadat, himself a Free Officer....Sadat’s domestic and foreign policies were partly a reaction against those of Nasser and reflected Sadat’s efforts to emerge from his predecessor’s shadow. One of Sadat’s most important domestic initiatives was the open-door policy known as infitāḥ (Arabic: “opening”), a program of dramatic economic change that included decentralization and diversification of the economy as well as efforts to attract trade and foreign investment. Sadat’s efforts to liberalize the economy came at significant cost, including high inflation and an uneven distribution of wealth, deepening inequality and leading to discontent that would later contribute to food riots in January 1977.
It was in foreign affairs that Sadat made his most dramatic efforts. Feeling that the Soviet Union gave him inadequate support in Egypt’s continuing confrontation with Israel, he expelled thousands of Soviet technicians and advisers from the country in 1972. In addition, Egyptian peace overtures toward Israel were initiated early in Sadat’s presidency, when he made known his willingness to reach a peaceful settlement if Israel returned the Sinai Peninsula (captured by that country in the Six-Day [June] War of 1967). Following the failure of this initiative, Sadat launched a military attack in coordination with Syria to retake the territory, sparking the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973. The Egyptian army achieved a tactical surprise in its October 6 attack on the seemingly impenetrable Israeli fortifications along the east bank of the Suez Canal, and, though Israel staved off any advance by Egypt to recapture the Sinai Peninsula, it sustained heavy casualties and loss of military equipment. Sadat emerged from the war with greatly enhanced prestige as the first Arab leader to have actually retaken some territory from Israel. (See Arab-Israeli wars.)
Get a Britannica Premium subscription and gain access to exclusive content.Subscribe NowAfter the war, Sadat worked toward peace in the Middle East. He made a historic visit to Israel (November 19–20, 1977), during which he traveled to Jerusalem to place his plan for a peace settlement before the Israeli Knesset (parliament). This initiated a series of diplomatic efforts that Sadat continued despite strong opposition from most of the Arab world and the Soviet Union. U.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter mediated the negotiations between Sadat and Begin that resulted in the Camp David Accords (September 17, 1978), a preliminary peace agreement between Egypt and Israel. Sadat and Begin were awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1978, and their continued political negotiations resulted in the signing on March 26, 1979, of a treaty of peace between Egypt and Israel—the first between the latter and any Arab country.
Anwar Sadat at the KnessetAnwar Sadat at the KnessetEgyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat addressing the Knesset, November 20, 1977.Ya\'acov Sa\'ar—The State of Israel National Photo Collection/The State of Israel Government Press OfficeIsrael-Egypt peace treaty: Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin, and Anwar SadatIsrael-Egypt peace treaty: Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin, and Anwar SadatU.S. Pres. Jimmy Carter (second from left), Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin (left), and Egyptian Pres. Anwar Sadat clasping hands on the White House lawn after the signing of the peace treaty between Israel and Egypt, March 26, 1979.© Bettmann/CorbisWhile Sadat’s popularity rose in the West, it fell dramatically in Egypt because of internal opposition to the treaty, a worsening economic crisis, and Sadat’s suppression of the resulting public dissent. In September 1981 he ordered a massive police strike against his opponents, jailing more than 1,500 people from across the political spectrum. The following month Sadat was assassinated by members of the Egyptian Islamic Jihad during the Armed Forces Day military parade commemorating the Arab-Israeli war of October 1973.
Sadat’s autobiography, In Search of Identity, was published in 1978.
Born into a family of 13 children in 1918, Anwar al-Sadat grew up among average Egyptian villagers in the town of Mit Abul Kom 40 miles to the north of Cairo. Having completed a grade school education, Sadat\'s father worked as a clerk in the local military hospital. By the time of his birth, Anwar\'s Egypt had become a British colony. Crippling debt had forced the Egyptian government to sell the British government its interests in the French engineered Suez Canal linking the Mediteranian Sea with the Indian Ocean. The British and French had used these resources to establish enough political control over Egyptian affairs to refer to Egypt as a British colony.
Four figures affected Sadat\'s early life. The first, a man named Zahran, came from a small village like Sadat\'s. In a famous incident of colonial rule, the British hanged Zahran for participating in a riot which had resulted in the death of a British officer. Sadat admired the courage Zahran exhibit on the way to the gallows. The second, Kemel Ataturk, created the modern state of Turkey by forcing the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Not only had Ataturk thrown off the shackles of colonialism, but he established a number of civil service reforms, which Sadat admired. The third man was Mohandas Gandhi. Touring Egypt in 1932, Gandhi had preached the power of nonviolence in combating injustice. And finally, the young Sadat admired Adolf Hitler whom the anticolonialist Sadat viewed as a potential rival to British control.
In 1936 as part of a deal between the British and the Wafd party, the British agreed to create a military school in Egypt. Sadat was among its first students. Besides the traditional training in math and science, each student learned to analyze battles. Sadat even studied the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in America\'s civil war. Upon graduating from the academy, the government posted Sadat to a distant outpost. There he met Gamal Abdel Nasser, beginning a long political association which eventually led to the Egyptian presidency. At this outpost, Sadat, Nasser and the other young officers formed a revolutionary group destined to overthrow British rule.
Commitment to their revolution led Sadat to jail twice. During his second stay in jail, Sadat taught himself French and English. But the grueling loneliness of jail took its toll. After leaving prison, Sadat returned to civilian life. He acted for a bit, and he joined in several business deals. Through one of his deals, Sadat met Jihan whom he would eventually marry.
