Egypt

Map of Egypt Arab Republic of Egypt Chairman of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces: Field Marshal Mohammed Hussein Tantawi (2011) Prime Minister: Kamal al-Ganzouri (2011) Land area: 384,344 sq mi (995,451 sq km); total area: 386,662 sq mi (1,001,450 sq km) Population (2010 est.): 80,471,869 (growth rate: 1.9%); birth rate: 25.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 26.2/1000; life expectancy: 72.4; density per sq km: 82 Capital and largest city (2003 est.): Cairo, 11,146,000 (metro. area), 7,629,866 (city proper) Other large cities: Alexandria, 3,891,000; Giza, 2,597,600 (part of Cairo metro. area); Shubra el Khema, 1,018,000 (part of Cairo metro. area); El Mahalla el Kubra, 462,300 Monetary unit: Egyptian pound National name: Jumhuriyat Misr al-Arabiyah Current government officials Languages: Arabic (official), English and French widely understood by educated classes Ethnicity/race: Egyptian 98%, Berber, Nubian, Bedouin, and Beja 1%, Greek, Armenian, other European (primarily Italian and French) 1% National Holiday: Revolution Day, July 23 Religions: Islam (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, Christian 1%, other 6% Literacy rate: 71.4% (2005 est.) Economic summary: GDP/PPP $471.2 billion (2009 est.); per capita $6,000. Real growth rate: 4.7%. Inflation: 10.1%. Unemployment: 9.7%. Arable land: 3%. Agriculture: cotton, rice, corn, wheat, beans, fruits, vegetables; cattle, water buffalo, sheep, goats. Labor force: 22.5 million (2007); agriculture 32%, industry 17%, services 51% (2001 est.). Industries: textiles, food processing, tourism, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, hydrocarbons, construction, cement, metals, light manufactures. Natural resources: petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc. Exports: $22.91 billion (2009 est.): crude oil and petroleum products, cotton, textiles, metal products, chemicals. Imports: $43.9 billion (2009 est.): machinery and equipment, foodstuffs, chemicals, wood products, fuels. Major trading partners: Italy, U.S., Syria, Germany, Spain, France, China, UK, Saudi Arabia (2004). Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 10.8 million (2006); mobile cellular: 18.001 million (2006). Radio broadcast stations: AM 42 (plus 15 repeater stations), FM 14, shortwave 3 (1999). Television broadcast stations: 98 (Sept. 1995). Internet hosts: 5,363 (2007). Internet users: 6 million (2006). Transportation: Railways: total: 5,063 km (2004). Highways: total: 92,370 km; paved: 74,820 km; unpaved: 17,550 km (2004 est.). Waterways: 3,500 km; note: includes Nile River, Lake Nasser, Alexandria-Cairo Waterway, and numerous smaller canals in delta; Suez Canal (193.5 km including approaches) navigable by oceangoing vessels drawing up to 17.68 m (2004). Ports and harbors: Alexandria, Damietta, El Dekheila, Port Said, Suez, Zeit. Airports: 88 (2007). International disputes: Egypt and Sudan retain claims to administer the two triangular areas that extend north and south of the 1899 Treaty boundary along the 22nd Parallel, but have withdrawn their military presence; Egypt is developing the Hala'ib Triangle north of the Treaty line; since the attack on Taba and other Egyptian resort towns on the Red Sea in October 2004, Egypt vigilantly monitors the Sinai and borders with Israel and the Gaza Strip; Egypt does not extend domestic asylum to some 70,000 persons who identify as Palestinians but who largely lack UNRWA assistance and, until recently, UNHCR recognition as refugees. Major sources and definitions

Geography

Egypt, at the northeast corner of Africa on the Mediterranean Sea, is bordered on the west by Libya, on the south by the Sudan, and on the east by the Red Sea and Israel. It is nearly one and one-half times the size of Texas. Egypt is divided into two unequal, extremely arid regions by the landscape's dominant feature, the northward-flowing Nile River. The Nile starts 100 mi (161 km) south of the Mediterranean and fans out to a sea front of 155 mi between the cities of Alexandria and Port Said.

