On July 23, 1952 a group of Egyptian army officers, calling themselves the “Free Officers Movement” engineered a coup d’etat and forced King Farouk
to abdicate the throne and leave the country. After years of building
tension between Egypt and Britain over control of the Suez Canal and the
Sudan, the military power grab abolished the monarchy and began to
build a new sense of Egyptian nationalism. Revolution Day is
commemorated every year on July 23.
The Egyptian Republic was declared on June 18, 1953, but military leaders have kept a firm grasp on power ever since.
A
waving, shouting crowd demonstrates against Great Britain in Cairo on
Oct. 23, 1951 as tension continued to mount in the dispute between Egypt
and Britain over control of the Suez Canal and the Sudan. Police used
tear gas to disperse Cairo mobs and fired into other crowds in
Alexandria. (AP Photo)
A slogan "Down with England" is written in chalk on a street in Cairo, on Jan. 25, 1952. (AP Photo)
View of the Rivoli Cinema, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 26, 1952, as it was
burns during the rioting. A large crowd watches as firemen attempt to
extinguish the blaze. (AP Photo) #
Aerial
view of the remains of the burnt out 'Cicurel', Cairo's biggest
department store, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 26, 1952, after it was burnt out
the previous day by rioters. The building is on Cairo's Fouad First
Avenue. (AP Photo) #
Fields guns take up a commanding position on the road to Heliopolis in
the northern suburbs of Cairo on July 23, 1952 following the bloodless
coup effected by the Egyptian army under the direction of Major-General
Mohamed Neguib Pasha. Mohamed Neguib Pasha has proclaimed himself
commander-in-chief of the Egyptian army. Hilaly Pasha has tendered his
one-day-old cabinet’s resignation. King Farouk has asked Aly Maher Pasha
to form a new cabinet. (AP Photo) #
extile workers rounded up by Egyptian police and troops squat outside
the Misr spinning factory at Kafr el-Dawar, Egypt on August 21, 1952,
following rioting there in which nine people, including a policeman and
two soldiers were killed. The factory was damaged by violence and fire.
A military court is hearing charges against 29 of the workers. Another
worker, 21 year old Mustaf Khamis was sentenced to be hanged after he
was found guilty of being one of the principal instigators of the recent
strike and riots
General Mohamed Neguib (L) and Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser leave the last Revolutionary meeting late 23 February 1954. AFP/Getty
Praying at the Nasser Mosque in Cairo, Egypt for the late President
Gamal Abdel Nasser, on Oct. 2, 1970, from left are; Libyan Head of
State, Moammer Gadhafi; United Arab Republic Provisional President Anwar
El Sadat; Sudan Head of State, Gaafar Nimeiry; Algerian President
Houari Boumediene; Palestinian Liberation Organization leader, Yasser
Arafat; Hussein El Shafey, member of Supreme Executive Committee of Arab
Socialist Union; Sheikh Mohammed Faham, Rector of Al Azhar University.
In second row, at either side of the head of Faham, are two sons of late
President Nasser, Abdel Hakim, right, and Khalid Abdel Nasser, left.
A waving, shouting crowd demonstrates against Great Britain in Cairo on
Oct. 23, 1951 as tension continued to mount in the dispute between Egypt
and Britain over control of the Suez Canal and the Sudan. Police used
tear gas to disperse Cairo mobs and fired into other crowds in
Alexandria.
With their hands on their heads, some of the Egyptian police are
escorted by British troops, from the police stations at El-Hamada and
Tel-El-Kebir, to the local railway station in El-Hamada, Jan. 16, 1952.
The British army were trying to capture guerrillas who had been sniping
at British troops
With hands on their heads, Egyptian policemen are marched towards a
prison camp area in Ismalia, Egypt, Jan. 25, 1952, after their capture
in fierce fighting between British troops and Egyptian police. They are
guarded by a soldier from the Lancashire Fusiliers.
Egyptian police officers are held prisoner by British troops after a
battle in Ismalia, Egypt, Jan. 25, 1952. Egyptian police opened fire on
British troops after refusing to surrender their arms, and the British
troops with tank support returned their fire. Forty two policemen were
killed and fifty eight wounded in the battle and over 800 were disarmed
when the battle ended. Four Britains were killed and nine wounded.
This is a general view of a demonstration taking place at Opera Square in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 25, 1952.
British troops, protected by armored car at left, rush into action in
Ismailia, Egypt on Jan. 25, 1952 during fierce battling with Egyptians.
