Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic

Date: 5 Feb 1958
Updated: 30 Sep 2019

Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic

On 5 February 1958, Gamal Abdel Nasser was formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic. In February 1958, Egypt joined with Syria in the United Arab Republic- a symbol of pan-Arabism (the union only lasted until 1961). Nasser was the second president of Egypt and the first president of the United Arab Republic. His legacy was one of awakening, of wasting Arab nationalism on an unwinnable war, and an alliance with the USSR that brought little material gain for Egypt. Nasser's schemes for Arab unity were all in vain. It was his successor, Anwar al-Sadat, who made peace with Israel, recovered the Sinai, and established generously subsidized closer ties with the United States of America (USA) - for which, in due course, he was assassinated.

Search events by date

What happened on your birthday?

How we know this

01Answers, Gamal Abdel Nasser, from Answers.com, [online], Available at answers.com [Accessed: 27 January 2009]
02TheFamousPeople, Gamal Abdel Nasser Biography, from THEFAMOUSPEOPLE, [online], Available at www.thefamouspeople.com [Accessed: 16 January 2014]

Last updated · 30 Sep 2019

Cite this entry

South African History Online. (2011, March 16). Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic. South African History Online. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011846

South African History Online (2011) 'Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic', South African History Online, 16 March. Available at: https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011846 (Accessed: 21 August 2026).

South African History Online, Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic [website], https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011846, (accessed 21 August 2026).

"Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic." South African History Online, 16 Mar. 2011, https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011846. Accessed 21 Aug. 2026.

South African History Online. "Gamal Abdel Nasser is formally nominated to become the first president of the new United Arab Republic." South African History Online. March 16, 2011. https://sahistory.org.za/ref/E-0011846.