Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in the context of "1952 Egyptian revolution"

The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état (Arabic: انقلاب 1952) and the 23 July Revolution (Arabic: ثورة 23 يوليو), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King Farouk in a coup d'état by the Free Officers Movement, a group of army officers led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. It ushered in a wave of revolutionary politics in the Arab world, and contributed to the escalation of decolonization, and the development of Third World solidarity during the Cold War.

Though initially focused on grievances against King Farouk, the movement had more wide-ranging political ambitions. In the first three years of the Revolution, the Free Officers moved to abolish the constitutional monarchy and aristocracy of Egypt and Sudan, establish a republic, end the British occupation of the country, and secure the independence of Sudan (previously governed as a condominium of Egypt and the United Kingdom). The revolutionary government adopted a staunchly nationalist, anti-imperialist agenda, which came to be expressed chiefly through Arab nationalism, and international non-alignment.

The Sudanese Greeks, or Greeks in Sudan, are ethnic Greeks from modern-day Sudan; they are small in number (estimated at around 150 in 2015), but still a very prominent community in the country. Historically, this diverse group has played a significant role in the political, economic, cultural, and sporting life of Sudan, as they have been one of the few European immigrant communities of considerable size and economic power.

Following cultural exchanges in ancient and medieval times, a few hundred Greeks – mostly military officers and traders – settled in the six decades after the 1820 Egyptian-Turkish conquest of what became modern Sudan. About one hundred of them stayed, either forcedly or deliberately, when the Ottoman occupiers were defeated by the local Mahdist forces in 1885. With the establishment of the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan in 1898, Greek merchants, administrators and artisans de facto became the stalwarts of the British-dominated colonial regime. By the time Sudan gained independence in 1956, their numbers had increased to around 6,000-7,000, but soon afterwards decreased, especially after the nationalisation of many businesses in 1969 and the introduction of Sharia law in 1983.

South Sudan (/suːˈdɑːn, -ˈdæn/), officially the Republic of South Sudan, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered by Sudan to the north, Ethiopia to the east, the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the southwest, Uganda to the south, Kenya to the southeast and to the west by the Central African Republic. South Sudan's diverse landscape includes vast plains and plateaus, dry and tropical savannahs, inland floodplains, and forested mountains. The Nile River system is the defining physical feature of the country, running south to north across its center, which is dominated by a large swamp known as the Sudd. South Sudan has an estimated population of just over 12.7 million in 2024. Juba is the capital and largest city.

Sudan was occupied by Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty and governed as an Anglo-Egyptian condominium until Sudanese independence in 1956. Following the First Sudanese Civil War, the Southern Sudan Autonomous Region was formed in 1972 and lasted until 1983. A second Sudanese civil war soon broke out in 1983 and ended in 2005 with the Comprehensive Peace Agreement. Later that year, southern autonomy was restored when an Autonomous Government of Southern Sudan was formed. South Sudan became an independent state on 9 July 2011, following 98.8% support for independence in a January 2011 referendum. It is the most recent sovereign state with widespread recognition as of 2025. South Sudan descended into a civil war from 2013 to 2020, enduring rampant human rights abuses, including forced displacement, ethnic massacres, and killings of journalists by various parties. It has since been governed by a coalition formed by leaders of the former warring factions, Salva Kiir Mayardit (Sudan People's Liberation Movement or SPLM) and Riek Machar (Sudan People's Liberation Movement-in-Opposition or SPLM-IO). The country continues to recover from the war while experiencing ongoing and systemic ethnic violence.

Abbas Helmy II (also known as ʿAbbās Ḥilmī Pāshā, Arabic: عباس حلمي باشا; 14 July 1874 – 19 December 1944) was the last Khedive of Egypt and the Sudan, ruling from 8 January 1892 to 19 December 1914. In 1914, after the Ottoman Empire joined the Central Powers in World War I, the nationalist Khedive was removed by the British, then ruling Egypt, in favour of his more pro-British uncle, Hussein Kamel, marking the de jure end of Egypt's four-century era as a province of the Ottoman Empire, which had begun in 1517.

Fuad I (Arabic: فؤاد الأول Fu’ād al-Awwal; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sultan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Hussein Kamel. He replaced the title of Sultan with King when the United Kingdom unilaterally declared Egyptian independence in 1922.

The Kingdom of Egypt (Arabic: المملكة المصرية, romanized: Al-Mamlaka Al-Miṣriyya, lit. 'The Egyptian Kingdom') was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Until the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, the Kingdom was only nominally independent, as the United Kingdom retained control of foreign relations, communications, the military, and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. Officially, the Sudan was governed as a condominium of the two states; however, in reality, true power in the Sudan lay with the United Kingdom. Between 1936 and 1952, the United Kingdom continued to maintain its military presence, and its political advisers, at a reduced level.

The legal status of Egypt had been highly convoluted, due to its de facto breakaway from the Ottoman Empire in 1805, its occupation by Britain in 1882, and the re-establishment of the Sultanate of Egypt (destroyed by the Ottomans in 1517) as a British protectorate in 1914. In line with the change in status from sultanate to kingdom, the title of the reigning Sultan, Fuad I, was changed from Sultan of Egypt to King of Egypt. Throughout the Kingdom's existence, the Sudan was formally united with Egypt. However, actual Egyptian authority in the Sudan was largely nominal due to the United Kingdom's role as the dominant power in the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan. As had been the case during the Khedivate of Egypt, and the Sultanate of Egypt, the Egyptian monarch was styled as the sovereign of "Egypt and Sudan".

The Republic of Sudan was established as an independent sovereign state upon the termination of the condominium of Anglo-Egyptian Sudan, over which sovereignty had been vested jointly in Egypt and the United Kingdom. On December 19, 1955, the Sudanese parliament, under Ismail al-Azhari's leadership, unanimously adopted a declaration of independence that became effective on January 1, 1956. During the early years of the Republic, despite political divisions, a parliamentary system was established with a five-member Supreme Commission as head of state. In 1958, after a military coup, General Ibrahim Abboud was installed as president. This government was disestablished when a coup led by Colonel Gaafar Nimeiry founded the Democratic Republic of Sudan in 1969.

Farouk I (/fəˈruːk/; Arabic: فاروق الأول, romanized: Fārūq al-Awwal; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his overthrow in a military coup in 1952.

His full title was "His Majesty Farouk I, by the grace of God, King of Egypt and the Sudan". As king, Farouk was known for his extravagant playboy lifestyle. While initially popular, his reputation eroded due to the corruption and incompetence of his government. He was overthrown in the 1952 coup d'état and forced to abdicate in favour of his infant son, Ahmed Fuad, who succeeded him as Fuad II. Farouk died in exile in Italy in 1965.