Government

Republic.

History

Egyptian history dates back to about 4000 B.C., when the kingdoms of upper and lower Egypt, already highly sophisticated, were united. Egypt's golden age coincided with the 18th and 19th dynasties (16th to 13th century B.C.), during which the empire was established. Persia conquered Egypt in 525 B.C., Alexander the Great subdued it in 332 B.C., and then the dynasty of the Ptolemies ruled the land until 30 B.C., when Cleopatra, last of the line, committed suicide and Egypt became a Roman, then Byzantine, province. Arab caliphs ruled Egypt from 641 until 1517, when the Turks took it for their Ottoman Empire.

Napoléon's armies occupied the country from 1798 to 1801. In 1805, Mohammed Ali, leader of a band of Albanian soldiers, became pasha of Egypt. After completion of the Suez Canal in 1869, the French and British took increasing interest in Egypt. British troops occupied Egypt in 1882, and British resident agents became its actual administrators, though it remained under nominal Turkish sovereignty. In 1914, this fiction was ended, and Egypt became a protectorate of Britain.

Egyptian nationalism, led by Zaghlul Pasha and the Wafd Party, forced Britain to relinquish its claims on the country. Egypt became an independent sovereign state on Feb. 28, 1922, with Fu'ad I as its king. In 1936, by an Anglo-Egyptian treaty of alliance, all British troops and officials were to be withdrawn, except from the Suez Canal Zone. When World War II started, Egypt remained neutral.

Egypt Becomes a Republic

Tensions grew between the Wafd Party and the monarchy following independence, and in 1952, the army, led by Gen. Mohammed Naguib, seized power. Three days later, King Farouk abdicated in favor of his infant son. The monarchy was abolished and a republic proclaimed on June 18, 1953, with Naguib becoming president and prime minister. He relinquished the prime ministership in 1954 to Gamal Abdel Nasser, leader of the ruling military junta. Nasser also assumed the presidency in 1956.

Nasser's policies embroiled his country in continual conflict. In 1956, the U.S. and Britain withdrew their pledges of financial aid for the building of the Aswan High Dam. In response, Nasser nationalized the Suez Canal and expelled British oil and embassy officials. The Soviet Union then agreed to finance the dam and would come to exert increasing influence over Egypt in the coming decade. Israel, barred from the canal and exasperated by terrorist raids, invaded the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula. Britain and France, after demanding Egyptian evacuation of the canal zone, attacked Egypt on Oct. 31, 1956. Worldwide pressure forced Britain, France, and Israel to halt the hostilities. A UN emergency force occupied the canal zone, and all troops were evacuated in the spring of 1957.

From 1956 to 1961, Egypt and Syria united to form a single country called the United Arab Republic (UAR). Syria ended this relationship in 1961 after a military coup, but Egypt continued to call itself the UAR until 1971.

Tensions Between Egypt and Israel Erupt in the Six-Day War

In 1967, border tensions between Egypt and Israel led to the Six-Day War. On June 5, Israel launched an air assault, and within days had annexed the Sinai Peninsula, the East Bank of the Jordan River, and the Golan Heights. A UN cease-fire on June 10 saved the Arabs from a complete rout. Nasser declared the 1967 cease-fire void along the canal in April 1969 and began a war of attrition. On Sept. 28, 1970, Nasser died of a heart attack. Anwar el-Sadat, an associate of Nasser and a former newspaper editor, became the next president.

The fourth Arab-Israeli War broke out on Oct. 6, 1973, during the Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur. Egypt swept deep into the Sinai, while Syria strove to throw Israel off the Golan Heights. A UN-sponsored truce was accepted on Oct. 22. In Jan. 1974, both sides agreed to a settlement negotiated by the U.S. that gave Egypt a narrow strip along the entire Sinai bank of the Suez Canal. In June, President Nixon made the first visit by a U.S. president to Egypt and full diplomatic relations were established. The Suez Canal was reopened on June 5, 1975.

