View source for Anwar Sadat

{{Short description|President of Egypt from 1970 to 1981}}
{{pp|small=yes}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| native_name         = {{nobold|أنور السادات}}
| native_name_lang    = ar
| birth_name          = Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat
| image               = Anwar Sadat cropped (cropped)(2).jpg
| caption             = Sadat in 1980
| order               = 3rd
| office              = President of Egypt
| term_start          = 15 October 1970
| term_end            = 6 October 1981<br>{{small|Acting: 28 September – 15 October 1970}}
| primeminister       = {{List collapsed|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
| [[Mahmoud Fawzi]] (1970–1972)
| Aziz Sedky (1972–1973)
| Himself (1973–1974)
| Abdel Aziz Mohamed Hegazy (1974–1975)
| [[Mamdouh Salem]] (1975–1978)
| Mustafa Khalil (1978–1980)
| Himself (1980–1981)
}}
| vicepresident       = {{List collapsed|title={{nobold|''See list''}}
| [[Hussein el-Shafei]] (1970–1973)
| [[Ali Sabri]] (1970–1971)
| [[Mahmoud Fawzi]] (1972–1974)
| Hosni Mubarak (1975–1981)
}}
| predecessor         = [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]
| successor           = [[Sufi Abu Taleb]] (acting)<br>[[Hosni Mubarak]]
| order2              = 37th
| office2             = Prime Minister of Egypt
| president2          = Himself
| term_start2         = 15 May 1980
| term_end2           = 6 October 1981
| predecessor2        = [[Mustafa Khalil]]
| successor2          = Hosni Mubarak
| president3          = Himself
| term_start3         = 26 March 1973
| term_end3           = 25 September 1974
| predecessor3        = [[Aziz Sedky]]
| successor3          = [[Abdel Aziz Mohamed Hegazy]]
| office4             = [[Vice President of Egypt]]
| president4          = Gamal Abdel Nasser
| term_start4         = 19 December 1969
| term_end4           = 14 October 1970
| predecessor4        = [[Hussein el-Shafei]]
| successor4          = [[Ali Sabri]]
| president5          = Gamal Abdel Nasser
| term_start5         = 17 February 1964
| term_end5           = 26 March 1964
| predecessor5        = Hussein el-Shafei
| successor5          = [[Zakaria Mohieddin]]
| office6             = [[List of Speakers of the People's Assembly of Egypt|Speaker of the National Assembly of Egypt]]
| president6          = Gamal Abdel Nasser
| term_start6         = 21 July 1960
| term_end6           = 20 January 1969
| predecessor6        = [[Abdel Latif Boghdadi (politician)|Abdel Latif Boghdadi]]
| successor6          = Mohamed Labib Skokeir
| birth_date          = {{birth date|df=yes|1918|12|25}}
| birth_place         = [[Monufia Governorate|Monufia]], [[Sultanate of Egypt]]
| death_date          = {{death date and age|df=yes|1981|10|6|1918|12|25}}
| death_place         = [[Nasr City]], [[Cairo]], Egypt
| death_cause         = [[Assassination of Anwar Sadat|Assassination]]|
| resting_place       = [[Unknown Soldier Memorial (Egypt)|Unknown Soldier Memorial]]
| spouse              = {{unbulleted list|{{marriage|Eqbal Afifi<ref>{{citation|last=Finklestone|first=Joseph|year=2013|title=Anwar Sadat: Visionary Who Dared|publisher=[[Routledge]]|isbn=978-1-135-19565-6|quote=Significantly, Anwar Sadat did not mention aspects in his early life...It was in Mit Abul-Kum that Eqbal Afifi, the woman who was his wife for ten years and whom he left, was also born. Her family was of higher social standing than Anwar's, being of Turkish origin...|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/anwarsadatvision0000fink}}</ref>|end=separated}}|{{marriage|[[Jehan Sadat]]|1949}}}}<ref>{{Cite news|last=Serrieh|first=Joanne|date=9 July 2021|title=Jehan Sadat, wife of late Anwar Sadat, dies after short battle with illness: Reports|url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/middle-east/2021/07/09/Jehan-Sadat-wife-of-late-Anwar-Sadat-dies-after-short-battle-with-illness-Reports|access-date=18 March 2024|work=[[Al Arabiya English]]|language=en}}</ref>
| children            = 7
| party               = [[National Democratic Party (Egypt)|National Democratic Party]]
| otherparty          = [[Arab Socialist Union (Egypt)|Arab Socialist Union]]
| alma_mater          = [[Egyptian Military Academy]]
| allegiance          = Egypt
| branch              = {{flagicon|Egypt|1972}} [[Egyptian Army]]
| serviceyears        = 1938–1952
| rank                = [[File:KEgypt-Army-OF-05.svg|25px]] [[Colonel]] (active)<br>[[File:Egypt Army - OF10.svg|25px]] [[Field Marshal]] (honorary)
| signature           = Anwar El Sadat Signature.svg
| module              = {{Listen|pos=center|embed=yes|filename=Anwar Sadat voice.ogg|title=Anwar Sadat's voice|type=speech|description=Sadat on [[Egypt–United States relations]]<br/>Recorded 6 August 1981}}
| honorific_prefix    = [[Excellency|His Excellency]]
}}
{{Anwar Sadat}}
'''Muhammad Anwar es-Sadat'''{{efn|{{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|d|æ|t}} {{respell|sə|DAT}}, {{IPAc-en|UKalso|s|æ|ˈ|d|æ|t}} {{respell|sa|DAT}}, {{IPAc-en|USalso|s|ə|ˈ|d|ɑː|t}} {{respell|sə|DAHT}};<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.collinsdictionary.com/dictionary/english/sadat | title=Sadat| work=[[Collins English Dictionary]] |publisher=[[HarperCollins]] |access-date=8 May 2019}}</ref> (US) and <ref>{{Cite encyclopedia |url=http://www.lexico.com/definition/Sadat |title=Sadat |dictionary=[[Lexico|Oxford Dictionaries]] UK English Dictionary |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]]}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref><ref>{{Cite Merriam-Webster|Sādāt|access-date=8 May 2019}}</ref> {{langx|ar|محمد أنور السادات|Muḥammad ʾAnwar as-Sādāt}}, {{IPA|arz|mæˈħæmmæd ˈʔɑnwɑɾ essæˈdæːt|lang}}.}} (25 December 1918&nbsp;– 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third [[president of Egypt]], from 15 October 1970 until [[Assassination of Anwar Sadat|his assassination]] by members of the [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]] on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the [[Free Officers movement (Egypt)|Free Officers]] who overthrew King [[Farouk of Egypt|Farouk I]] in the [[Egyptian revolution of 1952|Egyptian Revolution of 1952]], and a close confidant of President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], under whom he served as [[Vice President of Egypt|vice president]] twice and whom he succeeded as president in 1970. In 1978, Sadat and [[Menachem Begin]], Prime Minister of Israel, signed a peace treaty in cooperation with United States President [[Jimmy Carter]], for which they were recognized with the [[Nobel Peace Prize]].

In his 11 years as president, he changed [[Egypt]]'s trajectory, departing from many political and economic tenets of [[Nasserism]], reinstituting a [[multi-party system]], and launching the [[Infitah]] economic policy. As President, he led Egypt in the [[Yom Kippur War]] of 1973 to regain Egypt's [[Sinai Peninsula]], which [[Israel]] had occupied since the [[Six-Day War]] of 1967, making him a hero in Egypt and, for a time, the wider [[Arab world]]. Afterwards, he engaged in negotiations with Israel, culminating in the [[Camp David Accords]] and the [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty]].

