was a union of Egypt and Syria, proclaimed on February 1, 1958, by President Gamal Abdel Nasser of Egypt and Shukri al-Kuwatly of Syria. On March 8, 1958, Yemen agreed to form a federation with the U.A.R. The union was called the United Arab States, and had Hodeida, Yemen, as its permanent seat. The United Arab States was not a true federation, however, since Yemen maintained its own membership in the United Nations and separate relations with other countries.

The United Arab Republic had a centralized government, with Cairo as the capital. Egypt and Syria became provinces, with provincial capitals at Cairo, Egypt, and Damascus, Syria. Soon after the merger, the people adopted a provisional constitution and chose Nasser as President. He appointed all members of the National Assembly, selecting half from Egypt and half from Syria.

The government of the U.A.R. introduced many reforms in both provinces, but many Syrians believed that Nasser was raising the standard of living in Egypt at the expense of Syria. On September 29, 1961, Syrian officers in the U.A.R. army carried out an almost bloodless revolt and proclaimed an independent Syria. Nasser dissolved the U.A.R. in December, declaring that the federation was no longer of any value.

Egypt continued to use the name United Arab Republic until 1971, when the country changed its official name to the Arab Republic of Egypt. In April 1963, Egypt, Syria, and Iraq agreed to form a new U.A.R. But because of political differences among the countries, the agreement was not carried out.

[above taken from the Flags of the World website]

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Egypt
Gamal Abdel Nasser

THE ROBINSON LIBRARY
General and Old World History.--Africa.--Egypt.--History.

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