Egyptian Revolution of 1952 in the context of "Arab Cold War"

The Anglo-Egyptian Sudan (Arabic: السودان الإنجليزي المصري as-Sūdān al-Inglīzī al-Maṣrī) was a condominium of the United Kingdom and Egypt between 1899 and 1956, corresponding to the territory of what is now both Sudans and parts of southeastern Libya. Legally, sovereignty and administration were shared between both Egypt and the United Kingdom, but in practice the structure of the condominium ensured effective British control over Sudan, with Egypt having limited local power and influence. In the meantime, Egypt itself fell under increasing British influence. Following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, Egypt pushed for an end to the condominium, and the independence of Sudan. By agreement between Egypt and the United Kingdom in 1953, Sudan was granted independence as the Republic of the Sudan on 1 January 1956. In 2011, the south of Sudan itself became independent as the Republic of South Sudan.

Muhammad Ali took control of Egypt in 1805, and while he was nominally a vassal of the Ottoman Empire, Egypt under his rule acted as a virtually independent state. Seeking to supplant and ultimately replace the Ottoman Empire as the dominant regional power, Muhammad Ali declared himself Khedive, and expanded Egypt's borders both southwards into Sudan, and eastwards into the Levant and Arabia, the latter at the expense of the Ottoman Empire. Territory in Sudan was annexed by Egypt, and governed as an integral part of the country, with Sudanese granted Egyptian citizenship. Ultimately, the intervention of the Great Powers in support of the Ottoman Empire forced Egypt to return all Levantine and Arabian territory to the Ottomans upon Muhammad Ali's death. However, there was no such impediment to Egypt's southward expansion.

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 president of the Arab Republic of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: رئيس جمهورية مصر العربية, romanized: Ra'īs gumhūriyyat Miṣr al-ʻArabiyyah) is the head of state of Egypt. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the president is also the supreme commander of the Armed Forces, and head of the executive branch of the Egyptian government.

As the presidency is the supreme magistracy of the country, the position is the highest office in Egypt. The powers, functions and duties of prior presidential offices, in addition to their relation with the prime minister and government of Egypt, have over time differed with the various constitutional documents.

Nasserism (Arabic: التَّيَّار النَّاصِرِيّ, romanized: at-Tayyār an-Nāṣiriyy) is an Arab nationalist and Arab socialist political ideology based on the thinking of Gamal Abdel Nasser, one of the two principal leaders of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and Egypt's second president. Spanning the domestic and international spheres, it combines elements of Arab socialism, republicanism, secularism, nationalism, anti-imperialism, developing world solidarity, Pan-Arabism, and international non-alignment. According to Mohamed Hassanein Heikal, Nasserism symbolised "the direction of liberation, socialist transformation, the people’s control of their own resources, and the democracy of the peoples working forces."

Many other Arab countries have adopted Nasserist forms of government during the 20th century, most being formed during the 1960s, including Algeria under the FLN and the Libyan Arab Republic under Muammar Gaddafi. The Nasserist ideology is also similar in theory to the Ba'athist ideology which was also notably practiced under Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist Iraq (1968–2003) and under the Assad family's Ba'athist Syria (1963–2024).

King of Egypt (Egyptian Arabic: ملك مصر, romanized: Malik Miṣr), officially referred to as, King of Egypt, Sovereign of Nubia, Sudan, Kordofan, and Darfur, was the title used by the Head of State in Egypt between 1922 and 1953. When the United Kingdom issued the Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence on 28 February 1922, thereby ending its protectorate over Egypt (1914–1922), Egypt's Sultan Fuad I issued a decree on 15 March 1922 whereby he adopted the title of King of Egypt.

It has been reported that the title change was due not only to Egypt's newly independent status, but also to Fuad I's desire to be accorded the same title as the newly installed rulers of the newly created kingdoms of Hejaz, Syria and Iraq. The second monarch to be styled King of Egypt was Fuad I's son Farouk I, whose title was changed to King of Egypt and the Sudan in October 1951 following the Wafdist government's unilateral abrogation of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936. The monarchy was abolished on 18 June 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and the establishment of a republic. The third king, the infant Fuad II of Egypt (Farouk having abdicated following the revolution), went into exile in Italy. The position was replaced by the President of Egypt on June 18, 1953.

Youssef Seddik (Arabic: يوسف صديق, often spelt Yusuf Sadik or Yusef el-Sadiq) (January 3, 1910 – March 31, 1975) was an Egyptian military figure and politician. He is noted for his role in launching the first military procedures in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952.

Khaled Mohieddine (Egyptian Arabic: خالد محيي الدين, IPA: [ˈxæːled ˈmoħj edˈdiːn]; August 17, 1922 – May 6, 2018) was an Egyptian military officer, revolutionary and politician. As a member of the Free Officers Movement, he participated in the toppling of King Farouk that began the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and led to the establishment of the Republic of Egypt.

Mohieddine held important political and media roles throughout Gamal Abdel Nasser's presidency, although the two also had a number of fallings out. An outspoken individual, he was one of the few members of the revolutionary inner circle of Egypt able to disagree passionately with Nasser whilst still retaining Nasser's respect and admiration. His political influence diminished during the early part of Anwar Sadat's presidency until he cofounded a leftist political party, National Progressive Union Party (Tagammu), in 1976.

The Revolutionary Command Council (RCC; Arabic: مجلس قيادة الثورة Majlis Qiyāda ath-Thawra) was the body established to supervise the Republic of Egypt and Anglo-Egyptian Sudan after the Revolution of 1952. It initially selected Ali Maher Pasha as Prime Minister, but forced him to resign after conflict over land reform. At that time, the Council took full control of Egypt. The RCC controlled the state until 1954, when the Council dissolved itself.