Sadat recontacted his old associate Nasser to find that their revolutionary movement had grown considerably while he was in prison. On July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Organization staged a coup overthrowing the monarchy. From the moment of the coup, Sadat began as Nasser\'s public relations minister and trusted lieutenant. Nasser assigned Sadat the task of overseeing the official abdication of King Farouk.


Working with Nasser Sadat learned the dangerous game of nationbuilding in a world of superpower rivalries. Egypt eventually became the leading \"non-aligned\" country in the world, giving a voice, through Nasser, to the desires of the undeveloped and post-colonial societies. Their most important trial came over the Suez Canal, which Nasser nationalized in 1956. In a coordinated effort, the British, French, and the new nation of Israel launched an attack on Egypt hoping to reestablish colonial control over the Canal and its profits. The 1956 war ended only after the United States pressured its allies to withdraw. Egypt emerged from the war a hero of the non-alligned countries, having successfully resisted colonial powers and maintained its control of the Suez.Nasser\'s prominence suffered greatly from the debacle of the Six Day War. In it, the Israeli military completely destroyed the Egyptian air forces (mostly caught unawares on the ground) and swept through the Sinai to the Suez Canal routing the Egyptian army, killing at least 3,000 soldiers. The devastation also threatened to bankrupt the government. Internal squabbling among Arab nations and the growing Palestinian movement eventually strained Nasser\'s abilities to the limit. Under the strain, Nasser collapsed and died on 29 September 1970.
When he succeeded Nasser, Sadat was completely unknown and untested. Over the next 11 years, however, Sadat proved his leadership abilities. His first trial on the international scene involved the aftermath of the Six Days War. Sadat openly offered the Israelis a peace treaty in exchange for the return of the Siani lands taken in the attack.Domestic crisis and international intrique presented Sadat with seemingly insurmountable problems. The Egyptian economy continued to real from war with Israel and the Egyptian\'s continuing relationship with the Soviet Union deteriorated as the Soviet\'s proved unreliable allies. When pressed for more military support to replace the devastation of the Six Days War, the Soviets simply ignored Sadat\'s requests. In a bold move, which soon became his trademark, Sadat expelled the Soviets. This grand gesture solidified Egyptian internal support at a time when the average Egyptian suffered greatly.
Behind the scenes, however, Sadat plotted to retake the Egyptian Siani if the Israelis continued to refuse the Egyptian peace initiative. On 6 October 1973, Sadat struck. With exceptional military precision, the Egyptian army crossed the Suez back into the Sinai and began driving the Israeli army into the desert. Though short-lived, the attack created a new momentum for peace both in Egypt and in Israel. These pressures coincided with continued domestic problems in Egypt.
The deteriorating economy in Egypt, accomplanied by a growing distance between rich and poor, led to internal strife, riots, strikes, attacks on the rich. These internal pressures raised the attention of the international community, particularly the United States, concerned that internal strife would weaken Sadat\'s moderate policies.
Convinced that peace with Israel would reap an enormous \"peace dividend,\" Sadat initiated his most important diplomatic ploy. In a speach to the Egyptian parliament in 1977, Sadat affirmed his desire to go anywhere to negotiate a peace with the Israelis. Even, he affirmed, he would go to the Israeli parliament to speak for peace. The Israeli\'s responded with an invitation to do just that and Sadat\'s speech to the Israeli Knesset initiated a new momentum for peace that would eventually culminate in the 1978 Camp David Accords and a final peace treaty with Israel in 1979.
For his efforts, Sadat won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
At home, Sadat\'s new relationship with the west and his peace treaty generated considerable domestic opposition, especially among fundamentalist Muslim groups. In 1980 and in 1981, Sadat took desperate gambles to respond to these new internal problems. He negotiated a number of loans to support improvements in everyday life. And he simultaneously enacted laws outlawing protest and declared that the Shari\'a would be the basis of all new Egyptian law. October 6, 1981, Sadat died at the hands of fundamentalists assassins during a military review celebrating the 1973 Suez crossing.
Born into a family of 13 children in 1918, Anwar al-Sadat grew up among average Egyptian villagers in the town of Mit Abul Kom 40 miles to the north of Cairo. Having completed a grade school education, Sadat\'s father worked as a clerk in the local military hospital. By the time of his birth, Anwar\'s Egypt had become a British colony. Crippling debt had forced the Egyptian government to sell the British government its interests in the French engineered Suez Canal linking the Mediteranian Sea with the Indian Ocean. The British and French had used these resources to establish enough political control over Egyptian affairs to refer to Egypt as a British colony.
Four figures affected Sadat\'s early life. The first, a man named Zahran, came from a small village like Sadat\'s. In a famous incident of colonial rule, the British hanged Zahran for participating in a riot which had resulted in the death of a British officer. Sadat admired the courage Zahran exhibit on the way to the gallows. The second, Kemel Ataturk, created the modern state of Turkey by forcing the downfall of the Ottoman Empire. Not only had Ataturk thrown off the shackles of colonialism, but he established a number of civil service reforms, which Sadat admired. The third man was Mohandas Gandhi. Touring Egypt in 1932, Gandhi had preached the power of nonviolence in combating injustice. And finally, the young Sadat admired Adolf Hitler whom the anticolonialist Sadat viewed as a potential rival to British control.
In 1936, as part of a deal between the British and the Wafd party, the British agreed to create a military school in Egypt. Sadat was among its first students. Besides the traditional training in math and science, each student learned to analyze battles. Sadat even studied the Battle of Gettysburg, the turning point in America\'s civil war. Upon graduating from the academy, the government posted Sadat to a distant outpost. There he met Gamal Abdel Nasser, beginning a long political association which eventually led to the Egyptian presidency. At this outpost, Sadat, Nasser and the other young officers formed a revolutionary group destined to overthrow British rule.
Commitment to their revolution led Sadat to jail twice. During his second stay in jail, Sadat taught himself French and English. But the grueling loneliness of jail took its toll. After leaving prison, Sadat returned to civilian life. He acted for a bit, and he joined in several business deals. Through one of his deals, Sadat met Jihan whom he would eventually marry.
Sadat recontacted his old associate Nasser to find that their revolutionary movement had grown considerably while he was in prison. On July 23, 1952, the Free Officers Organization staged a coup overthrowing the monarchy. From the moment of the coup, Sadat began as Nasser\'s public relations minister and trusted lieutenant. Nasser assigned Sadat the task of overseeing the official abdication of King Farouk. Working with Nasser Sadat learned the dangerous game of nation-building in a world of superpower rivalries. Egypt eventually became the leading \"non-aligned\" country in the world, giving a voice, through Nasser, to the desires of the undeveloped and post-colonial societies. Their most important trial came over the Suez Canal, which Nasser nationalized in 1956. In a coordinated effort, the British, French, and the new nation of Israel launched an attack on Egypt hoping to reestablish colonial control over the Canal and its profits. The 1956 war ended only after the United States pressured its allies to withdraw. Egypt emerged from the war a hero of the non-aligned countries, having successfully resisted colonial powers and maintained its control of the Suez.
Nasser\'s prominence suffered greatly from the debacle of the Six Day War. In it, the Israeli military completely destroyed the Egyptian air forces (mostly caught unawares on the ground) and swept through the Sinai to the Suez Canal routing the Egyptian army, killing at least 3,000 soldiers. The devastation also threatened to bankrupt the government. Internal squabbling among Arab nations and the growing Palestinian movement eventually strained Nasser\'s abilities to the limit. Under the strain, Nasser collapsed and died on September 29, 1970.
When he succeeded Nasser, Sadat was completely unknown and untested. Over the next 11 years, however, Sadat proved his leadership abilities. His first trial on the international scene involved the aftermath of the Six Day War. Sadat openly offered the Israelis a peace treaty in exchange for the return of the Sinai lands taken in the attack.
Domestic crisis and international intrigue presented Sadat with seemingly insurmountable problems. The Egyptian economy continued to reel from war with Israel and the Egyptians\' continuing relationship with the Soviet Union deteriorated as the Soviets proved unreliable allies. When pressed for more military support to replace the devastation of the Six Day War, the Soviets simply ignored Sadat\'s requests. In a bold move, which soon became his trademark, Sadat expelled the Soviets. This grand gesture solidified Egyptian internal support at a time when the average Egyptian suffered greatly.
Behind the scenes, however, Sadat plotted to retake the Egyptian Sinai if the Israelis continued to refuse the Egyptian peace initiative. On October 6, 1973, Sadat struck. With exceptional military precision, the Egyptian army crossed the Suez back into the Sinai and began driving the Israeli army into the desert. Though short-lived, the attack created a new momentum for peace both in Egypt and in Israel. These pressures coincided with continued domestic problems in Egypt.
The deteriorating economy in Egypt, accompanied by a growing distance between rich and poor, led to internal strife, riots, strikes, attacks on the rich. These internal pressures raised the attention of the international community, particularly the United States, concerned that internal strife would weaken Sadat\'s moderate policies.
Convinced that peace with Israel would reap an enormous \"peace dividend,\" Sadat initiated his most important diplomatic ploy. In a speech to the Egyptian parliament in 1977, Sadat affirmed his desire to go anywhere to negotiate a peace with the Israelis. Even, he affirmed, he would go to the Israeli parliament to speak for peace. The Israelis responded with an invitation to do just that and Sadat\'s speech to the Israeli Knesset initiated a new momentum for peace that would eventually culminate in the 1978 Camp David Accords and a final peace treaty with Israel in 1979. For his efforts, Sadat won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
At home, Sadat\'s new relationship with the west and his peace treaty generated considerable domestic opposition, especially among fundamentalist Muslim groups. In 1980 and in 1981, Sadat took desperate gambles to respond to these new internal problems. He negotiated a number of loans to support improvements in everyday life. And he simultaneously enacted laws outlawing protest and declared that the Shari\'a would be the basis of all new Egyptian law. Sadat died at the hands of Muslim fundamentalist assassins on October 6, 1981, during a military review celebrating the Suez crossing in 1973. He was succeeded by his Vice President, Hosni Mubarak.
