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DEATH
OF
ASTATESMAN
P
OSSIBLY
no figure in
Arab history has been
more honored and
more vil ified tha n Anwar
Sadat.
Within Egypt a nd in many
countries arou nd the wor ld, t he
d eat h of Mr . Sad at was
mourned as a blow to the cause
of peace. But his Arab oppo–
nents g r eeted t he news with
jubilation.
A man of unique qualit ies, Sadat
did more than any other individual
in modern history to change West–
ern concepts of the Arab people.
He was widely viewed as a moder–
ating influe nce and s ta bil izi ng
force in the volati le Middle East.
Even many who publicly disagreed
with him privately admired his
courage and conviction.
Anw ar Sad at was bor n on
December 25, 1918, in the poor
Nile Delta vi llage of Mit Abul
Kom. The nearest bus route was a
mile away. ln his 1978 autobiogra–
phy
In Search of ldentity,
he
proudly called himself "a peasant
born and brought up on the banks
of the Ni le."
Sadat's father was a c ivilia n
clerk in the army. His mother was
part Sudanese. The family eventu–
ally moved to Cairo and Sadat
entered the Royal Military Acad–
emy, g raduating in 1938. One of
his classmates was Gamal Abdel
Nasser.
During World War 11 , Nasser
and Sadat became friends. They
were active during the war in the
pro-German underground . Sadat
was imprisoned for his anti- British
activities.
by
Keith Stump
After the Allied victory, Sadat
resumed efforts against Br itish
colonial domination in Egypt. He
was twice jailed for involvement in
plots against royal ist politicians in
Egypt but was acquitted both
times. Re leased from jail in 1948,
he drove a truck and worked as a
journalist.
Regaining his captain's rank in
Anwar El Sadat 1918-1981
the Egyptian army in 1950, Sadat
and eight other officers, including
Lieutenant Colonel Nasser, began
plotting t he overth row of King
Farouk and the final ouster of the
British from Egypt. The nine men
led what became known as the Free
Office rs Movement , with secret
cells planted throughout the Egyp–
tian mil itary.
Sadat was a member of the Mili–
tary Command Council that seized
control of Egypt on the night of
July 22, 1952. The revolut ion led
to the exi le of Farouk and the
emergence of Nasser as strongman
and president.
Sadat held a number of jobs
under President Nasser, including
secretary general of the Islamic
Congress, ·edi tor of the government
daily
Al Gomhouria
and president
of the National Assembly.
Sadat was not as visible as sorne
other "free officers" around Nas–
ser. But he endured and above all ,
he was loyal. Finally, less than 1
O
months before Nasser died, he
named Sadat vice president.
On September 28, 1970, Nasser
died of a heart attack, leaving a
void few thought could be filled.
ln to the vo id stepped Anwar
Sadat, a virtually unknown per–
sonality outside Egypt. Many saw
him as merely a caretaker presi–
dent. " W e're s uffering two
plagues at one time," one joke
went. "First Nasser dies. Then we
get Sadat. "
Sad at, however , quickly set
about forming his own policies for a
stronger and more independent
Egypt and establishing a firm per–
sonal leadership.
In July, 1972, Sadat abruptly
ordered the withdrawal of thou–
sands of Soviet advisers from Egypt
and s tarted turning Egypt's orien–
tation from the Soviet Union to the
Uni ted States. This represented a
radical departure from Nasser 's
longstand ing pro-Soviet stance.
Sadat later wrote, " l •.>;anted to tell
the whole world that we are always
our own masters."
In 1973 Sadat led Egypt in what
he described as a "glorious Arab
victory" in the October 6 War
against (:srael. He sent his troops