President of Egypt between 1954 and 1970, who transformed it from the conservative monarchy of King Farouk to the socialist leader of the Arab world.
He was born in Alexandria on 15 January 1918, and became part of the military junta that seized power in 1953, after Farouk had abdicated in favour of his infant son Fuad II. At first the older general Mohammed Naguib led the junta, but in November 1954 he was replaced as chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council by Nasser, who assumed the title of president in June 1956.
Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal in July 1956. In October of that year a conspiracy of Britain, France, and Israel attacked Egypt to reoccupy it, in the brief war euphemistically called the Suez Crisis. The action was condemned by other countries. Nasser ordered ships sunk in the canal to make it useless.
Between 1958 and 1961 Egypt was united with Syria in the United Arab Republic, with Nasser as president. After the union fell through, Egypt retained the name of the UAR until 1971. Nasser's presidency also included the Six Day War against Israel in 1967, which resulted in the loss of the Egyptian administration of the Gaza Strip. He died on 28 September 1970, to be succeeded by his vice-president Anwar Sadat.
Between 1960 and 1968 the great hydroelectric project of the Aswân High Dam was undertaken, and the enormous lake created by this is called Lake Nasser after him.
< Mohammed Naguib - Egypt - Anwar Sadat >
Other transliterations use Gamal, Abdel-Nasser, or Abd El-Nasser.
| 