ll eyes were on the plane sitting at Ben Gurion Airport. Reporters from around the world had assembled and television cameras were prepared to broadcast live a spectacle unimaginable just two weeks earlier: an Arab leader had come to visit Israel for the first time.No one knew what to expect. It was November 20, 1977. Night had fallen, Shabbat had ended, and a red carpet was rolled out for Egyptian President Anwar Sadat. An honor guard stood at the ready. Four years earlier, Egypt had launched a surprise attack on Israel during the Jewish holy day of Yom Kippur, an event that was still fresh in the minds of the officials and dignitaries waiting on the tarmac. Emerging from his plane and descending the stairs, Sadat and was approached the Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin. And that’s when the unthinkable happened. There were handshakes. There were smiles. There was laughter.Thus began a rogue act of diplomacy which would alter the course of Middle East politics. For the next day and a half, the world watched as Sadat played out various roles: formal statesman; charismatic dinner guest; engaged tourist. More than anything else, he was a gambler whose visit to Israel risked domestic turmoil and alienation from the Arab League, with no guarantee that he and Begin could come to terms on disputed territory or Palestinian autonomy, let alone a successful, long-term peace agreement.(left) Prime Minister Menachem Begin welcoming President Anwar Sadat. | (right) Sadat cracking a joke with former Prime Ministers Golda Meir and Yitzhak Rabin, November 19th, 1977. (Milner Moshe/Government Press Office)Given the fraughtness of Sadat’s visit, it’s still remarkable that nothing derailed his trip. There were no riots or major disturbances reported by the press, even on the morning of November 20th, when Sadat addressed the Knesset, an act that enraged Israeli hardliners who viewed Egypt as an eternal foe. Nor were there were any known assassination attempts made by Zionist or PLO extremists while Sadat toured the streets of Jerusalem, the city that Palestinians hoped would one day be the capitol of their own free nation.Sadat and his entourage paid their respects at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher and the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial. He prayed at the Al-Aqsa Mosque while security worried over his vulnerability. At the suggestion of his hosts, Sadat laid a wreath at a monument to fallen Israeli soldiers, nearly three thousand of whom were killed during the tiny nation’s war with Syria and Egypt in 1973.The key players even managed to relax during down time. Sadat entertained members of the Israeli government in his suite at the King David Hotel and never seemed short of jokes to crack or hands to shake. He and his wife Jehan were invited to ogle treasured antiquities at Beit Hanassi, the presidential residence. Sadat’s natural charisma seemed to be laying more groundwork towards goodwill than words or gestures, and judging by the throngs lining police cordons along motorcade routes and public places, his charm offensive was trickling down to the street level.Reporters and television crews were back at Ben Gurion Airport on November 21st, watching as Sadat reached his arms out to the crowds that had assembled to see him off. He paused once more at the top of the stairs, turned back to wave one last time, then disappeared into his plane. It was the end of a historic, contentious, nerve-wracking and world-changing trip, but just the beginning of a process which would lead to the Camp David Accords and, ultimately, the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel which remains in place today.Thomson-CSF was a French company that specialized in the development and manufacture of electronics with a heavy focus upon the aerospace and defence sectors of the market.
Thomson-CSF was formed in 1968 following the merger of Thomson-Houston-Hotchkiss-Brandt with the Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil (General Wireless Telegraphy Company, commonly abbreviated as CSF), these two companies being the source of the name Thomson-CSF. It operated as an electronics specialist on products such as broadcasting equipment, electroacoustics, shortwave radio sets, radar systems and television. During the 1970s, the company diversified manufacturing backend telephony equipment, semiconductors, and medical imaging apparatus. It also entered into large deals outside of the domestic market, acquiring considerable business in the Middle East.
During the late 1980s, Thomson-CSF, anticipating defence spending cutbacks, conducted a radical business restructuring, merging its semiconductor interests with those of the Italian defence group Finmeccanica and exchanging its medical imaging technology for General Electric\'s consumer electronics businesses. Towards the latter decades of its operations, Thomson-CSF built itself up into a multinational company. During 1989, Thomson-CSF acquired Philips\' defence electronics business, Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V. In 1999, the company was privatised, but not before disposing of its consumer electronics businesses. Shortly after, Thomson-CSF took over the British defence electronics company Racal Electronics. During December 2000, the business was rebranded Thales Group.Contents1 History2 References2.1 Citations3 Further readingHistoryThomson-CFS traces its origins to the formation of the American business Thomson-Houston Electric Company by Elihu Thomson and Edwin Houston in 1879. On 15 April 1892, the Thomson-Houston Electric Company merged with its rival, the Edison General Electric Company, to form General Electric (GE). That same year, the company formed an overseas subsidiary, named Thomson Houston International, based in France. During 1893, Compagnie Française Thomson-Houston (CFTH) was established as a partner to GE. CFTH\'s operations centered around the application of GE\'s patents in the growing electricity generation and transmission industry.[1] The modern Thomson companies evolved from this company.[1]
During 1966, CFTH merged with armaments and vehicle manufacturer Hotchkiss-Brandt to form Thomson-Houston-Hotchkiss-Brandt, which was subsequently renamed Thomson-Brandt. Two years later, the electronics business of Thomson-Brandt merged with Compagnie Générale de Télégraphie Sans Fil (General Wireless Telegraphy Company, commonly abbreviated as CSF) to form Thomson-CSF.[1] Prior to the merger, CFS had operated as a pioneer in the fields of broadcasting, electroacoustics, shortwave radio, radar systems and television.[1] Thomson Brandt maintained a significant shareholding in the merged company (approximately 40%).
During the 1970s, Thomson-CSF received its first major contract in the Middle Eastern market. In this period the company diversified into several new sectors, leading to it manufacturing backend telephony equipment, semiconductors and medical imaging apparatus.[1] By the early 1980s Thomson-CSF was in a weak financial position with a high level of debt. While it possessed a diversified portfolio of businesses, its market share within the majority of these many sectors was viewed as being too small to be realistically profitable despite increasing business from overseas buyers.[1]
During 1982, both Thomson-Brandt and Thomson-CSF were nationalised by France\'s Mitterrand government. As a consequence, Thomson-Brandt was renamed Thomson SA (Société Anonyme) and merged with Thomson-CSF. Throughout the 1980s, the company\'s financial position improved dramatically as undertook a major reorganisation, focusing its efforts on the production of electronics for professional and defence customers.[1] In 1983, it divested Thomson-CSF Téléphone , its civil telecommunications division, to telecommunications specialist Alcatel. Four years later, its semiconductor interests were merged with those of the Italian defence group Finmeccanica.[1] That same year, Thomson-CSF\'s medical imaging technology was exchanged with GE for GE\'s RCA and consumer electronics businesses.[1]Thomson-CSF Cyrano IV airborne radar as used on the Dassault Mirage F1During the late 1980s, Thomson-CSF, anticipating future defence spending cutbacks and a downturn in its lucrative export contracts, initiated a restructuring of its businesses with the aim of maintaining its margins.[1] A policy of proactive external growth was adopted, focusing on the European market. Between 1987 and 1976, the company\'s non-French subsidiaries\' share of consolidated revenues rose from 5% to 25%. During 1988, a new division, Thomson Consumer Electronics was formed. In 1995, this division was rebranded as Thomson Multimedia.[1] During 1989, it acquired Philips\' defence electronics business, Hollandse Signaalapparaten B.V.. During the 1990s, Thomson-CSF gained a controlling interest in Sextant Avionique, which was formed by the merger of the company\'s avionics business with that of French aircraft manufacturer Aérospatiale.[1] The company also divested its interests in the French bank Crédit Lyonnais and semiconductor manufacturer SGSThomson.[1]
During the late 1990s, French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin\'s Plural Left government initiated a policy of privatisation of several state-owned companies, including Thomson-CSF.[2][3] During April 1998, several of the affected companies, including Aérospatiale, Alcatel, Dassault Industries, Thomson-CSF and Thomson SA reached a cooperation agreement endorsed by the French government. Several of these terms brought about a major restructuring of Thomson-CSF. Firstly, the professional and defence electronics businesses of Alcatel and Dassault Électronique were merged with Thomson-CSF.[1] Secondly, satellite businesses of Alcatel, Aerospatiale and Thomson-CSF are merged to form a new entity, Alcatel Space; this was jointly owned by Alcatel and Thomson-CSF.[1]
By June 1998, implementation of the finalised agreement had commenced.[1] The majority of Thomson-CSF\'s capital was transferred into private ownership. The French State reduced its holding in the company from 58% to 40%. At the time, Thomson-CSF\'s principal private shareholders were Alcatel and Dassault Industries.[1] The division of the company\'s consumer electronics and defence businesses prior to privatisation brought about the creation of Thomson Multimedia, which was a distinct entity from Thomson-CSF. The independently-operating Thomson Multimedia has since been restructured and trades as Technicolor SA.[1]
Following its privatisation, Thomson-CSF continued to orient itself towards the defence electronics sector, establishing itself in overseas nations, including South Africa, Australia, South Korea and Singapore.[1] Shortly after its privatisation, the company began exploring the possibility of merging with British defence specialist Marconi Electronic Systems. Its ambitions were foiled by the success of a rival offer by the defence and aerospace firm British Aerospace, which rebranded itself as BAE Systems shortly thereafter. Keen to expand its defence and technology business, Thomson-CFS announced the acquisition of the British defence electronics company Racal Electronics, which was purchased in exchange for £1.3 billion. As a result of its takeover of Racal, the UK became Thomson-CSF\'s second-largest domestic industrial base after France. Racal was initially rebranded Thomson-CSF Racal plc.[1]
Shortly after the Racal acquisition, Thomson-CSF conducted a strategic review of its portfolio of businesses. It adopted a new organisational structure comprising three business areas: defence, aerospace, and information technology and services.[1] Management decided that the company ought to leverage its dual-purpose technology, marketing itself towards particular civil markets that held strong parallels with its established defence and aerospace competencies, such as mobile telecommunications. Meanwhile, non-strategic assets were divested.[1] Thomson-CSF also explored business opportunities further afield. In December 2000, it was announced that the company was forming a joint venture with the American defence company Raytheon. This arrangement was claimed to be first transatlantic joint venture in the defence sector.[1]
During December 2000, Thomson-CSF was officially rebranded as Thales (from the Greek philosopher Thales, pronounced [talɛs] reflecting its pronunciation in French).[4][5]
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat[a] (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician who served as the third President of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as Vice President twice and whom he succeeded as president in 1970. In 1978, Sadat and Menachem Begin, Prime Minister of Israel, signed a peace treaty in cooperation with United States President Jimmy Carter, for which they were recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize.