In the most audacious act of his career, Sadat flew to Jerusalem at the invitation of Prime Minister Menachem Begin on Nov. 20, 1977, to discuss a permanent peace settlement. The Arab world reacted with fury. Egypt and Israel signed a formal peace treaty on March 26, 1979. The pact ended 30 years of war and established diplomatic and commercial relations.

By mid-1980, two-thirds of the Sinai had been transferred back to Egypt, but Sadat halted further talks with Israel in Aug. 1980 because of continued Israeli settlement of the West Bank. On Oct. 6, 1981, Sadat was assassinated by extremist Muslim soldiers at a parade in Cairo. Vice President Hosni Mubarak, a former air force chief of staff, succeeded him. Israel completed the return of the Sinai to Egyptian control on April 25, 1982. Israel's invasion of Lebanon in June brought a marked cooling in Egyptian-Israeli relations, but not a disavowal of the peace treaty.

Egypt Begins Fighting Islamic Extremists

The government has concentrated much of its time and attention in recent years on combating Islamic extremists, who have in particular targeted Copts (Egyptian Christians). In 1997, a terrorist attack on foreign tourists killed 70. During the 1990s, about 26,000 Islamic militants were imprisoned and dozens were executed.

Egypt and Sudan resumed diplomatic relations in March 2000, which had broken off in 1995 after Egypt accused Sudan of attempting to assassinate Hosni Mubarak. Human rights activists have increased their criticism of Egypt for its heavy-handed crackdown on potentially disruptive Islamic groups, and for the harassment of intellectuals advocating greater democracy.

In July 2005, President Mubarak announced he would seek a fifth six-year term. Earlier in the year Mubarak had amended the constitution to allow for multiparty elections, the first in Egyptian history, and on Sept. 6, Mubarak was reelected with 88.6% of the vote. Turnout was 23%.

In March 2007, voters overwhelmingly endorsed changes to the Constitution that strengthened the presidency. Voter turnout was low, at about 27%, and opposition groups claimed the vote was rigged.

U.S. President Obama spoke of forming an alliance with Muslims during a visit to Cairo, Egypt in June 2009. He called for "a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world," asking for new alliances based on mutual respect and common interests.

Mubarak Resigns Under Intense Pressure from Protesters

Unrest spread throughout the Middle East in January 2011. First, Tunisia's president Zine al-Abidine Ben Ali stepped down amid widespread protests against corruption, unemployment, and the repressive police state. Demonstrations followed in Yemen and Algeria. In Egypt, opposition groups and activists calling for reform began their protests on January 25—what they called "a day of rage," which coincided with Police Day. The movement, organized using cell phones and social media sites, spread, and protesters took to the streets in several cities, including Cairo, Alexandria, and Suez, demanding the resignation of Mubarak, who had been in power for 30 years. The aging president had taken steps for his son, Gamal, to succeed him in upcoming elections.

The protests continued and grew in size and intensity over the next several days, with protesters and police engaged in violent battles. On January 28, Mubarak ordered his government to resign and reshuffled his cabinet, which had no effect on the protests. Mubarak, however, remained in office, and in an apparent move to cement the support of the military, he appointed military intelligence chief, Omar Suleiman, as vice president. He deployed the military to help police quell the protests, but days later—in a blow to Mubarak—the military said it would not use force against the protesters. On February 1, hundreds of thousands of protesters assembled in Cairo's Tahrir Square. Mohamed ElBaradei, the Egyptian Nobel laureate and former director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, returned to Egypt and emerged as the leader of the opposition. He urged Muburak to resign and allow the formation of a "national unity government." Wael Ghonim, an Egyptian executive at Google, was a leading force in organizing the protests; he used an anonymous Facebook page and YouTube videos to rally support for the movement. He was jailed for 12 days, and became an unwitting hero of the movement when he acknowledged his role in an emotional television interview after his release.

