| Free Officers Movement (Egypt) | |
|---|---|
| حركة الضباط الأحرار | |
.svg) The flag of the Egyptian Revolution and Egypt (1953–1958) | |
| Active | 1949–1953 |
| Countries |  Kingdom of Egypt Anglo-Egyptian Sudan |
| Engagements | 1948 Arab–Israeli War 1952 Egyptian Revolution |
| Commanders | |
| Commanders | Mohamed Naguib Gamal Abdel Nasser Abdel Hakim Amer Abdel Latif Boghdadi Zakaria Mohieddin |
| Part ofa series on the |
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TheFree Officers (Arabic:حركة الضباط الأحرار,romanized: Ḥarakat al-dubbāṭ al-ʾaḥrār) were a group of revolutionaryEgyptian nationalist officers in theEgyptian Armed Forces andSudanese Armed Forces that instigated theEgyptian revolution of 1952. Initially started as a smallrebellion military cell under Abdel Moneim Abdel Raouf, which includedGamal Abdel Nasser, Hussein Hamouda,Khaled Mohieddin,Kamal el-Din Hussein,Salah Nasr,Abdel Hakim Amer, and Saad Tawfik, it operated as a clandestine movement of junior officers who were veterans of thePalestine War of 1948–1949 as well as earlier nationalist uprisings in Egypt in the 1940s.[1][2]
The nationally respectedArab-Israeli War veteranMohamed Naguib joined the Free Officers in 1949. Naguib's hero status, and influence within the army, granted the movement credibility, both within the military and the public at large. He became the official leader of the Free Officers during the turmoil leading up therevolution that toppledKing Farouk in 1952. The Movement was succeeded by theRevolutionary Command Council after the overthrow of Farouk that was later succeeded by theSupreme Council of the Armed Forces.[3]
TheGreat Depression affected national economies around the globe, including those of Egypt and Sudan. During this time, theGreat Powers in theArab World andMiddle East began removing institutions for economic development after no positive advancement became evident. This encouraged many political groups to organize against the politicians who dominated the parliamentary politics of the time. Workers had become accustomed to development efforts which were meant to stabilize the economies of the region. These state-led initiatives set the standard for what the people expected of their government, including the regulation of imports, industrial investment, commodity distribution, production supervision.[4]
Politicians and government bodies were forced to respond to the demands of groups who were directly affected by the initiative changes and withdrawals. Some of these groups included military officers. While the first military coups began inSyria in the late 1940s, it was the Free Officers coup inEgypt and the revolution of 1952 that would have the greatest impact, and encourage later movements.[4] The members were not from the wealthy elite, but rather themiddle class, young workers, government officials and junior officers.[2] The movement, which began and spread throughout the 1940s, came to fruition with the leadership ofGamal Abdel Nasser. Nasser, who commanded the loyalty and respect of the other members, formed a coordinating committee (1949), which he was later asked to lead (1950).[5]
Coming from a modest background, he represented the group's majority: the hard-working middle class. The Free Officers consisted of urban dwellers and educated militants with a lower-middle-class upbringing. Nasser was a war hero who rose quickly in military rank to colonel. He, like many others, dedicated his time and energy to reversing the corruption seen on the part of the government throughout the1947–1949 Palestine war by restoring a democracy. He saw the problem of domestic passivity towardsimperialism as being as much a problem as imperialism itself.[4]
The Free Officers strengthened a "new" middle class. Due to this dedication to change, the Free Officers referred to their group and its entirety as simply a "movement." Later however, it would become arevolution. The Free Officers Committee enlisted GeneralMuhammad Naguib as a public figurehead in preparation for the successful coup of 23 July 1952. The men who had constituted themselves as the Committee of the Free Officers Movement and led the 1952 Revolution were Lieutenant ColonelGamal Abdel Nasser (1917–70), MajorAbdel Hakim Amer (1919–67), Lieutenant ColonelAnwar El-Sadat (1918–81), MajorSalah Salem (1920–62), MajorKamal el-Din Hussein (1921–99), Wing CommanderGamal Salem (1918–2001), Squadron LeaderHassan Ibrahim[6] (1917–90), MajorKhalid Mohieddin (1922–2018), and Wing CommanderAbdel Latif Boghdadi (1917–99); MajorHussein el-Shafei (1918–2005) and Lieutenant ColonelZakaria Mohieddin (1918–2012) joined the committee later.
In 1951, while operating covertly within the military, the Free Officers formulated a six-point plan to direct their administration following the coup. The program called for the overthrow of British rule in Egypt, the elimination of Egyptianfeudalism, the end of the political control of Egypt's government by foreign capital, the establishment of social justice, the formation of a strong national army and the creation of a healthy democratic society.[7]
The continued agitation within Egypt as a result of British control led to a series of skirmishes in which British military outposts were attacked. During 1950–52, Arabfedayeen in theSuez Canal Zone engaged in guerilla operations against British forces. The pro-British Egyptian government in Cairo issued a public warning tofedayeen not to continue their activities. Despite this, attacks were made against the British garrison and the Egyptians who worked with them. At this point, Egyptian nationalist groups were divided and disorganised. The military was the only area that still held some sort of organised mission, which led to therevolution of 1952. The revolutionaries publicised the need for reform and social justice, marched onCairo and forcedKing Farouk to abdicate his throne. The revolution led to the end ofBritish control over Egypt, which had begun in 1882 during the Anglo-Egyptian War.[4]
Similar movements were organised by other groups of junior officers seeking to mimic the Free Officers' ascent to power. In Iraq, a faction ofArab andIraqi nationalist officers, who referred to themselves as the "Free Officers",toppled the pro-BritishHashemite government ofNuri al-Said andFaisal II in 1958.[8] Said and Faisal, Nasser's chief regional rivals at the time, were both killed during the coup. In 1963 some of the same officers aligned themselves with theBa'ath Party and overthrew the government ofAbd al-Karim Qasim, who was killed by the organizers of the coup.
In Syria, a coalition of Arab nationalist officers, includingNasserists, Ba'athists, and independents,toppled the secessionist government ofNazim al-Qudsi in 1963 and vowed to restore the union with Egypt in theUnited Arab Republic (1958–1961). InSaudi Arabia during the 1960sPrince Talal invoked a similar idea, theFree Princes Movement, in an unsuccessful effort to overthrow his country's conservative monarchy. He was exiled to Egypt as a result and was given asylum by Nasser.
ThenLibyan leaderMuammar al-Gaddafi used a similar group to overthrow the LibyanKing Idris in 1969.
The anniversary of theEgyptian revolution of 1952 led by the Free Officers is commemorated asRevolution Day, an annualpublic holiday in Egypt on 23 July.
The name was consciously assumed by theFree Officers and Civilians Movement, led by Brigadier-GeneralNajib al-Salihi who opposed Saddam Hussein.
This is a list of some of the major officers of the movement:
