The Federation of Arab Republics (FAR; ar, اتحاد الجمهوريات العربية, , ) was an unsuccessful attempt by
Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, . Due to the lack of standardization of transcribing written and regionally pronounced Arabic, Gaddafi's name has been romanized in various ways. A 1986 column by ''The Straight Dope'' lists 32 spellin ...
to merge
Libya,
Egypt and
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
in order to create a
unified Arab state. Although approved by a
referendum in each country on 1 September 1971, the three countries disagreed on the specific terms of the merger. The federation lasted from 1 January 1972 to 19 November 1977.
History
In 1969,
Arab nationalist
Arab nationalism ( ar, القومية العربية, al-Qawmīya al-ʿArabīya) is a nationalist ideology that asserts the Arabs are a nation and promotes the unity of Arab people, celebrating the glories of Arab civilization, the language an ...
military officers
seized power in Libya. The
ideological influence of
Egyptian President
The president of Egypt is the executive head of state of Egypt and the de facto appointer of the official head of government under the Egyptian Constitution of 2014. Under the various iterations of the Constitution of Egypt following the Egyp ...
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-re ...
over the new Libyan government was immediately apparent. The administration was immediately
recognized by the Arab nationalist governments in Egypt, Iraq,
Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
and Syria with Egypt sending experts to aid
Libya's inexperienced government. Gaddafi propounded
Pan-Arab ideas, proclaiming the need for a single Arab state stretching across
North Africa and the
Middle East. In December 1969, Libya founded the Arab Revolutionary Front with Egypt and Sudan as a step towards political unification, and in 1970 Syria stated its intention to join.
After Nasser's death in September 1970, his successor,
Anwar Sadat, suggested that rather than a unified state, they create a political federation. It was implemented in April 1971 which enabled Egypt, Syria and Sudan to get large grants of Libyan oil money. In February 1972, Gaddafi and Sadat signed an unofficial charter of merger, but it was never implemented as relations broke down the following year. Sadat became increasingly wary of Libya's radical direction, and the September 1973 deadline for implementing the Federation passed by with no action taken. In October 1973 Egypt and Syria, without consulting Libya, launched a co-ordinated attack on Israel, initiating the
October war
The Yom Kippur War, also known as the Ramadan War, the October War, the 1973 Arab–Israeli War, or the Fourth Arab–Israeli War, was an armed conflict fought from October 6 to 25, 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab world, Arab state ...
. Sadat agreed to open negotiations with Israel, seeking the return of the
Sinai Peninsula to Egypt in exchange for a guarantee to not engage in further attacks on the country. Gaddafi was angered by the war's limited objectives and the ceasefire, and accused Sadat of cowardice, undermining the FAR, and betraying the Arab cause. Sadat responded by revealing he had intervened earlier that year to prevent Libya from sinking a civilian passenger ship carrying Jewish tourists in the
Mediterranean Sea. Thereafter Egyptian–Libyan relations were marked by frequent accusations against each country's leaders, and further discussions regarding the pursuit of unity were abandoned.
Referendums
Three simultaneous referendums on the Federation of Arab Republics were held on 1 September 1971, in Egypt, Libya and Syria. In the
Egyptian referendum the proposal was approved by 99.96% of voters, in the
Libyan referendum it was approved by 98.6% of voters, whilst in
Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
96.4% voted in favour.