On Feb. 1, Mubarak announced that he will serve out the remainder of his term but not run for reelection in September. In response, President Barack Obama said an "orderly transition must be meaningful, it must be peaceful, and it must begin now." A day later, however, the situation in Cairo deteriorated abruptly as counter-protests broke out and supporters and opponents of Mubarak faced off in and around Tahrir Square, hurling rocks and wielding sticks. Many observers suspected Mubarak organized and encouraged his supporters to take to the streets in an attempt to further destabilize the country, allowing him to cling to power.

The opposition remained undaunted by the violent counter-protests and continued their demonstrations. The Muslim Brotherhood, the country's largest and most influential opposition movement, had been largely absent from the protest movement until it issued a statement on Feb. 4 calling for the resignation of Mubarak. In response to the continued unrest, the government made a series of conciliatory gestures: it announced that Suleiman would oversee the planning of upcoming elections and the attendant transition, promised a 15% pay increase for government employees, and proposed constitutional reforms. The opposition dismissed the gesture as wildly inadequate, and Mubarak's stubborn insistence on remaining in office emboldened the opposition. Mubarak ultimately gave in to the uprising. On Feb. 11, he announced his resignation and handed power of the country over to the military. Cairo erupted in joyous celebration, with crowds chanting, "Egypt is free!"

Several Milestones Signal Transition to Democracy

After assuming control of the country, the military dissolved Parliament and suspended the Constitution. It then presented a roadmap for a six-month transition to civilian rule. Plans included drafting constitutional amendments, a referendum to vote on them, and elections. Opposition supporters continued to gather in Tahir Square to call for further reform. On March 3 Prime Minister Ahmed Shafiq resigned, giving in to the demands of protesters. He was replaced by Essam Sharaf, a former government minister and a supporter of the opposition. Another milestone was achieved on March 20, when 77.2% of voters approved a referendum on constitutional amendments that lays the groundwork for upcoming legislative and presidential elections. One of the amendments establishes presidential term limits. The amendments were put into effect on March 31, when the ruling military council introduced an interim constitution. The council also said it would cede legislative power after November's parliamentary elections and executive control after presidential elections, which are schedule for November. On April 13, Mubarak and his two sons, Gamal and Alaa, were taken into police custody to be questioned about corruption and abuse of power.

In May, prosecutors charged Mubarak with murder and attempting to murder protesters. He and his sons Alaa and Gamal were charged with corruption. All were ordered to stand trial. Mubarak's trial began on Aug. 3 in Cairo. He appeared in court lying in a hospital bed in a caged area of the courtroom.

Tensions flared between Israel and Egypt in August and September 2011, when militants attacked the Israeli resort town of Eilat, on the Egypt-Israel border. Eight Israelis were killed and 30 were wounded. Six Egyptian border guards were also killed in the shootings. Israeli authorities blamed the attacks on the Popular Resistance Committees, a group that has worked with Hamas, and said they believed the attackers crossed into Israel from Egypt. Egypt in turn blamed Israel for the deaths. Israel responded with several airstrikes on Gaza, killing the Popular Resistance Committees' commander among others. Egyptian officials denied that the attackers crossed through Hamas also denied Israel's accusations. The cross-border attacks threatened the decades of peace between Israel and Egypt. Meanwhile, Palestinian militants fired several rockets into Israel from Gaza, killing one civilian and wounding six others. Hamas, which controls Gaza, took credit for the rockets fired into Israel.

Protesters Return to Tahrir Square

Confidence in the military's leadership began to erode in the fall and hit a low in October in response to the military's heavy-handed approach to a peaceful protest by Coptic Chrisians, who were demonstrating against religious intolerance and the burning of a church. About 25 Copts were killed and 300 injured in Cairo when security forces fired on the crowd with live ammunition and ran over protests. Days later, the military council said it would maintain control over the government after parliamentary elections and cede power only after a new constitution was adopted and presidential elections. This process was expected to extend into 2013. The moves sparked fear that the military, which still includes members of the Mubarak regime, was postponing the transition to civilian rule in an attempt to retain control and diminish the influence of the democracy movement.