Although reaction to the treaty{{snd}}which resulted in the return of Sinai to Egypt{{snd}}was generally favorable among Egyptians,<ref name=constu>{{cite web | url=https://countrystudies.us/egypt/44.htm | title=Peace with Israel | website=Country Studies}}</ref> it was rejected by the country's [[Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt|Muslim Brotherhood]] and the left, which felt Sadat had abandoned efforts to ensure a [[State of Palestine]].<ref name=constu /> With the exception of Sudan, the Arab world and the [[Palestine Liberation Organization]] (PLO) strongly opposed Sadat's efforts to make a separate peace with Israel without prior consultations with the Arab states.<ref name=constu /> His refusal to reconcile with them over the Palestinian issue resulted in Egypt being suspended from the [[Arab League]] from 1979 to 1989.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.huffpost.com/entry/middle-east-peace-talks-i_n_690008 |title=Middle East Peace Talks: Israel, Palestinian Negotiations More Hopeless Than Ever |first=Nick |last=Graham |work=[[HuffPost]] |date=21 August 2010}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TYpyAAAAMAAJ | last=Vatikiotis | first=P. J. | year=1992 | title=The History of Modern Egypt | edition=4th | location=[[Baltimore]] | publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University Press]] | page=443| isbn=978-0-8018-2339-8 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/learning/general/onthisday/big/0326.html |title=Egypt and Israel Sign Formal Treaty, Ending a State of War After 30 Years; Sadat and Begin Praise Carter's Role | first=Bernard | last=Gwertzman | work=[[The New York Times]] | date=March 26, 1979}}</ref> The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination; on 6 October 1981, militants led by [[Khalid Al-Islambuli]] opened fire on Sadat with automatic rifles during the [[Assassination of Anwar Sadat|6 October parade]] in Cairo, killing him.

==Early life and revolutionary activities==
[[File:Sadat young.gif|thumb|left|upright|Sadat graduating from the military college in 1938]]
Anwar Sadat was born on 25 December 1918 in [[Mit Abu El Kom]], part of [[Monufia Governorate]] in what was then the [[Sultanate of Egypt]], to a poor family, and he had 14 siblings.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2010/1/25/profile-anwar-sadat |title=Profile: Anwar Sadat The former Egyptian president believed a peace deal with Israel was vital to end wars. |work=[[Al Jazeera]] |date=25 January 2010}}</ref> One of his brothers, [[Atef Sadat]], later became a pilot and was [[killed in action]] in 1973 during the [[Yom Kippur War]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1974/01/06/archives/sadats-brother-reported-killed-during-october-war.html |title=Sadat's Brother Reported Killed During October War| work=[[The New York Times]] |date=6 January 1974 |accessdate=2020-11-10}}</ref> His father, Anwar Mohammed El Sadat, was an [[Upper Egypt]]ian, and his mother, Sit Al-Berain, was born to an Egyptian mother and a Sudanese father.<ref name=Wet2006>{{cite book| author=C. J. De Wet |title=Development-induced Displacement: Problems, Policies, and People |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1SQpTIxa63MC&pg=PA198 |access-date=31 January 2013 |year=2006 |publisher=Berghahn Books |isbn=978-1-84545-095-3 |pages=198}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url=https://www.masress.com/almesryoon/23704 | title=Sadat's Wife autobiography | language=Arabic}}</ref>

He graduated from the [[Egyptian Military Academy|Royal Military Academy]] in [[Cairo]], the capital of what was then the [[Kingdom of Egypt]], in 1938<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9lIOS5DjocIC&q=Anwar%20sadat%20graduated%20from%20the%20Royal%20military&pg=PA102 |title=Anwar Sadat |last=Alagna |first=Magdalena| date=2004| publisher=The Rosen Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-8239-4464-4 |language=en}}</ref> and was appointed to the Signal Corps. He entered the army as a second lieutenant and was posted to the [[Anglo-Egyptian Sudan]] (the Sudan being a [[Condominium (international law)|condominium]] under joint British and Egyptian rule at the time). There, he met [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], and along with several other junior officers they formed the [[Free Officers movement (Egypt)|Free Officers]], an organization committed to overthrowing British rule in Egypt and eliminating state corruption.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books&pg=PA29 |title=Anwar Sadat and Menachem Begin: Negotiating Peace in the Middle East |last=Wagner |first=Heather Lehr |date=2007 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-1-4381-0440-9 |language=en}}</ref>

[[File:Muhammed_Naguib_colors.jpg|alt=Muhammed_Naguib_colors|thumb|259x259px|Sadat with [[Mohamed Naguib]], 1952|left]]

During [[World War II]], Sadat, a member of the fascist and ultranationalist [[Young Egypt Party (1933)|Young Egypt Party]], [[Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy|collaborated]] with [[Nazi Germany]] in Egypt as part of [[Operation Salam]].<ref>{{cite web |last1=Zongker |first1=Brett |title=New play 'Camp David' retraces 1978 peace accord |url=https://apnews.com/new-play-camp-david-retraces-1978-peace-accord-002390900b2e49be8b8fdfbe3dc4f172 |website=AP News |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=8 April 2025 |location=Washington, D.C. |language=en |date=4 April 2014 |quote=Sadat was a former Nazi collaborator}}</ref> There were meetings and talk amongst some pro-Axis junior officers of a potential revolt, and Sadat later said that he'd wanted to make Egypt "[[1941 Iraqi coup d'état|a second Iraq]]".<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwar |title=Revolt on the Nile |publisher=Allan Wingate |year=1957 |page=35 |asin=B0000CJN1S |lccn=58000205}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sādāt |first=Anwar as- |title=In search of identity: an autobiography |date=1978 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-013742-7 |edition=1st |location=New York |page=18}}</ref> After the [[1942 Abdeen Palace incident|Abdeen Palace incident]], Sadat furthered his plans for a coup, but [[Muslim Brotherhood]] leader [[Hassan al-Banna]] declined to support the plot.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwat |title=Revolt on the Nile |publisher=Allan Wingate |pages=43–44}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sādāt |first=Anwar as- |title=In search of identity: an autobiography |date=1978 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-013742-7 |location=New York |pages=33–42}}</ref> He then met with two German agents in Cairo to discuss his plan, but was arrested and imprisoned for much of the war. By the end of the conflict, Sadat had already met with the secret society that decided to assassinate [[Amin Osman]], Minister of Finance in the [[Wafd Party]] government, and the head of the Egyptian-British Friendship Society, due to his strong sympathies towards the British. Osman was assassinated in January 1946. Following the assassination of Amin Osman, Sadat returned again and finally to prison.{{Sfn|Tripp|1993|p=66|ps="It is, therefore, significant that a number of the Free Officers who were to be responsible for the overthrow of the king in 1952 obtained their political 'initiation' within the army through Ali Mahir's secret Officers' Organisation. The most obvious examples are Yusuf Mansur Sadiq, Abd al-Wahhab Salim al-Bishri and Muhammad Rashad Mahanna. In addition, Muhammad Nagib and his brother Ali were members of the organisation. Indeed, it has been suggested that virtually all of the most prominent Free Officers were members of what became known later as King Faruq's 'Iron Guard'. This claim should be treated with caution. Nevertheless, one of its aspects receives unwitting corroboration by one of the Free Officers, Anwar al-Sadat."}}<ref>{{Cite news |last=Benjamin |first=Milton R. |date=1977-11-20 |title=Sadat: The Man Who Admires A Bold Gamble |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1977/11/20/sadat-the-man-who-admires-a-bold-gamble/e10a5e28-78d9-4568-ba53-a0ff337044fd/ |access-date=2023-10-11 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en-US |issn=0190-8286}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Sādāt |first=Anwar as- |title=In search of identity: an autobiography |date=1978 |publisher=Harper & Row |isbn=978-0-06-013742-7 |location=New York |pages=33–42}}</ref> 

