National Union (Egypt)

The National Union (Arabic: الاتحاد القومي al-Ittihâd al-Kawmi) was the only permitted party in the United Arab Republic,[1][2] the political union between Egypt and Syria that existed from 1958 to 1961.

National Union الاتحاد القومي
General Secretary	Anwar Sadat (1957–1959) Kamal el-Din Hussein (1959–1962)
Chairman	Gamal Abdel Nasser
Founded	1957 (1957)
Dissolved	1962 (1962)
Preceded by	Liberation Rally
Succeeded by	Arab Socialist Union
Headquarters	Cairo, Egypt
Ideology	Arab nationalism Arab socialism Pan-Arabism Anti-Zionism Anti-Ikhwanism Republicanism
Political position	Catch-all
Politics of Egypt Political parties Elections Politics of Syria Political parties Elections

The National Union was founded in Egypt on November 3, 1957, shortly before the founding of the United Arab Republic, by President Gamal Abdel Nasser as a successor to the Liberation Rally.[3] After the formation of the UAR in 1958, the National Union also became the only legal political movement in Syria. In the latter country, the National Union was controlled by Ba'athists and anti-communists.

The main objective of the National Union was to mobilize the population behind Nasser's policies, which consisted of Pan-Arabism, reforms and the building of a welfare state. However, the National Union did not become a real mass movement, certainly not in Syria. The latter country withdrew from the UAR in September 1961. In 1962 Nasser replaced the National Union with the Arab Socialist Union (ASU).