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Introduction
Gamal Abdel Nasser was born on January 15th, 1928 in Alexandria, Egypt. He was the second
president of Egypt after the toppling of King Fuad. Under his leadership Egypt was able to throw
off the shackles of French and British colonialism after World War II. His father worked for the
Egyptian postal office; during his childhood his father was required to move frequently for work
assignments. Moving around the country Nasser gained an understanding of the different
economic and social classes of people in Egypt.
Early Years
He was greatly influenced by Egyptian Nationalism and was involved in anti-government
protests in his youth. His involvement in anti-government movements stopped him from initially
gaining entry to the Royal Military Academy; after being rejected from the academy he enrolled
in the King Fuad University of Law however, he quit after one semester and reapplied to the
Royal Military Academy (Bidwell).
Social Capital
Social capital is the ability to utilize relationships. The reason for his persistent pursuit of the
Royal Military Academy, was linked directly to his early readings of great nationalist leaders
such as: Napoleon, Otto Von Bismarck and others whose revolutionary careers started in the
military. Nasser secured a position at the military Academy by seeking the help of an influential
person by the name of Ibrahim Pasha who at the time was the Under-Secretary of War
(Dekmejian). Ibrahim was responsible for the Military Academy’s selection board and agreed to
put special consideration in to his reapplication in the Military Academy. At the Military
Academy, Nasser meet some of his future presidential cabinet, one of which Anwar El Sadat
Ismail 1
would later succeed him as president of Egypt. Graduating in 1938 as Second Lieutenant of the
infantry, he began to rally his friends together from the academy by discussing the unpopular
wide spread corruption in Egypt. Later in his military career he secured a military instructor
position and was accepted into the General Military College Staff he began recruiting young
officers who had a strong nationalist sediments (Dekmejian).
Hardship
Nasser saw combat during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. This war came as a result of the British
leaving Palestine after being unable to control the area against attacks from Zionist. During the
war Nasser expressed his views about the negligence and unpreparedness of the Egyptian
Military to stage an attack. He later found himself surrounded by Israeli troops in the Faluja
Pocket of Palestine where he was the Brigade Commander. Fighting and cut off from the rest of
