United Arab Republic | ||||||||||||||||
الجمهورية العربية المتحدة al-Jumhūriyyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah |
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Anthem "Walla Zaman Ya Selahy" والله زمان يا سلاحي (English: "It's Been Long, My Weapon") |
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Capital | Cairo | |||||||||||||||
Languages | Arabic | |||||||||||||||
Government | Unitary socialist state | |||||||||||||||
President | ||||||||||||||||
• | 1958–1961 | Gamal Abdel Nasser | ||||||||||||||
Legislature | National Assembly | |||||||||||||||
Historical era | Arab Cold War | |||||||||||||||
• | Established | 22 February 1958 | ||||||||||||||
• | Disestablished | 28 September 1961 | ||||||||||||||
Area | ||||||||||||||||
• | 1961 | 1,166,049 km² (450,214 sq mi) | ||||||||||||||
Population | ||||||||||||||||
• | 1961 est. | 32,203,000 | ||||||||||||||
Density | 27.6 /km² (71.5 /sq mi) | |||||||||||||||
Currency |
Egyptian pound Syrian pound |
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Calling code | +20 | |||||||||||||||
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The United Arab Republic (UAR; Arabic: الجمهورية العربية المتحدة al-Jumhūrīyah al-'Arabīyah al-Muttaḥidah), alternatively referred to, mostly in Israel in the 1960s-70's, as the United Arab Commonwealth (UAC or Qa'am; Hebrew: הקהילייה הערבית המאוחדת ha-Qehiliyáh ha-'Aravít ha-Me'uḥédet) was a short-lived political union between Egypt and Syria. The union began in 1958 and existed until 1961, when Syria seceded from the union after the 1961 Syrian coup d'état. Egypt continued to be known officially as the "United Arab Republic" until 1971. The president was Gamal Abdel Nasser. It was a member of the United Arab States, a loose confederation with North Yemen which in 1961 dissolved along with the Republic.
Established on 1 February 1958, as a first step towards a larger pan-Arab state, the UAR was created when a group of political and military leaders in Syria proposed a merger of the two states to Egyptian President Gamal Abdel Nasser.
Pan-Arab sentiment traditionally was very strong in Syria, and Nasser was a popular hero-figure throughout the Arab world following the Suez War of 1956. There was thus considerable popular support in Syria for union with Nasser's Egypt. The Arab Socialist Ba'ath Party was the leading advocate of such a union.