Unified Political Command

From left to right: Nasser, Khrushchev, Arif and as-Sallal in Egypt (May 1964)

A Unified Political Command (Arabic 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 Iraq (Gamal Abdel Nasser and Abdul Salam Arif) as well as between the presidents of Egypt and North Yemen (Nasser and Abdullah as-Sallal). Both projects were parallel but not linked with each other. The Unified Political Command was meant as a kind of transitional government which should prepare the gradual merger of Iraq with Egypt and North Yemen with Egypt in a new United Arab Republic.

Egypt and Iraq

Nasser with the Iraqi Prime Minister al-Bazzaz (left): Still in February 1966 the Egyptian-Iraqi Unified Political Command declared its satisfaction about the merger progress in both republics

Therefore, on 26 May 1964 Nasser and Arif agreed to form a joint Presidential Council and a Unified Political Command on 16 October 1964. This Unified Command was established on 20 December 1964 and did include the prime ministers of Egypt and Iraq as well as the ministers of economical and financial affairs and social planning of both sides and should act as a joint supreme instrument and highest executive authority to establish the economical, political and military unification of Egypt and Iraq within two years. The Iraqi Abd ar-Razzaq Muhyi ad-Din (Abdel Razzaq Mohieddin) became General Secretary of the Unified Command. In July 1964 an Iraqi Arab Socialist Union was founded as political instrument to collect the support of the population and was formally united with the Egyptian Arab Socialist Union in September 1964. Also in September 1964 Egypt and Iraq agreed to unite their diplomatical corps and representations all over the world. In 1965 Iraq adopted the Egyptian coat of arms eagle and the Egyptian national anthem, declared Iraq as a democratic and socialist republic and announced a programme of nationalization. However, despite a few real meetings and sessions of this Unified Political Command the project stopped when the Nasserist prime minister of Iraq, Arif Abd ar-Razzaq, tried to overthrow president Arif in September 1965 and when Arif died in April 1966.

Egypt and Yemen

In July 1964 Nasser and Sallal agreed about the gradual merger of Egypt and Yemen towards a full union

Parallelly, but not linked with the Egyptian-Iraqi merger project also between Nasser and as-Sallal a Unified Political Command was established on 13 July 1964. A joint government council of the Egyptian and Yemeni ministers should coordinate and integrate the Foreign, Defense, Economical, Social, Cultural and Information policy towards full unity. A (short-living) Yemeni Arab Socialist Union (later renamed) was established already in 1964 and, in fact, Egyptian generals and officers took over the command of the republican forces in Yemen during the North Yemen Civil War. This civil war, however, prevented any progress and when Egypt withdraw its troops from Yemen after the Six-Day War as-Sallal was overthrown in November 1967 and also this project definitively ended.

Others

Similar Unified Political Commands and Joint Supreme Committees were planned and formed

Sources

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