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Anwar Sadat
Historical figureEG1918-1981

Anwar Sadat

President of Egypt (1970-1981) · Nobel Peace Prize laureate (1978)

Egyptian president who fought the 1973 war, then broke with a decades-old Arab consensus by flying to Jerusalem in 1977 and signing a peace treaty with Israel in 1979.

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Profile on 12 axes7 of 12 documented
ECONOMYSTATESOCIETYWORLDOwnershipMarketsWelfareAuthoritySecurityStructureMoralityReligionTechnologyCultureTradeForeign
Where they stood

Anwar Sadat, axis by axis

  1. 01Ownership+25
    PublicPrivate
  2. 02Markets+30
    PlannedFree
  3. 03WelfareNo clear record
    SharedSelf-reliant
  4. 04Authority+50
    DemocraticStrong leader
  5. 05Security+45
    LibertyOrder
  6. 06Structure+40
    LocalCentral
  7. 07MoralityNo clear record
    ProgressiveTraditional
  8. 08ReligionNo clear record
    SecularReligious
  9. 09TechnologyNo clear record
    EmbraceCaution
  10. 10CultureNo clear record
    MulticulturalNational identity
  11. 11Trade-15
    GlobalProtected
  12. 12Foreign policy-25
    CooperationStrength

    He expelled Soviet advisers, fought the 1973 war, then chose direct talks and a treaty with Israel.

5 axes have no clear record, so matching leaves them out.

Who was Anwar Sadat?

Anwar Sadat was born in 1918 and became president of Egypt in 1970. In February 1971 he proposed reopening the Suez Canal in return for an Israeli pullback, and in July 1972 he expelled Soviet military advisers. On 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli forces. In November 1977 he offered to travel to Jerusalem, and at Camp David in September 1978 he joined Carter and Begin in two framework agreements. The Egyptian-Israeli treaty was signed on 26 March 1979. He was assassinated in October 1981.

Political views

  • In February 1971 he offered to reopen the Suez Canal if Israeli forces withdrew from its east bank, and signaled he would end Egypt's claim of belligerency if Israel returned to the international border.Source: history.state.gov
  • In July 1972 he expelled Soviet military advisers from Egypt and opened a back channel to Henry Kissinger through his national security adviser, Hafiz Isma'il.Source: history.state.gov
  • In February 1973 his envoy told Kissinger that Egypt would sign a separate peace with Israel, but only after Israel left all territory occupied in 1967.Source: history.state.gov
  • On 6 October 1973 Egypt and Syria attacked Israeli forces in Sinai and the Golan Heights, and Sadat rejected an early ceasefire proposed by Kissinger.Source: history.state.gov
  • In November 1977 he offered to travel to Jerusalem, choosing direct talks with Israel over a Geneva conference.Source: history.state.gov
  • At the Camp David summit of 5 to 17 September 1978 he reached two framework documents with Carter and Begin, covering a bilateral peace and a formula for Palestinian self-government in Gaza and the West Bank.Source: history.state.gov

Legacy

Supporters credit Sadat with ending the state of war between Egypt and Israel, regaining the Sinai for Egypt by negotiation and sharing the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. Critics, in Egypt and across the Arab world, charged that he made a separate peace without securing a settlement for the Palestinians. Jordan and Saudi Arabia did not back the accords. He was assassinated in October 1981, and historians continue to argue about the repression and economic policies of his final years.

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Anwar Sadat: questions

Why did Anwar Sadat go to Jerusalem?

In November 1977 he chose direct talks with Israel over a Geneva conference, hoping to break the deadlock. His visit opened the way to Camp David in 1978 and the treaty in 1979.

Why did Sadat expel the Soviet advisers?

In July 1972 he expelled Soviet military advisers and opened a back channel to Washington through Kissinger. The move preceded Egypt's turn toward the United States.

Sources