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The United Arab Republic (UAR) (Arabic: لجمهورية العربية المتحدة - al jumhūrīya al-ʕarabīya al-muttaĥida) was the state formed by the union between the republics of Egypt and Syria in 1958. It existed until Syria's secession in 1961, although Egypt continued to be known as the UAR until 1971.
Causes of the union
Established on February 1, 1958, as a first step towards a pan-Arab nation, the UAR was created when a group of political and military leaders in Syria proposed a merger of the two states to Egyptian president Gamal Abdal Nasser. Pan-Arab sentiment was very strong in Syria, and Nasser was a popular hero throughout the Arab east following the Suez Crisis of 1956. There was thus considerable popular support in Syria for union with Nasser's Egypt.
The immediate causes of the union were more specific. The increasing strength of the Syrian Communist Party, under the leadership of Khalid Bakdash, was worrying other political and social groups in Syria, and the Syrian Ba'th Party was also suffering from an internal crisis from which prominent members were anxious to find an escape. Syria had had a democratic government since the overthrow of Adib al-Shishakli's military regime in 1954, and the popular pressure for Arab unity was reflected in the composition of parliament. The strength of this popular sentiment was such that the Communist Party and the Muslim Brotherhood both took a positive stance towards unification, despite Nasser's repression of the two parties' organisations in Egypt. The Syrian elite also hoped to find a market in Egypt.
Formation of the Union
President Nasser of Egypt and President Shukri al-Kuwatli of Syria signed the union pact on 22 February 1958 after a referendum in both countries. President Nasser was elected as the new republic's president, and Cairo was chosen to be the capital. A new federal constitution was adopted.
Structure of the Republic
The union bound the two nations together into a united state, and, following his February 1958 nomination to the position, under the presidency of Nasser. The Republic was a unitary state, and the pre-eminence of Nasser together with Egypt's demographic and political dominance meant that it was effectively under Egyptian control. Egyptian military and technical advisors poured into Syria, with the Syrian military, police and bureaucracy coming under Egyptian control, a situation that would lead to considerable resentment. The ban on political parties other than Nasser's Arab Socialist Union was extended to Syria, and the Ba'th Party and Arab Nationalist Movement in Syria both dissolved themselves into the ruling party. Obstreperous political elements were dealt with ruthlessly: after Khalid Bakdash's proposals of December 1958 for a looser federation, the Syrian Communist Party was brutally repressed, as were Islamist tendencies.
Ironically, the new nation found itself supported by the very force some of its proponents had feared. The Soviet Union, aiming to garner Cold War allies, quickly began selling weapons to the fledgling republic, a practice it would continue even after the UAR collapsed.
The UAR adopted a flag based on the flag of Egypt but with two stars to represent the two parts. This continues to be the flag of Syria. The flag of Iraq was similar but with three stars, representing the hope that Iraq would join the UAR. The flag of Sudan is also based on horizontal red, white and black.
Conflict with Jordan
The union was interpreted as a major threat to Jordan. Syria was seen as a source of instigation and as a shelter for Jordanian plotters against King Hussein. Egypt's own status as a radical state added to the pressure. Hussein’s response was to propose to Faisal II of Iraq a Jordanian-Iraqi union to counter the UAR, which was formed on February 14, 1958. The agreement was to form a unified military command between the two states, with a unified military budget; 80% of which was to be provided by Iraq and the remaining 20% by Jordan. Troops from both countries were exchanged in the arrangement.
In early July 1958, plots against the governments of King Hussein in Jordan and King Faisal in Iraq were uncovered. One of the plotters in Jordan revealed the involvement of Egyptian secret agents, and that plot was abandoned. Then, on July 14, King Faisal, the Crown Prince Abdul Illah, and other members of the ruling Hashemite family were shot. Iraqi prime minister Nuri as-Said was also shot as he attempted to escape. It is unlikely that Egypt or the UAR was actively involved in the coup in Iraq. However, upon revelation of the coup, the UAR announced its support of the plotters in Iraq, recognized the new regime, and closed its border with Jordan. Syrian troops along the border were put on alert.
These actions put a good deal of pressure on King Hussein in Jordan. In 1962, he said of UAR that it had "ambitions which, I believe, at that time meant nothing less than the domination of the Arab world.” Jordan's trade routes had been cut off. Syria had been his main supplier of oil. Hussein asked for U.S. aid in establishing trade routes through Israel, which the Americans were able to gain permission to do.
The situation continued to deteriorate in Jordan as Damascus Radio issued broadcasts calling upon the Jordanian people to rise against the "Hashemite tyranny". Hussein was finally forced to turn to his former ally Great Britain for help. The trio of Israeli, British, and American support of the regime in Jordan played a large role in preventing conflict between Jordan and the UAR.
Dissolution of the union
Ultimately, the Egyptian leadership of the union, and the arrogant attitude many in Damascus perceived among the Egyptian military and administrative personnel sent there, came to be resented by important elements in the Syrian military, political and bureaucratic elite. In addition, the Damascus bourgeoisie did not gain the access to the Egyptian market that they had hoped for. The political leaders of Syria, who were forced to live in Cairo, felt disconnected from their sources of power.
The UAR collapsed in 1961 after a coup d'état in Syria brought a secessionist group to power. The separation was deeply contested in Syria, and a bitter political struggle reflected in popular commotion and street confrontations ensued until the Ba'th Party, Nasserists and other pro-union elements took power in 1963. The union, however, was not re-established. Egypt, now alone in the United Arab Republic, continued to use the name until 1971 after Nasser's death.
See also
- The United Arab States was a much looser confederation, established between the UAR and North Yemen. It lasted from 1958 to 1961.
- The Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan
- Federation of Arab Republics
Former countries | Arab | History of Egypt | History of Syria
جمهورية عربية متحدة | Обединена арабска република | Forenede Arabiske Republik | Vereinigte Arabische Republik | República Árabe Unida | République arabe unie | 아랍 연합공화국 | הרפובליקה הערבית המאוחדת | Verenigde Arabische Republiek | Zjednoczona Republika Arabska | República Árabe Unida | Объединённая Арабская Республика | Združena arabska republika | Yhdistynyt arabitasavalta | Förenade arabrepubliken | 聯合阿拉伯共和國
"United Arab Republic"