Syrien, 1. September 1971 : Bildung der Vereinigten Arabischen Republik
Direct Democracy
Other Federations of Arab Republics
*Federation between Egypt, Libya and Sudan (1969/70–1971)
*Federation between Egypt, Libya and Syria (1971/72–1974/77)
*Union between Egypt and Libya within the Federation (1972–1973/74)
*Union between Egypt and Syria within the Federation (1976–1977)
*Federation between Egypt, Sudan and Syria (1977)
File:FAR 1970.png, FAR 1970, Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
intends to join the Egyptian-Libyan-Sudanese Federation
File:FAR 1971.png, FAR 1971, Sudan
Sudan ( or ; ar, السودان, as-Sūdān, officially the Republic of the Sudan ( ar, جمهورية السودان, link=no, Jumhūriyyat as-Sūdān), is a country in Northeast Africa. It shares borders with the Central African Republic t ...
is said to join later but keeps outside the Federation
File:FAR 1972.png, FAR 1972, Iraq is invited to join the Egyptian-Libyan-Syrian Federation
File:FAR 1973.png, FAR 1973, Egypt and Libya fail to form a Union within the Federation
File:FAR 1976.png, FAR 1976, Egypt and Syria intend to form a Union within the Federation
File:FAR 1977.png, FAR 1977, Sudan intends to join the Egypt-Syrian Federation
Symbols of member states
Flags
Flag of Egypt (1972-1984).svg, Egyptian flag used until 1984, 7 years after the dissolution
Flag of Libya (1972–1977).svg, Libyan flag used until 1977
Flag of Syria (1972–1980).svg, Syrian flag used until 1980, 3 years after the dissolution
Coats of arms
Coat of arms of Egypt (1972-1984).svg, Egyptian coat of arms used until 1984, 7 years after the dissolution
Coat of arms of Libya (1972–1977).svg, Libyan coat of arms used until 1977
Coat of arms of the Federation of Arab Republics (1972–1977).svg, Syrian coat of arms used until 1980, 3 years after the dissolution
Maps
LocationEgypt.svg, Location of Egypt
LocationLibya.svg, Location of Libya
LocationSyria.svg, Location of Syria
See also
* Union of Arab Republics, Iraqi counter-proposal to the Federation of Arab Republics
*Arab Federation
The Hashemite Arab Federation was a short-lived country that was formed in 1958 from the union between the Hashemite Kingdoms of Iraq and Jordan. Although the name implies a federal structure, it was ''de facto'' a confederation.
The Federation ...
, a confederation between Iraq and Jordan (1958)
*Arab Islamic Republic
The Arab Islamic Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية الإسلامية ') was a proposed unification of Tunisia and Libya in 1974, agreed upon by Libyan head of state Muammar Gaddafi
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, ...
, a proposed union of Libya and Tunisia (1972)
* United Arab Emirates, a union of seven Arab states (1971–present day)
* United Arab Republic, a union between Egypt and Syria
Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...
(1958–61)
* United Arab States, a confederation between the United Arab Republic and the Kingdom of Yemen
The Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen ( ar, المملكة المتوكلية اليمنية '), also known as the Kingdom of Yemen or simply as Yemen, or, retrospectively, as North Yemen, was a state that existed between 1918 and 1962 in the nor ...
(1958–61)
*Unified Political Command
A Unified Political Command ( ar, قيادة سياسية موحدة, ''qiyāda siyāsiyya muwaḥḥada''), also translated as ''Joint Political Command'' or ''Unified Political Leadership'', was agreed in 1964 between the presidents of Egypt and ...
, merger projects between Egypt and Iraq as well as between Egypt and North Yemen
References
Citations
Sources
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{{Authority control
1970s in Egypt
1970s in Libya
1970s in Syria
Arab League
Arab nationalism in Egypt
Arab nationalism in Libya
Arab nationalism in Sudan
Arab nationalism in Syria
Arab republics
Egypt–Libya relations
Egypt–Syria relations
Former Arab states
Former confederations
Libya–Syria relations
Libya–Sudan relations
Pan-Arabism
States and territories disestablished in 1977
States and territories established in 1972
1972 establishments in Asia
1972 establishments in Africa
1972 establishments in Egypt
1972 establishments in Libya
1972 establishments in Syria
1977 disestablishments in Africa
1977 disestablishments in Asia
1977 disestablishments in Egypt
1977 disestablishments in Libya
1977 disestablishments in Syria