In November, protesters—representing both Islamists and the liberal opposition—returned to Tahrir Square to demand the ruling military council step aside in favor of a civilian-led government. The opposition had little confidence the military would hand over power and suggested that it was actually stifling the revolutionary fervor. The demonstrations turned violent with police firing on crowds with tear gas and rubber bullets. On Nov. 21, as the protests grew in size and intensity and police were widely criticized for their crackdown, Prime Minister Essam Sharaf and his cabinet resigned. In an agreement reached with the Muslim Brotherhood, which had stepped back from the protest movement, the military council vowed to install a civilian prime minister and to accelerate the transition to a civilian government, with presidential elections being held by June 2012. Former prime minister Kamal al-Ganzouri was named to replace Sharaf, and in response to the demands of protesters, the military council transferred most powers of the president to him. The secular opposition condemned the Muslim Brotherhood for cooperating with the military, saying the Islamists were cozying up to the military in a grab for power.

Islamists Fare Well in Parliamentary Elections

Despite the political turmoil and uncertainty, millions of Egyptians voted in the first round of parliamentary elections on Nov. 28. The Muslim Brotherhood fared better than expected, winning about 40% of the vote. Even more of a shock was the second place finish of the ultraconservative Islamist Salafists, who took about 25%. The Muslim Brotherhood, however, said it did not plan to form a coalition with the Salafis—an apparent attempt to calm fears that it would assemble an Islamist government. In fact, it said that it planned to form a unity government with secularists and would respect the rights of women and religious minorities.

The second round of parliamentary elections in mid-December were marred by violence. Protesters demonstrating against military rule were beat up and troops assaulted civilians who assembled outside parliament and judges who were enlisted to supervise the vote counting. In response, the civilian advisory council, formed to help the military council gain acceptance with the populace, ceased operations. The move was an embarrassment to the military council. The reputation of the military was further tarnished in late December, when it beat, kicked, and stripped several women who were participating in a women's demonstration against military rule.

After the third and final round of voting, the Muslim Brotherhood emerged as the clear winner, taking 47% of the seats in parliament. The Salafis won 25%, giving Islamists more than 70% of the seats. The first democratically elected parliament in more than 60 years convened in January 2012. Parliament, however, will remain secondary to the military council until the military hands power to a civilian government, which is expected after May's presidential election. The legislative body was charged with forming a committee to write a new constitution. The Muslim Brotherhood named as many as 70 Islamists, including 50 members of parliament, to the 100-person committee. Given its dominance in parliament and control over the new constitution, the Brotherhood said it would not enter a candidate in the presidential election.

About 100,000 protesters gathered in Tahrir Square on January 25, 2012—the first anniversary of the revolution. Rather than a unified demonstration, the gathering turned out to be divisive, with some criticizing the military's continued hold on power, others expressing anger that Muslim Brotherhood's cooperation with the military.

Political Turmoil Complicates Presidential Election

A series of events in March and April 2012 upset the political landscape in Egypt. In March, the Muslim Brotherhood rescinded its earlier pledge not to run a candidate in May's presidential election and nominated Khairat el-Shater, the group's chief strategist. The move caused concern in the West, in Israel, and among liberals in Egypt with observers wondering if the Brotherhood had abandoned its vow to follow a course of moderation and was instead seeking a monopoly on power.

Then in early April, a court suspended the work of the constitution-writing committee. Since the constitution will not be written before presidential elections, the new president will control the process, certainly adding a new level of importance to the race. Later in the month, election officials disqualified ten out of 23 candidates in the presidential elections on technical grounds, including three leading contenders: Omar Suleiman, Mubarak's spy chief, Shater, and Hazem Abu Ismail, an ultraconservative Islamist.

See also Encyclopedia: Egypt.
U.S. State Dept. Country Notes: Egypt

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