assassination of anwar sadat

Key Political Event: President Sadat Assassinated

Date: October 6, 1981

Why It’s Key: President Sadat was the first Arab leader to recognize the state of Israel

He saluted, placed a wreath and was watching the Egyptian Air Force overhead when grenades exploded. Armed Muslim extremists flew out of the back of a military truck in the procession, racing towards the rostrum where Egyptian President Mohammed Anwar el Sadat stood and opened fire with automatic machine guns. It was during a parade in Cairo commemorating the anniversary of the Yom Kippur war, October 6, 1981, and the recipient of the 1978 Nobel Prize for Peace was dead.

The assassination of President Sadat was met with mixed reaction. He had become somewhat of an Arab hero, leading Egypt and Syria into a war with Israel in an effort to reclaim a section of the Sinai Peninsula in 1973. While Israel was successful in counterattacking, Sadat was celebrated as the first Arab leader to actually reclaim territory from Israel. A pragmatist, Sadat then made the historic trip to Jerusalem in 1977 and negotiated the exodus of Israeli troops from the Peninsula; in exchange, Egypt would become the first Arab country to recognize Israel. U.S. President Jimmy Carter would mediate negotiations between Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, culminating in the signing of a peace treaty on March 26, 1979, the first between Israel and any Arab nation.

While Sadat’s popularity skyrocketed in the West, he faced isolation and boycotts from the Arab world because of the rapprochement with Israel. His funeral was attended by only one Arab head of state.