In Qarmidan prison, he faced the most difficult ordeals of imprisonment by being held in solitary confinement, but the first accused in the Hussein Tawfiq case, escaped, and after there is no criminality evidence all the charges fall and the suspected went free. [[Salah Zulfikar]], then young police officer, at that time was the officer in charge in the prison. He believed in his heart of Sadat's heroism and that he played a patriotic role towards his country and that he was convicted and imprisoned because of his love for his country. Zulfikar brought with him food, newspapers and cigarettes and helped his family a lot in obtaining visitor permits to check on him. Anwar Sadat was active in many political movements, including the Muslim Brotherhood, the fascist Young Egypt Party, the pro-Axis and pro-Royalist [[Iron Guard of Egypt]], and the secret military group called the Free Officers.<ref>{{cite web| publisher=[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] | first=Jon B. | last=Alterman |date=April 1, 1998| url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/sadat-and-his-legacy-egypt-and-world-1977-1997 |title=Sadat and His Legacy: Egypt and the World, 1977–1997}}</ref> Along with his fellow Free Officers, Sadat participated in the military coup that launched the [[Egyptian revolution of 1952|Egyptian Revolution of 1952]], which overthrew King [[Farouk of Egypt|Farouk I]] on 23 July of that year. Sadat gave the first statement of the revolution over the radio to the Egyptian people.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/6/3347/Egyptian-Revolution-of-1952 | title=Egyptian Revolution of 1952 | work=[[Egypt Today]] | date=19 February 2017}}</ref>

==During Nasser's presidency==
[[File:Nasser_and_Sadat_in_National_Assembly.JPG|alt=Nasser_and_Sadat_in_National_Assembly|thumb|With Nasser in the [[House of Representatives (Egypt)|National Assembly]], May 1964|left]]
[[File:Nasser,_Sadat,_Sabri_and_Shafei.jpg|alt=Nasser,_Sadat,_Sabri_and_Shafei|thumb|Top Egyptian leaders of the [[Arab Socialist Union (Egypt)|Arab Socialist Union]] in Alexandria. From left to right: President [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]], Sadat, ASU head [[Ali Sabri]], and Vice President [[Hussein el-Shafei]], August 1968]]
During the presidency of Gamal Abdel Nasser, Sadat was appointed minister of State in 1954. He was also appointed editor of the newly founded daily ''[[Al Gomhuria]]''.<ref name="alt1998">{{cite web |last=Alterman |first=Jon B. |title=New Media New Politics? |publisher=[[The Washington Institute for Near East Policy]] | date=November 1, 1998 |volume=48 |url=https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/new-media-new-politics-satellite-television-internet-arab-world-0 |archive-date=13 May 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513133813/http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/uploads/Documents/pubs/PolicyPaper48.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1959, he assumed the position of secretary to the National Union. Sadat was the president of the [[House of Representatives (Egypt)|National Assembly]] (1960–1968) and then [[Vice President of Egypt]] and member of the presidential council in 1964. He was reappointed as vice president again in December 1969.

==Presidency==
{{further|History of Egypt under Anwar Sadat}}

[[File:Anwar Sadat (1971).jpg|thumb|190x190px|Sadat addressing the [[Arab Socialist Union (Egypt)|Arab Socialist Union]] in 1971]]

Some of the major events of Sadat's presidency were his "Corrective Revolution" to consolidate power in 1971, the break{{when|date=July 2025}} with Egypt's long-time ally and aid-giver the [[Soviet Union|USSR]], the [[Yom Kippur War]] with Israel, the [[Camp David Accords]] and the [[Egypt–Israel peace treaty]], the "opening up" (or [[Infitah]]) of Egypt's economy, and lastly his assassination in 1981.

Sadat succeeded Nasser as president after the latter's death in October 1970.<ref name="ottowac">{{cite news|title=Big 'yes' for Anwar Sadat|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=lccyAAAAIBAJ&pg=1767,5177440|access-date=22 December 2012|newspaper=Ottawa Citizen|date=16 October 1970|agency=Associated Press|location=Cairo}}</ref> Sadat's presidency was widely expected to be short-lived.<ref name=nytobit/> Viewing him as having been little more than a puppet of the former president, Nasser's supporters in government settled on Sadat as someone they could manipulate easily. Sadat surprised everyone with a series of astute political moves by which he was able to retain the presidency and emerge as a leader in his own right.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr70/fegypt1971a.htm|title=Egypt Corrective Revolution 1971|publisher=Onwar|date=16 December 2000|access-date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201042948/http://www.onwar.com/aced/chrono/c1900s/yr70/fegypt1971a.htm|archive-date=1 February 2011|url-status=live}}</ref> 

[[File:Sadat_Qaddafi_Assad_1971.jpg|alt=Sadat_Qaddafi_Assad_1971|thumb|220x220px|Sadat (sitting on the left side), [[Hafez al-Assad]] (sitting on the right side) and [[Muammar Gaddafi]] (sitting in the centre) signing the [[Federation of Arab Republics]] in Benghazi, Libya, on April 18, 1971]]

On 15 May 1971,<ref name="Pharaon' p.74">''Le prophète et Pharaon'' by Kepel, p. 74</ref> Sadat announced his [[Corrective revolution (Egypt)|corrective revolution]], purging the government, political and security establishments of the most ardent [[Nasserism|Nasserists]]. Sadat encouraged the emergence of an Islamist movement, which had been suppressed by Nasser. Believing Islamists to be socially conservative he gave them "considerable cultural and ideological autonomy" in exchange for political support.<ref>{{cite book |last=Kepel |first=Gilles |author-link=Gilles Kepel |others=trans. Anthony F. Roberts |date=2002 |title=Jihad: Expansion et Déclin de l"Islamisme |trans-title=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam  |title-link=Jihad: The Trail of Political Islam |url=|location=Cambridge |publisher=Belknap Press of Harvard University Press |page=83 |isbn=0-674-00877-4}}</ref>

In 1971, as part of the [[Jarring Mission]], three years into the [[War of Attrition]] in the Suez Canal zone, Sadat endorsed in a letter the peace proposals of UN negotiator [[Gunnar Jarring]], which seemed to lead to a full peace with [[Israel]] on the basis of Israel's withdrawal to its pre-war borders. This peace initiative failed as neither Israel nor the United States of America accepted the terms as discussed then.<ref>{{cite journal | url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/261078 | title=Egypt and Israel – Was There a Peace Opportunity Missed in 1971? | first=Mordechai |  last=Gazit | journal=[[Journal of Contemporary History]] | date=January 1997| volume=32 | issue=1 | pages=97–115 | doi=10.1177/002200949703200107 | jstor=261078 | url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book | chapter-url=https://www.degruyter.com/document/doi/10.7560/305607-015/pdf | chapter=Chapter ten. The Jarring Mission and the Sadat Initiative (1971) | first=Elie | last=Podeh | title=Chances for Peace | via=[[De Gruyter]] | publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] | year=2015| pages=102–121 | doi=10.7560/305607-015 | isbn=978-1-4773-0561-4 }}</ref>

===Corrective Revolution===
{{main|Corrective Revolution (Egypt)}}
[[File:Sadat Egypt.ogv|thumb|thumbtime=4:07|1972 Echo [[newsreel]] about the early Sadat years|210x210px]]Shortly after taking office, Sadat shocked many Egyptians by dismissing and imprisoning two of the most powerful figures in the regime, Vice President [[Ali Sabri]], who had close ties with Soviet officials, and [[Sharawi Gomaa]], the Interior Minister, who controlled the [[State Security Investigations Service|secret police]].<ref name=nytobit/> 

Sadat's rising popularity would accelerate after he cut back the powers of the hated secret police,<ref name=nytobit/> expelled Soviet military from the country<ref>{{Cite journal| last=Hughes|first=Geraint |date=5 April 2020 |title=Courting Sadat: The Heath Government and Britain's Arms Sales to Egypt, 1970–1973 |journal=The International History Review|volume=43|issue=2 |pages=317–332 |doi=10.1080/07075332.2020.1745256|s2cid=216279788|issn=0707-5332}}</ref> and reformed the Egyptian army for a renewed confrontation with Israel.<ref name=nytobit/>

