Kingdom of Egypt (1922–1953)
In 1922, the UK agreed to formally recognize Egyptian independence, but only on the condition that the Sultan of Egypt, Fuad I, change his title to King. Upon so doing, the now King Fuad issued a Royal Decree formally adopting a new national flag of a white crescent with three white stars on a green background in it.
The three stars symbolised the three component territories of the Kingdom, namely Egypt, Nubia, and Sudan, whilst the green signifies the agricultural nature of the country,other sources suggest that it symbolised the predominant religion of the country, Islam. It has also been suggested that the three stars represented the three religious communities of the country: Muslims, Christians and Jews.
Republic of Egypt (1953–1958)
Following the Revolution of 1952, the Egyptian free officers retained the flag of the Kingdom, but also introduced the Revolutionary and Liberation flag of red, white, and black horizontal bands, with the emblem of the Revolution, the Eagle of Saladin, in the center band. This earlier version of the eagle differs somewhat from the one later adopted. Even when the Kingdom was formally abolished by the declaration of the Republic on July 18, 1953, the flag of the Kingdom remained in official use until Gamal Abdel Nasser announced the formation of the United Arab Republic in 1958.
Following the 1952 Revolution by the Free Officers Movement, the rule of Egypt passed to military hands. On 18 June 1953, the Egyptian Republicwas declared, with General Muhammad Naguib as the first President of the Republic.
The Republic of Egypt , was the official name of Egypt from the abolition of the Egyptian and Sudanese monarchy in 1953 until Egypt's union with Syria in the United Arab Republic in 1958. The declaration of the republic followed the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, prompted by the unpopularity of King Farouk, who was seen as being too weak in the face of the British, coupled with the defeat in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.
With the declaration of the Republic, Muhammad Naguib was sworn in as Egypt's first President, serving in that capacity for a little under one and a half years, before being forced to resign in 1954 by Gamal Abdel Nasser .
United Arab Republic (1958–1972)
In 1958, Egypt and Syria united as the United Arab Republic (UAR) and adopted a national flag based on the Arab Liberation flag, with two green stars (representing the two countries of the union) replacing the Eagle of Saladin in the white band. A modified version of the Eagle of Saladin was adopted as the UAR's coat of arms. The flag is now used as the national flag of Syria.
Federation of Arab Republics (1972–1984)
Though Syria withdrew from the U.A.R. in 1961, Egypt continued to use the official name of the United Arab Republic until 1971, when the country was renamed officially as the Arab Republic of Egypt. In 1972, when Egypt formed the Federation of Arab Republics along with Syria, and Libya, the U.A.R. flag (whose design Syria would reuse for their own flag, eight years later) was replaced by a common flag for the Federation, once again based on the Arab Liberation flag. The two green stars in the white band were replaced by the Hawk of Qureish, which had been the coat of arms of Syria prior to the formation of the U.A.R. in 1958. The Hawk of Qureish was also adopted as the Federation's coat of arms. The shade of red used in the red band was lightened slightly.
Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 October 1981. Sadat was a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew King Farouk in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and a close confidant of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, under whom he served as Vice President twice and whom he succeeded as President in 1970.
In his eleven years as president, he changed Egypt's trajectory, departing from many of the political and economic tenets of Nasserism, re-instituting 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 Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty; this won him and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin the Nobel Peace Prize, making Sadat the first Muslim Nobel laureate. Though reaction to the treaty—which resulted in the return of Sinai to Egypt—was generally favorable among Egyptians, it was rejected by the Arab country's & Muslim Brotherhood , which felt Sadat had abandoned efforts to ensure a Palestinian state.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.His refusal to reconcile with them over the Palestinian issue resulted in Egypt being suspended from the Arab League from 1979 to 1989. The peace treaty was also one of the primary factors that led to his assassination.
Arab Republic of Egypt (1984–present)
Whilst the Federation of Arab Republics was dissolved in 1977, Egypt retained the Federation's flag until October 4, 1984, when the black Hawk of Qureish was replaced in the white band (and on the coat of arms) by the Eagle of Saladin (the 1958 version as opposed to the 1952 version). The shield held by the eagle is coloured entirely gold and white, as opposed to the colours seen on the shield on Egypt's coat of arms. In addition, the shade of red in the red band was restored to the slightly darker shade of the red band in the pre-Federation flag.
From 1981 to 2011, Hosni Mubarak was in power under emergency law with his son Gamal appearing to be a likely successor for the presidency. In December 2010, protests in Tunisia sparked by the death of Mohamed Bouazizi turned into a revolution. The death of Khaled Saeed in June 2010 became a similar rallying point for activists in Egypt. Increasing use of social media among activists centered on plans for a nationwide protest on 25 January 2011.
Millions turned out in major cities across Egypt on the 25th, especially in Cairo's Tahrir Square. In the beginning, tensions were high between the police and protesters with violence breaking out in Suez and Alexandria. The government took a hard line, using riot-control tactics, and shutting down communications; But by the 28th the protests were continuing and the police had retreated. The security role was taken over by the military, and from then on the situation remained almost entirely peaceful. As pressure rose on Mubarak, the scale of the protests continued to grow, especially on specially organized Friday rallies.
Mubarak initially gave concessions, including the dissolution of parliament, agreeing to oversee a process of reform, and promising not to run for reelection in September 2011. The protesters, however, were not satisfied and by February 8 there were widespread calls for Mubarak's resignation. On the night of 10 February, Mubarak gave a speech in which it was expected he would step down. Anger erupted when he stated plans to merely delegate some of his power. By the next day, 11 February 2011, he had resigned.