In his eleven years as president, he changed Egypt\'s trajectory, departing from many of the political and economic tenets of Nasserism, re-instituting a multi-party system, and launching the Infitah economic policy. As President, he led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 to regain Egypt\'s Sinai Peninsula, which Israel had occupied since the Six-Day War of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider Arab World. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty; this won him and Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first Muslim Nobel laureate. Although reaction to the treaty—which resulted in the return of Sinai to Egypt—was generally favorable among Egyptians,[5] it was rejected by the country\'s Muslim Brotherhood and the left, which felt Sadat had abandoned efforts to ensure a Palestinian state.[5] With the exception of Sudan, the Arab world and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) strongly opposed Sadat\'s efforts to make a separate peace with Israel without prior consultations with the Arab states.[5] His refusal to reconcile with them over the Palestinian issue resulted in Egypt being suspended from the Arab League from 1979 to 1989.[6][7][8][9] The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination; on 6 October 1981, militants led by Khalid Islambouli opened fire on Sadat with automatic rifles during the 6 October parade in Cairo, killing him.Contents1 Early life and revolutionary activities2 During Nasser\'s presidency3 Presidency3.1 Corrective Revolution3.2 Yom Kippur War3.3 Peace with Israel3.4 Relationship with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran3.5 Assassination4 Aftermath5 Media portrayals of Anwar Sadat6 Honour6.1 National honour6.2 Foreign honour7 Bibliography8 Notes9 See also10 References11 Further reading12 External linksEarly life and revolutionary activities
Sadat graduating from the military college in 1938Anwar Sadat was born on 25 December 1918 in Mit Abu El Kom, part of Monufia Governorate in what was then the Sultanate of Egypt, to a poor family, one of 13 brothers and sisters.[10] One of his brothers, Atef Sadat, later became a pilot and was killed in action during the October War of 1973.[11] His father, Anwar Mohammed El Sadat, was an Upper Egyptian, and his mother, Sit Al-Berain, was Sudanese from her father.[12][13]Sadat in 1953He graduated from the Royal Military Academy in Cairo, capital of what was then the Kingdom of Egypt, in 1938[14] and was appointed to the Signal Corps. He entered the army as a second lieutenant and was posted to the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (the Sudan being a condominium under joint British and Egyptian rule at the time). There, he met Gamal Abdel Nasser, and along with several other junior officers they formed the secret Free Officers, an organization committed to expelling the British presence from Egypt and removing royal corruption.[15]
During the Second World War he was imprisoned by the British for his efforts to obtain help from the Axis Powers in expelling the occupying British forces. Anwar Sadat was active in many political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the fascist Young Egypt, the pro-palace Iron Guard of Egypt, and the secret military group called the Free Officers.[16] Along with his fellow Free Officers, Sadat participated in the military coup that launched the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, which overthrew King Farouk on 23 July of that year. Sadat was assigned to announce the news of the revolution to the Egyptian people over the radio networks.
During Nasser\'s presidency
Top Egyptian leaders in Alexandria, 1968. From left to right: Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sadat, Ali Sabri and Hussein el-ShafeiDuring the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sadat was appointed minister of State in 1954. He was also appointed editor of the newly founded daily Al Gomhuria.[17] In 1959, he assumed the position of Secretary to the National Union. Sadat was the President of the National Assembly (1960–1968) and then vice president and member of the presidential council in 1964. He was reappointed as vice president again in December 1969.
PresidencyFurther information: History of Egypt under Anwar SadatSome 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 peace treaty with Israel, the \"opening up\" (or Infitah) of Egypt\'s economy, and lastly his assassination in 1981.
File:Sadat Egypt.ogv1972 Echo newsreel about the early Sadat yearsSadat succeeded Nasser as president after the latter\'s death in October 1970.[18] Sadat\'s presidency was widely expected to be short-lived.[19] 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.[20] On 15 May 1971,[21] Sadat announced his Corrective Revolution, purging the government, political and security establishments of the most ardent 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.[22]
In 1971, 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.[23]
Corrective RevolutionMain article: Corrective Revolution (Egypt)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 Sharawy Gomaa, the Interior Minister, who controlled the secret police.[19] Sadat\'s rising popularity would accelerate after he cut back the powers of the hated secret police,[19] expelled Soviet military from the country[24] and reformed the Egyptian army for a renewed confrontation with Israel.[19]
Yom Kippur WarMain article: Yom Kippur WarOn 6 October 1973, in conjunction with Hafez al-Assad of Syria, Sadat launched the 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,[25] 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, also known as The Crossing) was the Egyptian military\'s advance approximately 15 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.
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, prompted by an agreement between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 338 on 22 October 1973, calling for an immediate ceasefire.[26] Although agreed upon, the ceasefire was immediately broken.[27] Alexei Kosygin, the Chairman of the USSR Council of Ministers, cancelled an official meeting with 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.[28] 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 mi) from Damascus and 101 kilometres (63 mi) from Cairo.[29]
Peace with IsraelMain article: Egypt–Israel Peace TreatyExternal audioaudio icon National Press Club Luncheon Speakers Anwar Sadat, 6 February 1978, National Press Club. Speech begins at 7:31[30]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.[31] 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 Palestinian issue.[32] Sadat, on his part, extended to the Pope a public invitation to visit Cairo.[33][failed verification]
Sadat also used the media to promote his purposes. In an interview he gave to the Lebanese paper El 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.[34] This statement caused some concern to the Israeli government, but Kissinger denied such a promise was ever made.[35]
In January 1977, a series of \'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.[36] The riots ended with the deployment of the army and the re-institution of the subsidies/price controls.[37][38] During this time, Sadat was also taking a new approach towards improving relations with the West.[19]
The United States and the Soviet Union agreed on 1 October 1977, on principles to govern a Geneva conference on the Middle East.[19] Syria continued to resist such a conference.[19] 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.[19]
On 19 November 1977, Sadat became the first Arab leader to visit Israel officially when he 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 UN Resolutions 242 and 338. He said during his visit that he hopes \"that we can keep the momentum in Geneva, and may God guide the steps of Premier Begin and Knesset, because there is a great need for hard and drastic decision\".[39]Sadat (left) shaking hands with Israeli Defense Minister Ezer Weizman, 1978
President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin acknowledge applause during joint session of Congress in Washington, D.C., during which President Jimmy Carter announced the results of the Camp David Accords, 18 September 1978
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
President Sadat with U.S. Senator Joe offeren (left), and U.S. Senator Frank Church (center), at Camp David, 1979.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 (1978), 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:
Let us put an end to wars, let us reshape life on the solid basis of equity and truth. And it is this call, which reflected the will of the Egyptian people, of the great majority of the Arab and Israeli peoples, and indeed of millions of men, women, and children around the world that you are today honoring. And these hundreds of millions will judge to what extent every responsible leader in the Middle East has responded to the hopes of mankind.[40]
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.
