On this day October 6 1981, Egyptian President Anwar Sadat was assassinated during a military parade in Cairo by members of an extremist group within the Egyptian Islamic Jihad. The shocking event occurred as Sadat was reviewing troops during celebrations marking the anniversary of the Yom Kippur War.
Sadat had become a controversial figure in the Middle East following his historic 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize but also angered many in the Arab world. His assassination was part of a larger extremist backlash against his policies of peace and modernization.
The attack left Sadat and several others dead, sending shockwaves through the region and the world. Vice President Hosni Mubarak, who was injured in the attack, later became president and continued Sadat’s policies of political control and cautious diplomacy.
80s insight: The assassination of Anwar Sadat was one of the most significant political events of the decade, reshaping Middle Eastern politics and highlighting the volatility of the region during the 1980s.
Sadat had become a controversial figure in the Middle East following his historic 1979 peace treaty with Israel, which earned him a Nobel Peace Prize but also angered many in the Arab world. His assassination was part of a larger extremist backlash against his policies of peace and modernization.
The attack left Sadat and several others dead, sending shockwaves through the region and the world. Vice President Hosni Mubarak, who was injured in the attack, later became president and continued Sadat’s policies of political control and cautious diplomacy.
80s insight: The assassination of Anwar Sadat was one of the most significant political events of the decade, reshaping Middle Eastern politics and highlighting the volatility of the region during the 1980s.
