National Union (Egypt)

National Union الاتحاد القومي
General Secretary	Anwar Sadat (1957–1959) Kamal el-Din Hussein (1959–1962)
Chairman	Gamal Abdel Nasser
Founded	28 May 1957
Dissolved	1962 (1962)
Preceded by	Liberation Rally
Succeeded by	Arab Socialist Union
Headquarters	Cairo, Egypt
Ideology	Arab nationalism Arab socialism Pan-Arabism Nasserism Anti-Zionism Anti-Ikhwanism Republicanism Anti-communism
Political position	Left-wing
Politics of Egypt Political parties Elections Politics of Syria Political parties Elections

The National Union (Arabic: الاتحاد القومي al-Ittihâd al-Kawmi) was the only permitted party in the United Arab Republic, the political union between Egypt and Syria that existed from 1957 to 1962.

History

The National Union was founded by a presidential decree in Egypt in May 1957 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser as a successor to the Liberation Rally, with its permanent functions in effect from November 1957, shortly before the founding of the United Arab Republic. After the formation of the UAR in 1958, the National Union also became the only legal political movement in Syria. In the latter country, the National Union was controlled by former Ba'athists and anti-communists.

President Nasser with prominent members of the National Union and Ba'ath Parties

The main objective of the National Union was to mobilize the population behind Nasser's policies, which consisted of pan-Arabism, reforms and the building of a welfare state. However, the National Union did not become a real mass movement, certainly not in Syria. The latter country withdrew from the UAR in September 1961. In 1962 Nasser replaced the National Union with the Arab Socialist Union (ASU).