Anwar Sadat

He wrote and published five books during his life, the most popular being his autobiography, ‘In Search of Identity’, released in 1978.

His widow worked in the US at the ‘University of Maryland’, where the ‘Anwar Sadat Chair for Development and Peace’ was established in 1997.

Sadat was born to Anwar Mohammed El Sadat, from Upper Egypt, and Sit Al-Berain, from the Sudan. Sadat was frequently bullied in his early life for being of mixed decent.

He was born to a very poor family and was one of thirteen brothers and sisters. He was the favorite of his grandmother, who would tell him historical stories. In 1938, he graduated from the ‘Royal Military Academy’ in Cairo.

In 1939, he entered the army and was posted to Sudan where he met Gamal Abdel Nasser. Together they founded the ‘Free Officers’, a secret group that would aim to free their country from the British rule.

In the 1940s, he was imprisoned for helping the Axis Powers in WWII against the ruling British regime.

On July 23, 1952, the ‘Free Officers’ sparked a revolution that overthrew King Farouk. Sadat announced this news over the Egyptian radio.

In 1954, he was promoted to Minister of State under his friend, President Gamal Abdel Nasser. He also served as the editor for the news daily ‘Al Gomhuria’, founded after the country gained its independence from the British.

In 1959, he moved up in the ranks once more to serve as Secretary to the National Union. The following year, he served as President to the National Assembly and stayed there for eight years.

He became the 3rd President of Egypt in 1970 and aimed to free the country from the oppressive socialist rule.

He launched the ‘Yom Kippur War’ in 1973 to get rid of the Israeli forces occupying parts of his country. The war was a success and astounded the entire Arab world.

He signed a peace treaty with Israel after the ‘Camp David Accords’ and was then awarded the ‘Nobel Peace Prize’.