Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. Along with Mohamed Naguib, the first President, he led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and brought in a new period of change in Egypt. This change made Egypt a more socialist and modern country. In 1954 the Muslim Brotherhood tried to kill Nasser and he arrested President Naquib. Nasser ruled the country, and became president in 1956. He promoted pan-Arab nationalism, including a union with Syria that did not last very long.
Nasser is seen as one of the most important political figures in modern Arab history and politics. Under his leadership, Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal and other industries, and became important in stopping imperialism in the Arab World and Africa. He was also important in starting the Non-Aligned Movement. Nasser's version of pan-Arabism, which is often called "Nasserism", was very popular in the Arab world during the 1950s and 1960s. Even after the Israeli victory over the Arab armies in the Six-Day War damaged the way the public saw him, many Arabs still view Nasser as a symbol of Arab dignity and freedom.