Gamal Abdel Nasser Biography and Timeline

Birth of Gamal Abdel Nasser

Gamal Abdel Nasser is born in Alexandria to a postal worker's family.

Battle of Faluja

Receives serious wounds during the Battle of Faluja

Role range: 1948-1949

Independence of Egypt

Heads a group of officers dedicated to Egyptian nationalism

Role range: 1948-1949

Leader Officers

Heads a group of officers dedicated to Egyptian nationalism

Coup

Nationalists overthrow Farouk & push aside the WAFD Party in favor of Nasser

Coup

Places Major General Mohammed Naguib in powers as titular leader. Nationalists overthrow Farouk & push aside the WAFD Party in favor of Nasser

Ruling Council

Becomes deputy chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and its principal strategist.

Role range: 1952-1954

Dissolution of Political Parties

The Revolutionary Command Council dissolves existing political parties and begins creating a new political system.

High Dam Planning Committee

Nasser supports technical examination of the proposed High Dam and its development benefits.

Role range: 1953-1954

High Dam Feasibility Reviews Supported

Egyptian leaders commissioned further investigation of the proposed High Dam's engineering and economic benefits.

Prime Minister of Egypt

Becomes Prime Minister after Mohamed Naguib temporarily resigns.

Role range: 1954-1956

Prime Minister of Egypt

Takes office as Prime Minister during his power struggle with Mohamed Naguib.

Role range: 1954-1956

Anglo-Egyptian Agreement

Signs an agreement requiring British evacuation from the Suez Canal base under specified conditions.

Role range: 1954-1956 – 1954-1956

British Evacuation

Signs terms requiring British forces to evacuate the Suez Canal base within twenty months.

Role range: 1954-1956

British Evacuation Agreement

Signs an agreement establishing a timetable for British withdrawal from the Canal Zone.

Role range: 1954-1956

Prime Minister of Egypt

Consolidates control of the government after President Naguib is removed and placed under house arrest.

Role range: 1954-1956

Decision to Build High Dam

Nasser's government adopts construction of the High Dam as a national development priority.

Role range: 1954-1956

Aswan Dam Heritage Risk Identified

Egypt's decision to build the Aswan High Dam created the prospect of a reservoir flooding important archaeological landscapes in Egyptian and Sudanese Nubia.

National High Dam Priority Established

Nasser's government adopted construction of the Aswan High Dam as a strategic development priority.

Conference of Bandung

Attends the Bandung Conference and promotes Afro-Asian cooperation and non-alignment.

Role range: 1954-1956

Czechoslovak Arms Agreement

Announces an arms agreement with Czechoslovakia that reduces Western influence over Egyptian defence procurement.

Role range: 1954-1956

Egypt Pursues Western Support for Aswan Dam

Gamal Abdel Nasser sought external loans and grants for the planned High Dam, a centerpiece of Egyptian irrigation and development policy.

Role range: 1955-1958

Western Financing Negotiations

Nasser negotiates with the World Bank, United States and Britain over project finance.

Role range: 1956-1970

Draft Republican Constitution Announced

Egypt published a draft republican constitution in January 1956, outlining a presidential system that would replace the provisional constitutional arrangements of the revolutionary period.

Role range: 1956-1970

Presidential Government Powers Defined

The proposed constitution described a strong presidency with extensive executive authority, placing Nasser at the centre of Egypt’s projected republican institutions.

Role range: 1956-1970

Egypt Weighs Development Against Financing Conditions

Gamal Abdel Nasser faced difficult choices over the terms required by prospective Western lenders and Egypt's desire for economic autonomy.

Role range: 1955-1958

Egyptian Syrian Cooperation Communique

Egypt and Syria issued a joint declaration in March supporting Arab defence and economic cooperation while rejecting participation in the Baghdad Pact.

Role range: 1956-1970

Tripartite Arab Military Command Agreement

Egypt, Syria and Saudi Arabia announced a unified military command arrangement on 6 March as part of their efforts to coordinate regional defence.

Role range: 1956-1970

Cairo Continues Aswan Funding Negotiations

Egyptian officials pursued international financing of the High Dam while asserting that the project was vital to national development.

Role range: 1955-1958

Saudi Egyptian Yemeni Talks

Nasser joined Saudi and Yemeni leaders in April discussions that led to another Arab defence understanding focused on political and security cooperation.

Role range: 1956-1970

Egypt Seeks Assurances of Project Sovereignty

Nasser's administration viewed control of Aswan financing as part of its wider effort to secure independent Egyptian development choices.

Role range: 1955-1958

British Base Evacuation Completed

The withdrawal of the final British troops from the Suez Canal base in June completed the evacuation agreed under the 1954 Anglo Egyptian treaty.

Role range: 1956-1970

Constitutional Referendum Held

Egypt held a nationwide referendum on 23 June to approve the new constitution, formalising the political structure of the postmonarchical republic.

Role range: 1956-1970

Presidential Candidacy Ratified

Voters endorsed Nasser as president in a referendum conducted alongside the constitutional vote, confirming his formal assumption of the presidency.

Role range: 1956-1970

New Republican Constitution Takes Effect

The adoption of the 1956 constitution established the legal basis of Nasser’s presidency and the institutions of the Egyptian republic.

Role range: 1956-1970

Presidential Term Begins

Nasser formally began his presidential term in June 1956 after the national referendum, having already governed as Egypt’s leading revolutionary figure.

Role range: 1956-1970

British Withdrawal Marked Publicly

The Egyptian government commemorated the end of Britain’s military presence in the Canal Zone, treating the evacuation as a landmark in the recovery of sovereignty.

Role range: 1956-1970

Egypt Awaits Final Western Financing Decision

Egypt still sought the promised funding framework while diplomatic relations with major Western governments worsened.

Role range: 1955-1958

High Dam Western Funding Withdrawn

The United States withdrew its offer to help finance the Aswan High Dam on 19 July; British participation also fell away, prompting a major political and financial crisis.

Role range: 1956-1970

Aswan Financing Dispute Precedes Canal Decision

Gamal Abdel Nasser's government faced the withdrawal of Western support for the Aswan High Dam, a development that shaped the political setting of canal nationalization.

Role range: 1956-1956