===Yom Kippur War===
{{main|Yom Kippur War}}
[[File:Egyptianbridge.jpg|alt=Egyptianbridge|thumb|Egyptian vehicles crossing the Suez Canal on October 7, 1973, during the Yom Kippur War]]

On 6 October 1973, in conjunction with [[Hafez al-Assad]] of [[Syria]], Sadat launched the [[Yom Kippur War|October War]], also known as the Yom Kippur War (and less commonly as the Ramadan War), a surprise attack against the Israeli forces occupying the Egyptian [[Sinai Peninsula]],<ref>{{Cite news| url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/130705-egypt-morsi-government-overthrow-military-revolution-independence-history | title=The Egyptian Military's Huge Historical Role | first1=Anna | last1=Kordunsky | first2=Michael | last2=Lokesson | url-access=registration | work=[[National Geographic]] | date=5 July 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130708073756/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/07/130705-egypt-morsi-government-overthrow-military-revolution-independence-history/ |archive-date=8 July 2013 |url-status=live}}</ref> and the Syrian [[Golan Heights]] in an attempt to retake these respective Egyptian and Syrian territories that had been occupied by Israel since the Six Day War six years earlier. The Egyptian and Syrian performance in the initial stages of the war astonished both Israel, and the Arab World. The most striking achievement ([[Operation Badr (1973)|Operation Badr]], also known as The Crossing) was the Egyptian military's advance approximately 15&nbsp;km into the occupied Sinai Peninsula after penetrating and largely destroying the [[Bar Lev Line]]. This line was popularly thought to have been an impregnable defensive chain.

[[File:Sadat_and_A_Ismail.jpg|thumb|Sadat and [[Ahmad Ismail Ali]] attending the re-opening ceremony of Suez Canal after Yom Kippur war, June 5, 1975|200x200px]]

As the war progressed, three divisions of the Israeli army led by General [[Ariel Sharon]] had crossed the [[Suez Canal]], trying to encircle first the Egyptian Second Army. Although this failed<!-- the Egyptian Third Army-->, prompted by an agreement between the United States of America and the Soviet Union, the [[United Nations Security Council]] passed [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|Resolution 338]] on 22 October 1973, calling for an immediate ceasefire.<ref>{{cite web|author=Mary Ann Fay| title=A Country Study|url=http://lcweb2.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/r?frd/cstdy:@field(DOCID+eg0051)|pages=Chapter 1, Egypt: The Aftermath of War: October 1973 War|publisher=The Library of Congress|date=December 1990|access-date=13 February 2008}}</ref> Although agreed upon, the ceasefire was immediately broken.<ref>{{cite web| title=Situation report in the Middle East |url=https://nsarchive2.gwu.edu/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/octwar-59.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20031018153432/http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB98/octwar-59.pdf |archive-date=18 October 2003 | work=[[United States Department of State]] | via=[[George Washington University]] |url-status=live}}</ref> [[Alexei Kosygin]], the [[Premier of the Soviet Union|chairman]] of the [[Council of Ministers of the Soviet Union|USSR Council of Ministers]], cancelled an official meeting with [[Prime Minister of Denmark|Danish Prime Minister]] [[Anker Jørgensen]] to travel to Egypt where he tried to persuade Sadat to sign a peace treaty. During Kosygin's two-day long stay it is unknown if he and Sadat ever met in person.<ref>{{Cite book | url=https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/004711789201100106?download=true&journalCode=ireb | last=Golan | first=Galia | title=Soviet Policies in the Middle East: From World War Two to Gorbachev |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |year=1990|isbn=978-0-521-35859-0|page=89| doi=10.1177/004711789201100106 }}</ref>

The Israeli military then continued their drive to encircle the Egyptian army. The encirclement was completed on 24 October, three days after the ceasefire was broken. This development prompted superpower tension, but a second ceasefire was imposed cooperatively on 25 October to end the war. At the conclusion of hostilities, Israeli forces were 40 kilometres (25&nbsp;mi) from [[Damascus]] and 101 kilometres (63&nbsp;mi) from [[Cairo]].<ref>{{cite book| last1=Morris| first1=Benny |title=Righteous Victims: A History of the Zionist-Arab Conflict, 1881–1998| date=2001 |publisher=1999 |location=New York |isbn=978-0-679-42120-7 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xC_uIe9G2FYC&q=Morris+2011+righteous+victims |access-date=6 October 2017}}</ref>

===Peace with Israel===
{{main|Egypt–Israel peace treaty|Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem}}
{{external media | width=210px | float=right | audio1=[https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/sadat.html National Press Club Luncheon Speakers] Anwar Sadat, 6 February 1978, [[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]]. Speech begins at 7:31<ref name="npc">{{cite web | url=https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/pressclub/sadat.html| title=National Press Club Luncheon Speakers, Anwar Sadat, February 6, 1978 | publisher=[[National Press Club (United States)|National Press Club]] via [[Library of Congress]] | date=February 6, 1978}}</ref> }}
[[File:Carter, Sadat, and Begin at the Peace Treaty Signing, March 26, 1979 (10729561495).jpg|thumb|right|President Jimmy Carter shaking hands with Sadat and Israeli prime minister [[Menachem Begin]] at the signing of the [[Egyptian–Israeli Peace Treaty]] on the grounds of the [[White House]], 1979]]
The initial Egyptian and Syrian victories in the war restored popular morale throughout Egypt and the Arab World and, for many years after, Sadat was known as the "Hero of the Crossing". Israel recognized Egypt as a formidable foe, and Egypt's renewed political significance eventually led to regaining and reopening the [[Suez Canal]] through the peace process. His new peace policy led to the conclusion of two agreements on disengagement of forces with the Israeli government. The first of these agreements was signed on 18 January 1974, and the second on 4 September 1975.

One major aspect of Sadat's peace policy was to gain some religious support for his efforts. Already during his visit to the US in October–November 1975, he invited Evangelical pastor [[Billy Graham]] for an official visit, which was held a few days after Sadat's visit.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://aad.archives.gov/aad/createpdf?rid=200199&dt=2476&dl=1345 |title=Text of diplomatic cable regarding Graham's visit to Egypt (US government website)|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> In addition to cultivating relations with Evangelical Christians in the US, he also built some cooperation with the Vatican. On 8 April 1976, he visited the Vatican for the first time, and got a message of support from [[Pope Paul VI]] regarding achieving peace with Israel, to include a just solution to the [[Israeli–Palestinian conflict|Palestinian issue]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.vatican.va/holy_father/paul_vi/speeches/1976/documents/hf_p-vi_spe_19760408_presidente-egitto_en.html |title=Text of Pope's message to Sadat |publisher=Vatican|year=1976 |access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> Sadat, on his part, extended to the Pope a public invitation to visit Cairo.<ref>{{Cite news |date=29 August 1975 |title=Rumors say Pope may visit Egypt |url=https://www.thecatholicnewsarchive.org/?a=d&d=CATHNWP19750829-01.2.33&e=-------en-20--1--txt-txIN-------- |access-date=21 September 2025 |work=The Catholic Northwest Progress |volume=78 |issue=35}}</ref>

Sadat also used the media to promote his purposes. In an interview he gave to the Lebanese magazine ''[[Al Hawadeth]]'' in early February 1976, he claimed he had secret commitment from the US government to put pressure on the Israeli government for a major withdrawal in Sinai and the Golan Heights.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://www.sadat.umd.edu/archives/remarks/AAFX%20Hawadeth2.3.76.pdf.PDF|title=Sadat interview to El Hawadeth |access-date=2 February 2011| archive-date=12 January 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110112220609/http://sadat.umd.edu/archives/remarks/AAFX%20Hawadeth2.3.76.pdf.PDF}}</ref> This statement caused some concern to the Israeli government, but Secretary of State Henry Kissinger denied such a promise was ever made.<ref>{{cite web| url=http://foia.state.gov/documents/Kissinger/0000D748.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110816133434/http://foia.state.gov/documents/Kissinger/0000D748.pdf |archive-date=2011-08-16 |url-status=live|title=Telephone conversation between Kissinger and Rabin, February 5, 1976|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref>