The treaty was extremely unpopular in most of the Arab World and the wider Muslim World.[41] 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 Egypt). 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.[19][42] 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 Evangelical circles. He was awarded the Prince of Peace Award by Pat Robertson.[43]
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).[19] The improved relations Egypt gained with the West through the Camp David Accords soon gave the country resilient economic growth.[19] By 1980, however, Egypt\'s strained relations with the Arab World would result in a period of rapid inflation.[19]
Relationship with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran
Queen Farah Diba, President Anwar Sadat and Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi in Tehran in 1975The 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.[44]
In 1971, Sadat addressed the Iranian parliament in Tehran in fluent Persian, describing the 2,500-year-old historic connection between the two lands.[44]
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\".[44]
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.[44]
All these added more to the personal friendship between Sadat and the Shah of Iran. (The Shah\'s first wife was 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.)[44]
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 royal family of Egypt and Sudan.[45]
AssassinationMain article: Assassination of Anwar SadatThe last months of Sadat\'s presidency were marked by internal uprising.[19] Sadat dismissed allegations that the rioting was incited by domestic issues, believing that the Soviet Union was recruiting its regional allies in Libya and Syria to incite an uprising that would eventually force him out of power.[19] Following a failed military coup in June 1981, Sadat ordered a major crackdown that resulted in the arrest of numerous opposition figures.[19] Although Sadat still maintained high levels of popularity in Egypt,[19] it has been said that he was assassinated \"at the peak\" of his unpopularity.[46]
Earlier in his presidency, Islamists had benefited from the \'rectification revolution\' and the release from prison of activists jailed under Nasser.[21] But Sadat\'s Sinai treaty with Israel enraged Islamists, particularly the radical Egyptian Islamic Jihad. According to interviews and information gathered by journalist Lawrence Wright, the group was recruiting military officers and accumulating weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch \"a complete overthrow of the existing order\" in Egypt. Chief strategist of El-Jihad was Abbud al-Zumar, a colonel in the military intelligence whose \"plan was to kill the main leaders of the country, capture the headquarters of the army and State Security, the telephone exchange building, and of course the radio and television building, where news of the Islamic revolution would then be broadcast, unleashing—he expected—a popular uprising against secular authority all over the country\".[47]
In February 1981, Egyptian authorities were alerted to El-Jihad\'s plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information. In September, Sadat ordered a highly unpopular roundup of more than 1,500 people, including many Jihad members, but also the Coptic Pope and other Coptic clergy, intellectuals and activists of all ideological stripes.[48] All non-government press was banned as well.[49] The round up missed a Jihad cell in the military led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli, who would succeed in assassinating Anwar Sadat that October.[50]
According to Tala\'at Qasim, ex-head of the Gama\'a Islamiyya interviewed in Middle East Report, it was not Islamic Jihad but his organization, known in English as the \"Islamic Group\", that organized the assassination and recruited the assassin (Islambouli). Members of the Group\'s \'Majlis el-Shura\' (\'Consultative Council\') – headed by the famed \'blind shaykh\' – were arrested two weeks before the killing, but they did not disclose the existing plans and Islambouli succeeded in assassinating Sadat.[51]
On 6 October 1981, Sadat was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo to celebrate Egypt\'s crossing of the Suez Canal.[52] Islambouli emptied his assault rifle into Sadat\'s body while in the front of the grandstand, mortally wounding the President. In addition to Sadat, eleven others were killed, including the Cuban ambassador, an Omani general, a Coptic Orthodox bishop and Samir Helmy, the head of Egypt\'s Central Auditing Agency (CAA).[53][54] Twenty-eight were wounded, including Vice President Hosni Mubarak, Irish Defence Minister James Tully, and four US military liaison officers.
The assassination squad was led by Lieutenant Khalid Islambouli after a fatwā approving the assassination had been obtained from Omar Abdel-Rahman.[55] Islambouli was tried, found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad in April 1982.