Action is taking place outside the Egyptian police headquarters where
the British fought the police and their guerrilla followers.
A crowd marches towards Shepherd Hotel in Cairo, Egypt on Jan. 25, 1952
View
of the Rivoli Cinema, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 26, 1952, as it was burns
during the rioting. A large crowd watches as firemen attempt to
extinguish the blaze.
Aerial
view of the remains of the burnt out 'Cicurel', Cairo's biggest
department store, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 26, 1952, after it was burnt out
the previous day by rioters. The building is on Cairo's Fouad First
Avenue
Egyptian women struggle with Cairo police on Jan. 26, 1952 as they are
ousted from bank two days ago during anti-British disorders. Women were
preventing customers from entering bank. Rioting Egyptian crowds ran
wild through Cairo screaming anti-British, pro-Russian slogans.
View of the remains of the burnt out 'Cicurel', Cairo's biggest
department store, in Cairo, Egypt, Jan. 26, 1952, after it was burnt out
the previous day by rioters. The building is on Cairo's Fouad First
Avenue.
In
the centre is part of the famous Shepheards Hotel, in Cairo, Egypt,
Jan. 27, 1952, after it was burned the previous day by rioters. In the
foreground are the wrecked offices of Trans World Airlines.
British
Military Police affix "Out of bounds" posters to the walls in the Arab
section of Ismalia, Egypt, March 20, 1952. The British Army is pulling
out of the area after clearing it of terrorists and having many battles
between Egyptian police and British troops
British
Military Police affix "Out of bounds" posters to the walls in the Arab
section of Ismalia, Egypt, March 20, 1952. The British Army is pulling
out of the area after clearing it of terrorists and having many battles
between Egyptian police and British troops
Mohamed Ezzedin waves his arms and struggles with police as he protests
the sentence of ten years at hard labor given him by a military court in
Cairo, Egypt on March 23, 1952. Ezzedin was sentenced for his part in
the arson, looting and destruction which took place during last
January's riots in the city. Eight more youths were given jail sentences
on March 23 in connection with the riots, which caused 67 deaths and
millions of dollars in fire damage.
During
a coup d'etat led by General Muhammed Naguib, an Egyptian army tank and
field guns are drawn up in front of the royal Abdin Palace, in Cairo,
on July 26, 1952. Appointed Premier Ali Maher Pasha issued an ultimatum
to King Farouk I, forcing the Egyptian monarch to abdicate.
General Mohamed Neguib Bey,who engineered the recent coup d'etat,
broadcasts to the people of Egypt, in Cairo July 24, 1952. After the
bloodless coup Aly Maher Pasha took office as Premier and on July 26
issued an abdication ultimatum to King Farouk. The king abdicated in
favour of his seven-month-old son, Prince Ahmed Fuad, and left the
country for Italy on his royal yacht.
CAIRO, EGYPT - 1952: Meeting of the Egyptian "Free Officers" in Cairo
in 1952. The Free Officers forced King Faruq 23 July 1952 to leave the
throne and replaced him by his son King Fouad. Mohammed Nagib (2R) Gamal
Abdel Nasser (3R) Anwar al-Sadat (From 4L). Others are unidentified.
During a coup d'etat led by General Muhammed Naguib, Egyptian army tanks
and field guns are drawn up in front of the royal Abdin Palace, in
Cairo, on July 26, 1952. Appointed Premier Ali Maher Pasha issued an
ultimatum to King Farouk I, forcing the Egyptian monarch to abdicate.
General Mohamed Neguib Bey, centre in uniform, who engineered the recent
coup d'etat in Egypt, with newly appointed Premier Aly Maher, in
sunglasses, at Maher's office in Alexandria, July 26, 1952. Maher has
just delivered an abdication ultimatum to King Farouk. The king
abdicated in favour of his seven-month-old son, Prince Ahmed Fuad, and
left the country for Italy on his royal yacht.
Ex-King
Farouk of Egypt made his first public statement since he went into
exile, at a press conference on the terrace of Hotel Eden Paradiso at
Anacapri, Italy on July 31, 1952, where he and his party are staying.
Left to right: Queen Narriman; baby-King Fuad II; Farouk; Princess
Fawzia; Princess Fadia; nurse (reportedly English); Princess Ferial
(completely hidden behind nurse); as they prepare for posing for
pictures on the terrace of Hotel Eden Paradiso.
