Anwar Sadatأنور السادات

Born in the small Nile Delta village of Mit Abu al-Kom in 1918, Sadat graduated from the Cairo Military Academy and, as a young officer, became deeply involved in the struggle to end British control of Egypt — even being imprisoned during the Second World War for his anti-British activities. He was a member of the Free Officers who carried out the 1952 Revolution, and he served for years as a close associate and eventually vice president under Gamal Abdel Nasser. When Nasser died in 1970, Sadat became president. He soon charted his own course — expelling Soviet military advisers, opening the economy to private investment through his "Infitah" (open-door) policy, and easing toward a multiparty system.

Egypt had lost the Sinai Peninsula to Israel in the 1967 war, and recovering it became Sadat's central goal. On 6 October 1973, in coordination with Syria, he launched a surprise attack, and the Egyptian army achieved a stunning crossing of the Suez Canal, breaching Israel's formidable defensive line. Although Israel eventually rallied militarily, the early success transformed the national mood: Sadat emerged as the first Arab leader to have retaken territory from Israel, restoring a sense of pride and dignity after 1967. The war — commemorated in Egypt every 6 October — also reset the politics of the region and opened the door to negotiation.

In a move that astonished the world, in 1977 Sadat travelled to Jerusalem and addressed the Israeli Knesset, calling for peace. With US President Jimmy Carter acting as broker, Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin reached the Camp David Accords in 1978, leading to the Egypt–Israel Peace Treaty signed in Washington in March 1979. Egypt became the first Arab country to make peace with Israel and secured the return of the Sinai Peninsula. For this, Sadat and Begin shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize. The treaty was hailed in much of the world but deeply controversial in the Arab world, where many saw it as a separate peace; Egypt was suspended from the Arab League for a decade.

At home, Sadat's peace and his economic policies drew growing opposition, especially from Islamist groups, and in 1981 he ordered a sweeping crackdown on his critics. On 6 October 1981 — during the annual military parade celebrating the very 1973 war that had made his name — he was assassinated by extremist soldiers belonging to Egyptian Islamic Jihad. He was succeeded by his vice president, Hosni Mubarak. Sadat remains a towering and debated figure: to admirers, a courageous statesman who chose peace over endless war; to critics, a leader who broke Arab ranks. In Egypt, the dual epitaph endures — the "hero of war and peace."

• Who he was: the third President of Egypt (1970–1981).
• Arabic name: أنور السادات (Anwar Sadat); full name Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat.
• Lived: 1918 (Mit Abu al-Kom) – 1981 (Cairo, assassinated).
• Rise: a Free Officer in 1952; vice president under Nasser, then president on Nasser's death.
• Policies: expelled Soviet advisers; the "Infitah" open-door economy; steps toward multiparty politics.
• October War: led the 1973 crossing of the Suez Canal, restoring Egyptian prestige.
• Peace: visited Jerusalem (1977); Camp David Accords (1978); Egypt–Israel treaty (1979); Sinai returned.
• Honour: shared the 1978 Nobel Peace Prize with Menachem Begin.
• Death: assassinated on 6 October 1981; succeeded by Hosni Mubarak.

Sources include Encyclopaedia Britannica, the Nobel Prize organisation, EBSCO Research Starters, and historical accounts of the October War and the Camp David peace.