ABSTRACT
The United Arab Republic (UAR) was born largely because of the popularity and personality of Gamal Abdel Nasser. Before the end of January 1958 the Syrian president, Shukri al-Quwatli and his cabinet met with the Egyptian government led by Gamal Abdel Nasser. On 21 February, in a general plebiscite held in the two countries, Egyptians and Syrians overwhelmingly approved the formation of the UAR. The implications of Nasser’s and Mohamed Hassanein Heikal’s declarations are clear. Internally, after the Syrian secession, Gamal Abdel Nasser launched radical social changes. The Egyptian walkout at the Shtoura meeting and its threat to withdraw from the Arab League seemed to deal a serious blow to that organization. Indeed, as Heikal wrote earlier, Gamal Abdel Nasser could ‘freeze’ the Arab League. At the Shtoura meeting it became clear that Egypt’s capitalizing on its championship of Arab unity was not having the effect for which Gamal Abdel Nasser hoped.