AftermathSadat was succeeded by his vice president Hosni Mubarak, whose hand was injured during the attack. Sadat\'s funeral was attended by a record number of dignitaries from around the world, including a rare simultaneous attendance by three former US presidents: Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Richard Nixon. Sudan\'s President Gaafar Nimeiry was the only Arab head of state to attend the funeral. Only 3 of 24 states in the Arab League—Oman, Somalia and Sudan—sent representatives at all.[56] Israel\'s prime minister, Menachem Begin, considered Sadat a personal friend and insisted on attending the funeral, walking throughout the funeral procession so as not to desecrate the Sabbath.[57] Sadat was buried in the unknown soldier memorial in Cairo, across the street from the stand where he was assassinated.
Over three hundred Islamic radicals were indicted in the trial of assassin Khalid Islambouli, including future al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, Omar Abdel-Rahman, and Abd al-Hamid Kishk. The trial was covered by the international press and Zawahiri\'s knowledge of English made him the de facto spokesman for the defendants. Zawahiri was released from prison in 1984. Abboud al-Zomor and Tareq al-Zomor, two Islamic Jihad leaders imprisoned in connection with the assassination, were released on 11 March 2011.[58]
Despite these facts, the nephew of the late president, Talaat Sadat, claimed that the assassination was an international conspiracy. On 31 October 2006, he was sentenced to a year in prison for defaming Egypt\'s armed forces, less than a month after he gave the interview accusing Egyptian generals of masterminding his uncle\'s assassination. In an interview with a Saudi television channel, he also claimed both the United States and Israel were involved: \"No one from the special personal protection group of the late president fired a single shot during the killing, and not one of them has been put on trial,\" he said.[59]
Media portrayals of Anwar Sadat
Yuri Gagarin with Sadat and Gamal Abdel Nasser in Cairo, 1962In 1983, Sadat, a miniseries based on the life of Anwar Sadat, aired on US television with Oscar-winning actor Louis Gossett, Jr. in the title role. The film was promptly banned by the Egyptian government, as were all other movies produced and distributed by Columbia Pictures, over allegations of historical inaccuracies. A civil lawsuit was brought by Egypt\'s artists\' and film unions against Columbia Pictures and the film\'s directors, producers and scriptwriters before a court in Cairo, but was dismissed, since the alleged slanders, having taken place outside the country, fell outside the Egyptian courts\' jurisdiction.[60]
The film was critically acclaimed in North America, but was unpopular among Egyptians and in the Egyptian press. Western authors attributed the film\'s poor reception in Egypt to racism – Gossett being African-American – in the Egyptian government or Egypt in general.[61] Either way, one Western source wrote that Sadat\'s portrayal by Gossett \"bothered race-conscious Egyptians and wouldn\'t have pleased [the deceased] Sadat,\" who identified as Egyptian and Northeast African, not black.[62] The two-part series earned Gossett an Emmy nomination in the United States.
He was portrayed by Robert Loggia in the 1982 television movie A Woman Called Golda, opposite Ingrid Bergman as Golda Meir.
The first Egyptian depiction of Sadat\'s life came in 2001, when Ayyam El Sadat (English: Days of Sadat) was released in Egyptian cinemas. This movie, by contrast, was a major success in Egypt, and was hailed as Ahmed Zaki\'s greatest performance to date.[63]
The young Sadat is a major character in Ken Follett\'s thriller The Key to Rebecca, taking place in World War II Cairo. Sadat, at the time a young officer in the Egyptian Army and involved in anti-British revolutionary activities, is presented quite sympathetically; his willingness to cooperate with German spies is clearly shown to derive from his wish to find allies against British occupation of his country, rather than from support of Nazi ideology. Some of the scenes in the book, such as Sadat\'s arrest by the British, closely follow the information provided in Sadat\'s own autobiography.
Sadat was a recurring character on Saturday Night Live, played by Garrett Morris, who bore a resemblance to Sadat.
HonourNational honourEgypt:EGY Order of the Republic - Grand Cordon BAR.png Collar of the Order of the RepublicEGY Order of the Nile - Grand Cordon BAR.png Grand Cordon of the Order of the NileEGY Order of Merit - Grand Cross BAR.png Grand Cross of the Order of MeritEGY - Order of the Virtues - Supreme and first classes.svg Supreme Class of the Order of the VirtuesForeign honourAlbania:ALB Order of Fidelity (1939) - Grand Cross BAR.png Grand Cross of the Order of FidelityAustria:AUT Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria - 1st Class BAR.png Grand Star of the Order of Honour for Services to the Republic of AustriaItaly:Cordone di gran Croce di Gran Cordone OMRI BAR.svg Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Merit of the Italian RepublicKuwait:Order of Mubarak the Great (Kuwait) - ribbon bar.gif Collar of the Order of Mubarak the GreatMalaysia:MY Darjah Utama Seri Mahkota Negara (Crown of the Realm) - DMN.svg Honorary Grand Commander of the Order of the Defender of the Realm (1965)[64] Nepal:Most Refulgent Order of the Star of Nepal.PNG Member First Class of the Order of the Star of NepalOrd.Rajanya.Nepal-Ribbon.gif Recipient of the Order of Ojaswi RajanyaSaudi Arabia:SA Order of King Abdulaziz 1kl rib.png Recipient of the Order of King Abdulaziz, 1st classSyria:Order Of Ummayad (Syria) - ribbon bar.gif Member First Class of the Order of the UmayyadsTunisia:Order of the Republic (Tunisia) - ribbon bar.gif Recipient of the Order of the RepublicUnited States:Presidential Medal of Freedom (ribbon).svg Recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom (1984)Noribbon.svg Recipient of the Congressional Gold Medal (2018)[65]


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