Who succeeded Gamal Abdel Nasser as Egyptian leader?

Anwar Al Sadat succeeded Gamal Abdel Nasser as Egyptian leader. Nasser died on September 28, 1970, after suffering a heart attack in Cairo, and Sadat, then Egypt’s vice president, became his successor. Sadat was formally elected president in October 1970.

Sadat had been a close associate of Nasser since the 1952 Egyptian Revolution, when the Free Officers movement overthrew King Farouk. He served as vice president and was initially viewed by some Nasserists as a temporary or easily controlled successor. Instead, Sadat consolidated power and gradually redirected Egypt’s domestic and foreign policy.

The two presidents differed sharply in style and priorities. Nasser championed Arab nationalism and close ties with the Soviet Union, while Sadat introduced economic reforms known as Infitah and moved toward closer relations with the United States. Sadat led Egypt during the 1973 October War and later signed the Camp David Accords and the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty with Menachem Begin. A common mix-up is confusing Sadat with Hosni Mubarak, who became president only after Sadat’s assassination in 1981.