In January 1977, a series of [[1977 Egyptian Bread Riots|'Bread Riots']] protested Sadat's economic liberalization and specifically a government decree lifting [[price controls]] on basic necessities like bread. The riots lasted for two days and included hundreds of thousands in Cairo. 120 buses and hundreds of buildings were destroyed in Cairo alone.<ref>Mary Ann Weaver, ''Portrait of Egypt'', p. 25</ref> The riots ended with the deployment of the army and the re-institution of the subsidies/price controls.<ref>{{cite book| last=Olivier|first=Roy|page=[https://archive.org/details/failureofpolitic00royo/page/56 56]|title=Failure of Political Islam| location=Cambridge |publisher=[[Harvard University Press]]|year=1994|isbn=978-0-674-29140-9 |url=https://archive.org/details/failureofpolitic00royo/page/56}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Weaver |first=Mary Ann |page=[https://archive.org/details/portraitofegyptj00weav/page/25 25]|title=Portrait of Egypt |location=New York| publisher=Farrar, Straus and Giroux|year=1999|isbn=978-0-374-23542-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/portraitofegyptj00weav/page/25}}</ref> During this time, Sadat was also taking a new approach towards improving relations with the West.<ref name=nytobit/>

The United States and the Soviet Union agreed on 1 October 1977, on principles to govern a Geneva conference on the Middle East.<ref name=nytobit/> Syria continued to resist such a conference.<ref name=nytobit/> Not wanting either Syria or the Soviet Union to influence the peace process, Sadat decided to take more progressive stance towards building a comprehensive peace agreement with Israel.<ref name=nytobit/>

The [[Anwar Sadat's visit to Jerusalem|1977 visit by Anwar Sadat to Jerusalem]] was the first time an Arab leader officially visited Israeli-controlled territory. Sadat met with Israeli prime minister [[Menachem Begin]], and spoke before the [[Knesset]] in [[Jerusalem]] about his views on how to achieve a comprehensive peace to the [[Arab–Israeli conflict]], which included the full implementation of [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 242|UN Resolutions 242]] and [[United Nations Security Council Resolution 338|338]].<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.jpost.com/opinion/article-723321 | title=Looking back at Egypt's Anwar Sadat's historic Jerusalem visit, 45 years ago – opinion | first=Mark | last=Regev  | work=[[The Jerusalem Post]] | date=November 24, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url=https://ecf.org.il/issues/issue/836 | title=Egyptian President Sadat's Speech in Jerusalem (1977) | publisher=[[Economic Cooperation Foundation]]}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | url=https://direct.mit.edu/isec/article-abstract/45/1/127/95253/Sadat-and-the-Road-to-Jerusalem-Bold-Gestures-and?redirectedFrom=fulltext | title=Sadat and the Road to Jerusalem: Bold Gestures and Risk Acceptance in the Search for Peace | first=Shahin | last=Berenji | journal=[[International Security (journal)|International Security]] | date=1 July 2020| volume=45 | pages=127–163 | doi=10.1162/isec_a_00381 | url-access=subscription }}</ref>

The peace treaty was finally signed by Anwar Sadat and Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin in Washington, D.C., United States, on 26 March 1979, following the [[Camp David Accords]], a series of meetings between Egypt and Israel facilitated by US president [[Jimmy Carter]]. Both Sadat and Begin were awarded the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] for creating the treaty. In his acceptance speech, Sadat referred to the long-awaited peace desired by both Arabs and Israelis.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/al-sadat-lecture.html|title=Anwar Al-Sadat |access-date=22 January 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090209035459/http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/al-sadat-lecture.html|archive-date=9 February 2009 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The main features of the agreement were the mutual recognition of each country by the other, the cessation of the state of war that had existed since the [[1948 Arab–Israeli War]], and the complete withdrawal by Israel of its armed forces and civilians from the rest of the [[Sinai Peninsula]], which Israel had captured during the 1967 [[Six-Day War]].

The agreement also provided for the free passage of Israeli ships through the [[Suez Canal]] and recognition of the [[Strait of Tiran]] and the [[Gulf of Aqaba]] as international waterways. The agreement notably made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize Israel. The peace agreement between Egypt and Israel has remained in effect since the treaty was signed.
[[File:Egyptian_President_Anwar_el-Sadat_waves_as_he_departs_from_a_state_visit_to_the_US_-_DPLA_-_8defc24ecf4c7ea5f6db9bc6cdfdb66d.jpeg|thumb|Sadat in 1978]]
The treaty was extremely unpopular in most of the Arab World and the wider Muslim World.<ref>{{cite book |last=Vatikiotis |first=P.J. |title=The History of Modern Egypt |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00vati |url-access=registration |edition=Fourth |page=[https://archive.org/details/historyofmoderne00vati/page/443 443] |location=Baltimore |publisher=[[Johns Hopkins University]] |year=1992|isbn=978-0-8018-4214-6}}</ref> His predecessor Nasser had made Egypt an icon of Arab nationalism, an ideology that appeared to be sidelined by an Egyptian orientation following the 1973 war (see [[National identity of Egyptians]]). The neighboring Arab countries believed that in signing the accords, Sadat had put Egypt's interests ahead of Arab unity, betraying Nasser's [[pan-Arabism]], and destroyed the vision of a united "Arab front" for the support of the Palestinians against the "Zionist Entity". However, Sadat decided early on that peace was the solution.<ref name=nytobit>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1981/10/07/obituaries/anwar-el-sadat-daring-arab-pioneer-peace-with-israel-sadat-s-innovations-sprang.html |title=Anwar el-Sadat, the Daring Arab Pioneer of Peace with Israel |last=Pace |first=Eric |work=[[The New York Times]]  |date=7 October 1981}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1978/press.html|title=The Nobel Peace Prize 1978 – Presentation Speech|publisher=Nobel prize|year=1978|access-date=2 February 2011}}</ref> Sadat's shift towards a strategic relationship with the US was also seen as a betrayal by many Arabs. In the United States his peace moves gained him popularity among some [[Evangelicalism|Evangelical]] circles. He was awarded the Prince of Peace Award by [[Pat Robertson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.patrobertson.com/Teaching/patprophecy.asp|title=Teaching|publisher=Pat Robertson|access-date=2 February 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101221080848/http://patrobertson.com/Teaching/patprophecy.asp|archive-date=21 December 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In 1979, the [[Arab League]] suspended Egypt in the wake of the Egyptian–Israel peace agreement, and the League moved its headquarters from [[Cairo]] to [[Tunis]]. Arab League member states believed in the elimination of the "Zionist Entity" and Israel at that time. It was not until 1989 that the League re-admitted Egypt as a member, and returned its headquarters to Cairo. As part of the peace deal, Israel withdrew from the [[Sinai Peninsula]] in phases, completing its withdrawal from the entire territory except the town of Taba by 25 April 1982 (withdrawal from which did not occur until 1989).<ref name=nytobit/> The improved relations Egypt gained with the West through the [[Camp David Accords]] soon gave the country resilient economic growth.<ref name=nytobit/> By 1980, however, Egypt's strained relations with the Arab World would result in a period of rapid inflation.<ref name=nytobit/>

