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Egypt Nasser and Arab Socialism
Nasser concentrated on implementing his doctrine of Arab
socialism internally, especially after the break with Syria. The
National Charter, essentially drawn up by Nasser, was promulgated
in 1962. It established the basis of authority for the new
constitution that was to follow. It showed a change in
orientation from the nationalist goals of the original revolution
and emphasized that Egypt was an Arab nation based on Islamic
principles. In addition, the Arab Socialist Union (ASU) was
created to be the sole political party and a means of gathering
the support of the masses.
In July on the ninth anniversary of the 1952 coup, Nasser
announced a list of nationalizations that cut more deeply into
the private sector than had occurred in any country outside of
Eastern Europe. The decrees nationalized all private banks, all
insurance companies, and fifty shipping companies and firms in
heavy and basic industries. Eighty-three companies were obliged
to sell 50 percent or more of their shares to public agencies. A
second agrarian reform law lowered the limit for an individual
owner from 200 to 100 feddans. The nationalization program
continued in successive waves through 1962 and 1963 and involved
shipping companies, cotton-ginning factories, cotton-exporting
companies, pharmaceutical producers, ocean and river transport
companies, trucking companies, glass factories, and the largest
book-publishing company in Egypt. Between 1952 and 1966, ŁE7
billion (for value of the
Egyptian pound, see Glossary) in shared
and public assets were transferred to public ownership
(see The Role of Government
, ch. 3).
The decrees also included legislation such as taxing gross
incomes over ŁE5,000 at the rate of 90 percent, limiting base
salaries of public sector directors to ŁE5,000, and limiting
membership on all boards of directors to seven persons, two of
whom must be workers. All joint-stock companies were required to
place 5 percent of all profits in government bonds and to allot
10 percent to workers in cash and 15 percent to worker housing
and community infrastructure. The work week was reduced to fortytwo hours, and the minimum wage was raised. Half of all seats in
Parliament and on all elective bodies and worker-management
boards were reserved for peasants and workers.
Elections were held in March 1964 for a new National Assembly
from a list of candidates drawn up by the ASU. Immediately after
the election, Nasser released a draft constitution that
functioned until 1971. The constitution was based on the National
Charter and emphasized freedom, socialism, and unity.
The position of some minority groups changed during this
period. Most Jews left Egypt, the last large group being several
thousand who did not have Egyptian citizenship and who were
expelled during the Suez crisis. The Greek community also
decreased considerably because many Greeks who did not like
socialism returned to Greece.
Data as of December 1990
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