Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser
Photograph by Jean Dominique Dallet, c.1950s

He was the indomitable voice of Egypt’s revolutionary mid-century.

Gamal Abdel Nasser
1918–1970, b. Alexandria, Egypt
Worked in Cairo

Let them kill Nasser! What is Nasser but one among many? I am alive, and even if I die, all of you are Gamal Abdel Nasser!
—Gamal Abdel Nasser, after surviving an assassination attempt, 1954

• A military officer, Nasser helped to overthrow the monarchy, led Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970, nationalized the Suez Canal from British and French interests, and became an icon of secular pan-Arab nationalism.
• Never short on ambition, Nasser saw himself as a potential leader for Arab-speaking countries, Africa, and the greater Islamic world. From 1958 to 1961, he led Egypt and Syria jointly in a United Arab Republic.
• Nasser’s legacy remains particularly complicated—he was a global symbol of anticolonial solidarity, built the Aswan Dam, and led the industrialization of Egypt. Yet, he also ruled a police state and fought and lost two wars with Israel.