===Relationship with Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Iran===
[[File:Queen Farah of Persia Egyption President Anwar Sadat Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi of Persia 1975.jpg|thumb|Queen [[Farah Diba]], President Anwar Sadat and Shah [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]] in Tehran in 1975]]
The relationship between Iran and Egypt had fallen into open hostility during [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]]'s presidency. Following his death in 1970, President Sadat turned this around quickly into an open and close friendship.<ref name="psalm">{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9VGnBQAAQBAJ&q=%22dear+brother%22+%22sadat%22&pg=PA134| title=Psalm 83: A New Discovery |isbn=978-1-4917-5074-2 |last1=Zephyr|first1=Alexander |date=2014| publisher=iUniverse }}</ref>

In 1971, Sadat addressed the [[Iranian parliament]] in [[Tehran]] in fluent [[Persian language|Persian]], describing the 2,500-year-old historic connection between the two lands.<ref name="psalm" />

Overnight, the Egyptian and Iranian governments were turned from bitter enemies into fast friends. The relationship between [[Cairo]] and [[Tehran]] became so friendly that the [[Shah]] of Iran, [[Mohammad Reza Pahlavi]], called Sadat his "dear brother".<ref name="psalm" />

After the 1973 war with Israel, Iran assumed a leading role in cleaning up and reactivating the blocked [[Suez Canal]] with heavy investment. The country also facilitated the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied [[Sinai Peninsula]] by promising to substitute the loss of the oil to the Israelis with free Iranian oil if they withdrew from the Egyptian oil wells in western Sinai.<ref name="psalm" />

All these added more to the personal friendship between Sadat and the Shah of Iran. (The Shah's first wife was [[Fawzia of Egypt|Princess Fawzia of Egypt]]. She was the eldest daughter of Sultan Fuad I of Egypt and Sudan (later King [[Fuad I]]) and his second wife Nazli Sabri.)<ref name="psalm" />

After his overthrow, the deposed Shah spent the last months of his life in exile in Egypt. When the Shah died, Sadat ordered that he be given a [[state funeral]] and be interred at the [[Al-Rifa'i Mosque]] in Cairo, the resting place of Egyptian [[Khedive]] [[Isma'il Pasha of Egypt|Isma'il Pasha]], his mother Khushyar Hanim, and numerous other members of the [[Muhammad Ali dynasty|royal family of Egypt and Sudan]].<ref>An Ideology of Martyrdom – ''Time''</ref>

==Assassination==
{{main|Assassination of Anwar Sadat}}
The last months of Sadat's presidency were marked by internal uprising.<ref name=nytobit/> Sadat dismissed allegations that the rioting was incited by domestic issues, believing that the Soviet Union was recruiting its regional allies in Libya and Syria to incite an uprising that would eventually force him out of power.<ref name=nytobit/> Following a failed military coup in June 1981, Sadat ordered a major crackdown that resulted in the arrest of numerous opposition figures.<ref name=nytobit/> Although Sadat still maintained high levels of popularity in Egypt,<ref name=nytobit/> it has been said that he was assassinated "at the peak" of his unpopularity.<ref>''Le prophète et Pharaon'' by Kepel, p. 192</ref>

Earlier in his presidency, [[Islamism|Islamists]] had benefited from the 'rectification revolution' and the release from prison of activists jailed under Nasser.<ref name="Pharaon' p.74"/> But Sadat's Sinai treaty with Israel enraged Islamists, particularly the radical [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad]]. According to interviews and information gathered by journalist [[Lawrence Wright]], the group was recruiting military officers and accumulating weapons, waiting for the right moment to launch "a complete overthrow of the existing order" in Egypt. Chief strategist of El-Jihad was [[Abbud al-Zumar]], a colonel in the military intelligence whose "plan was to kill the main leaders of the country, capture the headquarters of the army and State Security, the telephone exchange building, and of course the radio and television building, where news of the Islamic revolution would then be broadcast, unleashing{{snd}}he expected{{snd}}a popular uprising against secular authority all over the country".<ref>Wright, 2006, p. 49</ref>

In February 1981, Egyptian authorities were alerted to El-Jihad's plan by the arrest of an operative carrying crucial information. In September, Sadat ordered a highly unpopular roundup of more than 1,500 people, including many Jihad members, but also [[Pope Shenouda III of Alexandria|the Coptic Pope]] and other Coptic clergy, intellectuals and activists of all ideological stripes.<ref>'Cracking Down', ''[[Time (magazine)|Time]]'', 14 September 1981</ref> All non-government press was banned as well.<ref>''Le prophète et Pharaon'' by Kepel, pp. 103–104</ref> The roundup missed a Jihad cell in the military led by Lieutenant [[Khalid Al-Islambuli]], who would succeed in assassinating Anwar Sadat that October.<ref>Wright, 2006, p. 50</ref> The assasination plot altogether was led by [[Muhammad Abd al-Salam Faraj]], an Egyptian Islamic Jihad member who was a civilian engineer.<ref name=assassinationleader>{{cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41721191|title=Tyrannicide in Radical Islam: The Case of Sayyid Qutb and Abd al Salam Faraj|first=Danny|last=Orbach|publisher=Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 48, No. 6|date=November 2012|pages=961-972}}</ref><ref name=assassinsexecutionstrials>{{cite news |url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=Lfo9AAAAIBAJ&pg=3096,3218494&dq= |title=Sadat Assassins are Executed |date=16 April 1982 |work=[[The Herald (Glasgow)|The Herald]] |location=of Glasgow  |access-date=13 October 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/41721191|title=Tyrannicide in Radical Islam: The Case of Sayyid Qutb and Abd al Salam Faraj|first=Danny|last=Orbach|publisher=Middle Eastern Studies Vol. 48, No. 6|date=November 2012|pages=961-972}}</ref>

According to [[Tal'at Fu'ad Qasim|Tala'at Qasim]], ex-head of the [[Gama'a Islamiyya]] interviewed in ''[[Middle East Report]]'', it was not Islamic Jihad but his organization, known in English as the "Islamic Group", that organized the assassination and recruited the assassin (Al-Islambuli). Members of the Group's 'Majlis el-Shura' ('Consultative Council') – headed by the famed 'blind shaykh' – were arrested two weeks before the killing, but they did not disclose the existing plans and Al-Islambuli succeeded in assassinating Sadat.<ref>For an account that uses this version of events, look at Middle East Report's January–March 1996 issue, specifically Hisham Mubarak's interview with ? On pages 42–43 Qasim deals specifically with rumors of Jihad Group involvement in the assassination, and denies them entirely.</ref>

On 6 October 1981, Sadat was assassinated during the annual victory parade held in Cairo to celebrate [[Operation Badr (1973)|Egypt's crossing of the Suez Canal]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/Audio/Events-of-1981/Anwar-Sadat-Killed |title=1981 Year in Review  |work=[[United Press International]] |year=1981}}</ref> Al-Islambuli emptied his assault rifle into Sadat's body while in the front of the grandstand, mortally wounding the President. In addition to Sadat, eleven others were killed, including the [[Cuba]]n ambassador, an [[Oman]]i general, a [[Coptic Orthodox Church|Coptic Orthodox]] bishop and Samir Helmy, the head of Egypt's [[Central Auditing Agency]] (CAA).<ref>{{cite news |url=http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/734/profile.htm |title=Taher Helmi: Feats of circumstance |work=Al Ahram Weekly |date=23 March 2005 |access-date=23 February 2013 |url-status=bot: unknown|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130223041314/http://weekly.ahram.org.eg/2005/734/profile.htm| archive-date=23 February 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ys47hQQ45y0 |title=Taher Helmy's Speech at the AUC Commencement Ceremony 2008 |via=[[YouTube]] | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211030/ys47hQQ45y0 | archive-date=2021-10-30 | url-status=live}}{{cbignore}}</ref> Twenty-eight were wounded, including Vice President [[Hosni Mubarak]], [[Minister for Defence (Ireland)|Irish Defence Minister]] [[James Tully (Irish politician)|James Tully]], and four US military liaison officers.