General Mohamed Naguib Bey, who engineered last week's coup D'Etat in
Cairo, gives a press conference at the Egyptian Army general
headquarters in Cairo on July 31, 1952, Redently. The new commander in
chief of the Egyptian armed forces had just returned to the city from
Alexandria. He was there when King Farouk Abdicated in favor of his
young son Ahmed Fuad.
Egyptian feminist Doria Shafik (L) meets 08 August 1952 with Egyptian
Chief Army Commander General Naguib in unlocated place. Doria Shafik
(1908-1975), an Egyptian feminist, poet, publisher, and political
activist, participated in one of her country's most explosive periods of
social and political transformation. During the '40s she burst onto the
public stage in Egypt, openly challenging every social, cultural, and
legal barrier that she viewed as oppressive to the full equality of
women. As the founder of the Daughters of the Nile Union in 1948, she
catalyzed a movement that fought for suffrage and set up programs to
combat illiteracy, provide economic opportunities for lower-class urban
women, and raise the consciousness of middle-class university students.
New Egyptian premier, Mohamed Naguib Bey is seen shortly after he accepted leadership, Sept. 7, 1952.
Egyptian
frontier guards stand to attent during a military parade in Cairo's
Ismail Square on Oct. 23, 1952 in celebration of '90 days of Freedom.'
The day marked the end of the first three months of major general
Mohamed Neguib’s rule. In an address, premier Neguib stated that Egypt
was prepared to fight for the liberation of the Nile valley.
Lt.
Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser, 36-year-old leader of the Revolutionary
Command Council of Egypt, is seen during a public appearance to win
support for his governing revolution council, on August 1, 1954, at an
unknown location.
A
large crowd storms into the Ministry Council Headquarters 28 March 1954
in Cairo, during a demonstration supporting the revolutionary regime.
AFP/Getty
A
large crowd demonstrates in front of the Ministry Council Headquarters
28 March 1954 in Cairo, during a demonstration supporting the
revolutionary regime.
Mohammed
Farghali, centre, a Muslim Brotherhood leader, found guilty planning
the attempted assassination of Egyptian Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser at
Alexandria on Oct. 26th, is escorted to the execution chamber, in a
Cairo Prison, Dec. 7, 1954, where he was hung.
Egyptian Premier Gamal Abdel Nasser waves to a crowd of people as he
stands in an open car moving through the streets of Cairo, Egypt on June
19, 1956. Nasser announced at a rally in Republican Square that
martial law in Egypt is ended, that the revolution council which has
ruled Egypt since King Farouk was deposed is dissolved, that Egypt's new
constitution will be ratified and that a new president will be elected.
Drawn on a gun carriage the flag-covered coffin of President Abdel Gamal
Nasser passes through dense crowds in Cairo, Egypt on Oct. 1, 1970. (AP
Photo/Dennis Lee Royle)
In
this June 14, 1974 file photo Presidents Anwar Sadat and Richard Nixon
shake hands for photographers as they pose in front of the pyramids at
Giza, near Cairo. (AP Photo/Horst Faas)
United
Nations soldiers and journalists attend the historic signing of the
Kissinger Agreement, bringing peace between Israel and Egypt in a deal
brokered by the US Secretary of State Henry Kissinger.
President
Jimmy Carter stands center stage flanked by Egyptian President Anwar
Sadat, left, and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin as the three
leaders shake hands following the signing of the Middle East peace
treaty at the White House in Washington, March 27, 1979. The ceremony
took place outside the Executive Mansion on the North Lawn.
An
undated picture shows late Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (L) waving to
a crowd as Vice-President Hosni Mubarak (R) laughs beside him standing
in a convertible vehicle.
Egyptian
soldiers fire on Egyptian President Anwar Al-Sadat while reviewing a
military parade in honor of The October 1973 War, on October 06, 1981 in
Cairo. The assassination is attributed to muslim extremist group Muslim
Brotherhood.
Egyptian
soldiers tend to wounded after an attack on the reviewing platform
which killed Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in Cairo, Egypt, on Oct. 6,
1981. Six others were also killed by members of the Al Jihad movement,
religious extremists within Sadat's army, who opened fire during a
military parade commemorating the eighth anniversary of the Arab-Israeli
War of Oct. 1973.
Vice-President
Hosni Mubarak casts his vote, 13 October 1981, during a national
referendum to decide whether he will succeed the slain President Anwar
Sadat as leader of Egypt. Mubarak came to office as Egypt’s fourth
president after late President Anwar Sadat was slained by a group of
military Islamist fundamentalists with allegiance to the Al-Jihad during
a military parade 06 October 1981 and remained in power until resigning
after a wave of popular protests in February 2011.