The assassination squad was led by Lieutenant Al-Islambuli after a [[fatwā]] approving the assassination had been obtained from [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]].<ref name="Dickovick2012">{{cite book|author=J. Tyler Dickovick|title=Africa 2012|url=https://archive.org/details/africa20120000dick|url-access=registration|access-date=22 December 2012|date=9 August 2012|isbn=978-1-61048-882-2|pages=[https://archive.org/details/africa20120000dick/page/41 41]–|publisher=Stryker Post }}</ref> Al-Salam Faraj and four defendants who directly attacked Sadat, including Al-Islambuli, were found guilty, sentenced to death, and executed on April 15, 1982.<ref name=assassinsexecutionstrials /><ref name=assassinationleader /><ref name=executionsandconvictions>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1982/04/16/world/5-sadat-assassins-executed-in-egypt.html|title=5 Sadat Assassins Executed in Egypt|first=William E.|last=Farrell|publisher=New York Times|date=16 April 2025|accessdate=13 October 2025}}</ref> Sadat's two military assailants, al-Islambuli and Sergeant Hussein Abbas Mohammed, would be executed [[Execution by firing squad|by a firing squad]], while the three civilian perpetrators, al-Salam Faraj, engineer and former army officer Abdel-Salam Abdel Aal and engineer Atta Tayel Hemida Raheel, were [[Execution by hanging|hung]].<ref name=executionsandconvictions /><ref name=assassinsexecutionstrials /> By April 1982, 19 people would be tried for Sadat's assassination, with 17 being jailed and two being acquitted.<ref name=executionsandconvictions /><ref name=assassinsexecutionstrials />

==Aftermath==
Sadat was succeeded by his vice president Hosni Mubarak, whose hand was injured during the attack. Sadat's funeral was attended by a record number of dignitaries from around the world, including a rare simultaneous attendance by three former US presidents: [[Gerald Ford]], [[Jimmy Carter]] and [[Richard Nixon]]. [[Sudan]]'s President [[Gaafar Nimeiry]] was the only Arab head of state to attend the funeral. Only 3 of 24 states in the [[Arab League]]{{snd}}Oman, Somalia and Sudan{{snd}}sent representatives at all.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.upi.com/Archives/1981/10/09/Sadat-goes-to-heros-grave-in-pyramid/2259371448000/ | title=Sadat goes to hero's grave in pyramid | first=W.G. | last=Kirolos  | work=[[United Press International]] | date=9 October 1981}}</ref> Israel's prime minister, [[Menachem Begin]], considered Sadat a personal friend and insisted on attending the funeral, walking throughout the funeral procession so as not to desecrate the Sabbath.<ref>Avner, Yehuda (2010). ''The Prime Ministers'' (p. 575). The Toby Press, LLC. Kindle Edition.</ref> Sadat was buried in [[Unknown Soldier Memorial (Egypt)|the unknown soldier memorial in Cairo]], across the street from the stand where he was assassinated.

Over three hundred Islamic radicals were indicted in the trial of assassin Khalid Al-Islambuli, including future [[al-Qaeda]] leader [[Ayman al-Zawahiri]], [[Omar Abdel-Rahman]], and [[Abd al-Hamid Kishk]]. The trial was covered by the international press and Zawahiri's knowledge of English made him the de facto spokesman for the defendants. Zawahiri was released from prison in 1984. [[Aboud El Zomor|Abboud al-Zomor]] and Tareq al-Zomor, two [[Egyptian Islamic Jihad|Islamic Jihad]] leaders imprisoned in connection with the assassination, were released on 11 March 2011.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/18/world/middleeast/18egypt.html | title=Egypt Releases Brother of Al Qaeda's No. 2 | first=Liam | last=Stack| work=[[The New York Times]] | date=17 March 2011}}</ref>

Despite these facts, the nephew of the late president, [[Talaat Sadat]], claimed that the assassination was an international conspiracy. On 31 October 2006, he was sentenced to a year in prison for [[Defamation|defaming]] Egypt's armed forces, less than a month after he gave the interview accusing Egyptian generals of masterminding his uncle's assassination. In an interview with a Saudi television channel, he also claimed both the United States and Israel were involved noting that no one from the special personal protection group of Sadat fired a single shot during the killing, and not one of them has been put on trial.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/6064146.stm | title=Sadat nephew in court appearance | work=[[BBC News]] | date=18 October 2006}}</ref>

==Media portrayals of Anwar Sadat==
[[File:Gagarin and Nasser and Sadat in Cairo Egypt 01-02-1962.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Yuri Gagarin]] with Sadat and [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] in Cairo, 1962]]
In 1983, ''[[Sadat (miniseries)|Sadat]]'', a miniseries based on the life of Anwar Sadat, aired on US television with [[Academy Award|Oscar]]-winning actor [[Louis Gossett Jr.]] in the title role. The film was promptly banned by the Egyptian government, as were all other movies produced and distributed by [[Columbia Pictures]], over allegations of historical inaccuracies. A civil lawsuit was brought by Egypt's artists' and film unions against Columbia Pictures and the film's directors, producers and scriptwriters before a court in Cairo, but was dismissed, since the alleged slanders, having taken place outside the country, fell outside the Egyptian courts' jurisdiction.<ref>{{Cite news | url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/03/28/movies/suit-over-film-sadat-is-dismissed-in-cairo.html | title=Suit Over Film 'Sadat' Is Dismissed in Cairo | work=[[The New York Times]] | agency=[[Reuters]] | date=March 28, 1984}}</ref>

The film was critically acclaimed in North America, but was unpopular among Egyptians and in the Egyptian press. Western authors attributed the film's poor reception in Egypt to racism – Gossett being African-American – in the Egyptian government or Egypt in general.<ref name="Bowser">Benjamin P. Bowser, ''Racism and Anti-Racism in World Perspective (Sage Series on Race and Ethnic Relations, Volume 13)'', (Sage Publications, Inc: 1995), p. 108<br />[https://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40F1FF63C5F0C718CDDAB0894DC484D81 Upset by 'Sadat,' Egypt Bars Columbia Films]</ref> Either way, one Western source wrote that Sadat's portrayal by Gossett "bothered race-conscious Egyptians and wouldn't have pleased [the deceased] Sadat," who identified as Egyptian and Northeast African, not black.<ref>Walter M. Ulloth, Dana Brasch, ''The Press and the State: Sociohistorical and Contemporary Studies'', ([[University Press of America]]: 1987), p. 483</ref> The two-part series earned Gossett an [[Emmy Award|Emmy]] nomination in the United States.

He was portrayed by [[Robert Loggia]] in the 1982 television movie ''[[A Woman Called Golda]]'', opposite [[Ingrid Bergman]] as [[Golda Meir]].

The first Egyptian depiction of Sadat's life came in 2001, when ''[[The Days of Sadat|Ayyam El Sadat]]'' (English: ''[[The Days of Sadat]]'') was released in Egyptian cinemas. The movie was a major success in Egypt, and was hailed as [[Ahmed Zaki (actor)|Ahmed Zaki]]'s greatest performance to date.<ref>{{cite news | url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/4/62580/ET-presents-most-prominent-works-portraying-late-President-Sadat | title=ET presents most prominent works portraying late President Sadat | first=Mustafa | last=Marie | work=[[Egypt Today]] | date=25 December 2018}}</ref>

Sadat was a recurring character on ''[[Saturday Night Live]]'', played by [[Garrett Morris]], who bore a resemblance to Sadat.

==Honours awarded==
===National===
*[[File:EGY_Order_of_the_Republic_-_Grand_Cordon_BAR.png|50px]] Collar of the [[Order of the Republic (Egypt)|Order of the Republic]]
*[[File:EGY_Order_of_the_Nile_-_Grand_Cordon_BAR.svg|50px]] Grand Cordon of the [[Order of the Nile]]
*[[File:EGY_Order_of_Merit_-_Grand_Cross_BAR.png|50px]] Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit (Egypt)|Order of Merit]]
*[[File:EGY_-_Order_of_the_Virtues_-_Supreme_and_first_classes.svg|50px]] Supreme Class of the [[Order of the Virtues (Egypt)|Order of the Virtues]]

===Foreign===
*{{flag|Albania|1946}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of Fidelity (Albania)|Order of Fidelity]]
*{{flag|Austria}}: Grand Star of the [[Decoration of Honour for Services to the Republic of Austria]]
*{{flag|Italy}}: Knight Grand Cross of the [[Order of Merit of the Italian Republic]]
*{{flag|Kuwait}}: Collar of the [[Order of Mubarak the Great]]
*{{flag|Malaysia}}: Honorary Grand Commander of the [[Order of the Defender of the Realm]] (SMN (K)) with title ''Tun'' (1965)<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.istiadat.gov.my/v8/images/stories/1965.pdf|title=Senarai Penuh Penerima Darjah Kebesaran, Bintang dan Pingat Persekutuan Tahun 1965.|access-date=15 June 2016|archive-date=28 September 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180928010854/http://www.istiadat.gov.my/v8/images/stories/1965.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>
*{{flag|Nepal}}:
** Member First Class of the [[Order of the Star of Nepal]]
** Member of the [[Order of Ojaswi Rajanya|Order of the Benevolent Ruler]]
*{{flag|Saudi Arabia}}: First Class of the [[Order of King Abdulaziz]]
*{{flag country|Ba'athist Syria}}: Member First Class of the [[Order of the Umayyads]]
*{{flag|Tunisia|1959}}: Grand Cross of the [[Order of the Republic (Tunisia)|Order of the Republic]]
*{{flag|United States}}:
** Recipient of the [[Presidential Medal of Freedom]] (1984)
** Recipient of the [[Congressional Gold Medal]] (2018, posthumous)<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.egypttoday.com/Article/1/61941/Trump-signs-law-honoring-Anwar-Sadat| title=Trump signs law honoring Anwar Sadat| work=EgyptToday|date=14 December 2018}}</ref>
* {{flag|Yugoslavia}}
** [[Order of the Yugoslav Great Star]] (1977)<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1764 |title=Одликувања |url=http://www.slvesnik.com.mk/Issues/A0A62B206DD7485AAAC191F44DC06E88.pdf |journal=Službeni list SFRJ |language=mk |volume=XXXIII |issue=45 |pages=1764}}</ref>

==Bibliography==
* {{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwar |publisher=Dar el-Hilal |year=1954 |location=Cairo |language=ar |script-title=ar:قصة الثورة كاملة |trans-title=The Full Story of the Revolution |oclc=23485697}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwar |publisher=Dār al-Taḥrīr lil-Ṭabʻ wa-al-Nashr |year=1955 |location=Cairo |language=ar |script-title=ar:صفحات مجهولة |trans-title=Unknown Pages of the Revolution |oclc=10739895}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwar |title=Revolt on the Nile |publisher=J. Day Co |year=1957 |location=New York |oclc=1226176}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwar |title=Son, This Is Your Uncle Gamal – Memoirs of Anwar el-Sadat |publisher=Maktabat al-ʻIrfān |year=1958 |location=Beirut |oclc=27919901}}
* {{Cite book |last=Sadat |first=Anwar |url=https://archive.org/details/insearchofidenti00sada |title=In Search of Identity: An Autobiography |publisher=Harper & Row |year=1978 |isbn=978-0-06-013742-7 |location=New York |url-access=registration}}

==See also==
* [[History of Egypt under Anwar Sadat]]

==Notes==
{{notelist}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==Sources==
* {{Cite book |last=Tripp |first=Charles |title=Contemporary Egypt: Through Egyptian eyes |publisher=Routledge |year=1993 |isbn=9780203413166 |pages=45–71 |chapter=Ali Mahir and the Politics of the Egyptian Army, 1936–1942}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book|author-link=Yehuda Avner|last=Avner|first=Yehuda|title=The Prime Ministers: An Intimate Narrative of Israeli Leadership|publisher=The Toby Press|year=2010|isbn=978-1-59264-278-6}}
* Berenji, Shahin. "Sadat and the Road to Jerusalem: Bold Gestures and Risk Acceptance in the Search for Peace." ''International Security'' 45.1 (2020): 127–163.
* {{cite book|author-link=Paul Eidelberg|last=Eidelberg|first=Paul|title=Sadat's Strategy|location=Dollard des Ormeaux|publisher=Dawn Books|year=1979|isbn=978-0-9690001-0-5}}
* Finklestone, Joseph. ''Anwar Sadat: visionary who dared'' (Routledge, 2013). biography.
* {{cite book|last=Haykal|first=Muhammad Hasanayn|title=Autumn of Fury: The Assassination of Sadat|publisher=Wm Collins & Sons & Co|year=1982|isbn=978-0-394-53136-6|url=https://archive.org/details/autumnoffury00muha}}
* {{cite book|first1=Harry|last1=Hurwitz|first2=Yisrael|last2=Medad|title=Peace in the Making|publisher=[[Gefen Publishing House]]|year=2010|isbn=978-965-229-456-2}}
* Israeli, Raphael. "Sadat: The Calculus of War and Peace." ''The Diplomats, 1939–1979'' (Princeton University Press, 2019) pp.&nbsp;436–458. [https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv8pz9nc.21 online]
* {{cite book|last=Meital|first=Yoram|title=Egypt's Struggle for Peace: Continuity and Change, 1967–1971|location=Gainesville|publisher=University Press of Florida|year=1997|isbn=978-0-8130-1533-0}}
* {{cite book|author-link=John Waterbury|last=Waterbury|first=John|title=The Egypt of Nasser and Sadat: The Political Economy of Two Regimes|publisher=[[Princeton University Press]]|edition=Limited|year=1983|isbn=978-0-691-07650-8}}
* {{cite book|author-link=Lawrence Wright|last=Wright|first=Lawrence|title=[[The Looming Tower|The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11]]|location=New York|publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf|Knopf]]|year=2006|isbn=978-0-375-41486-2}}

==External links==
{{sister project links|c=Category:Anwar Sadat|d=yes|q=yes|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|s=no|species=no}}
* [https://www.presidency.eg/en/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A6%D8%A7%D8%B3%D8%A9/%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B1%D8%A4%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%A8%D9%82%D9%88%D9%86/%D9%85%D8%AD%D9%85%D8%AF-%D8%A7%D9%86%D9%88%D8%B1-%D8%A7%D9%84%D8%B3%D8%A7%D8%AF%D8%A7%D8%AA/ Presidency biography]
* [https://sadat.bibalex.org/ Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Front Page]
* [https://wayback.archive-it.org/all/20171010072803/http://www.shapell.org/manuscript/david-ben-gurion-on-sadat-and-peace-with-egypt-1971 Ben-Gurion on Anwar Sadat Wanting Peace, 1971] Shapell Manuscript Foundation
* [https://sadat.umd.edu/ Anwar Sadat Chair for Peace and Development] at the [[University of Maryland]]
* [https://www.reaganlibrary.gov/archives/speech/remarks-presentation-ceremony-presidential-medal-freedom-6 ''Remarks at the Presentation Ceremony for the Presidential Medal of Freedom – March 26, 1984''] via [[Ronald Reagan Presidential Library]] 
* {{IMDb name|0755427}}
* {{NYTtopic|people/s/anwar_el_sadat}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20060322184036/http://www.angelfire.com/art3/eg05/killingSadat.htm Free Egyptians Point of View About Sadat's Assassination] {{in lang|ar|en}} (Internet Archive)
* {{Internet Archive short film|id=gov.archives.arc.649189|name=Anwar Sadat (1976)}}
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gwwYARiWon0 Sadat Movie (Produced in 1983) – Banned from the Middle East because of some historical mistakes.]
* {{Nobelprize|name=Anwar al-Sadat}}

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