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Egypt

2009-05-20T20:49:46Z

Lilafaro:

{{Country
|name =''جمهورية مصر العربية ''Gumhūriyyat Misr al-Arabiyyah'''
|map =Egypt rel97.jpg
|map2 =Location of Egypt.png
|flag =Flag of Egypt.png
|arms =Arms of Egypt.png
|capital =Cairo
|capital-raw =
|government =Semi-Presidential republic
|government-raw =
|language =Arabic
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Hosni Mubarak
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Ahmed Nazif
|pm-raw =
|area =386,660 sq mi
|pop =80,335,036 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$329.791 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$4,836 (2006)
|currency =Egyptian pound
|idd =
|tld =
}}

''This entry relates to the Republic of Egypt. For Pharaonic and Greco-Roman Egypt see [[Ancient Egypt]]''

'''Egypt''' is a country located in north-east [[Africa]], and is the site of one of the oldest recorded civilizations on earth.

==Name==
The name "Egypt" is derived from the [[Greek]] word ''Aígyptos'' (Αίγυπτος), which was possibly a corruption from the compound word ''Aegaeon uptiōs'' (''Aίγαίου υπτίως''), meaning "below the Aegean" (Strabo). Ancient Egyptians referred to their land as ''Kemet'' ("black land"), in reference to the black [[silt]] deposited by the annual [[Nile]] [[flood]]s.

"Misr" (مصر)is the modern [[Arabic]] name for Egypt, which is based upon the [[Hebrew]] word "Mizraim" (מִצְרַיִם); the ancient Hebrews referred to Egypt as the "land of Mizraim" after the founder of that country.

==Geography==
Egypt has four main regions: the Eastern and Western Deserts, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Nile Valley and Delta, where about 99 percent of population lives. Modest amounts of [[rain]]fall occur along the Mediterranean coast; rainfall throughout the remainder of the country is minimal to nonexistent.

==People==
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab-speaking world and the second-most populous on the African Continent. Nearly all of the country's 79 million people live in [[Cairo]] and [[Alexandria]]; elsewhere on the banks of the Nile; in the Nile delta, which fans out north of Cairo; and along the [[Suez Canal]]. These regions are among the world's most densely populated, containing an average of over 3,820 persons per square mile (1,540 per sq. km.), as compared to 181 persons per sq. mi. for the country as a whole.
[[Image:Egypt shop owner.jpg|left]]
Small communities spread throughout the [[desert]] regions of Egypt are clustered around oases and historic trade and transportation routes. The government has tried with mixed success to encourage migration to newly [[irrigation|irrigated]] land reclaimed from the desert. However, the proportion of the population living in rural areas has continued to decrease as people move to the cities in search of employment and a higher standard of living.

The Egyptians are a fairly homogeneous people of Hamitic origin. Mediterranean and Arab influences appear in the north, and there is some mixing in the south with the Nubians of northern [[Sudan]]. Ethnic minorities include a small number of [[Bedouin]] Arab nomads in the eastern and western deserts and in the [[Sinai]], as well as some 50,000-100,000 Nubians clustered along the Nile in Upper (southern) Egypt.

The literacy rate is about 58% of the adult population. Education is free through university and compulsory from ages six through 15. Rates for primary and secondary education have strengthened in recent years. Ninety-three percent of [[children]] enter [[primary school]] today, compared with 87% in 1994. Major universities include Cairo University (100,000 students), Alexandria University, and the 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar University, one of the world's major centers of Islamic learning.

Egypt's vast and rich [[literature]] constitutes an important cultural element in the life of the country and in the Arab-speaking world as a whole. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Egyptian literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Egyptian to win the [[Nobel prize]] for literature. Egyptian books and films are available throughout the Middle East.
*Population (July 2006 est.): 78,887,007.
*Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 1.75%.
*Ethnic groups: Egyptian, Bedouin Arab, Nubian.
*Religions: Muslim 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6%.
*Languages: Arabic (official), English, French.
*Education: Years compulsory--ages 6-15. Literacy--total adult: 58%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate (2006 est.)--31.33 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2006 est.): 71 years.

==Government and Political Conditions==
The Egyptian Constitution provides for a strong executive. Authority is vested in an elected president who can appoint one or more vice presidents, a prime minister, and a cabinet. The president's term runs for 6 years. Egypt's legislative body, the People's Assembly, has 454 members--444 popularly elected and 10 appointed by the president. The constitution reserves 50% of the assembly seats for "workers and peasants." The assembly sits for a 5-year term but can be dissolved earlier by the President. There also is a 264-member Shura (consultative) Council, in which 88 members are appointed and 174 elected for 6-year terms. Below the national level, authority is exercised by and through governors and mayors appointed by the central government and by popularly elected local councils.

Opposition party organizations make their views public and represent their followers at various levels in the political system, but power is concentrated in the hands of the President and the National Democratic Party majority in the People's Assembly and those institutions dominate the political system. In addition to the ruling National Democratic Party, there are 18 other legally recognized parties, whereas in 2004 there were only 16 other legally recognized parties.

The November 2000 elections were generally considered to have been more transparent and better executed than past elections, because of universal judicial monitoring of polling stations. On the other hand, opposition parties continue to lodge credible complaints about electoral manipulation by the government. There are significant restrictions on the political process and freedom of expression for non-governmental organizations, including professional syndicates and organizations promoting respect for human rights.

Progress was seen in the September 2005 presidential elections when parties were allowed to field candidates against President Mubarak and his National Democratic Party. In early 2005, President Mubarak proposed amending the constitution to allow, for the first time in Egypt's history, competitive, multi-candidate elections. An amendment was drafted by parliament and approved by public referendum in late May 2005. In September 2005, President Mubarak was reelected, according to official results, with 88% of the vote. His two principal challengers, Ayman Nour and No'man Gom'a, took 7% and 3% of the vote respectively.

Egypt's judicial system is based on European (primarily French) legal concepts and methods. Under the Mubarak government, the courts have demonstrated increasing independence, and the principles of due process and judicial review have gained greater respect. The legal code is derived largely from the Napoleonic Code. Marriage and personal status (family law) are primarily based on the religious law of the individual concerned, which for most Egyptians is Islamic Law (Sharia).

===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Mohamed Hosny Mubarak
*Prime Minister--Dr. Ahmed Nazif
*Minister of Foreign Affairs--Ahmed Aboul Gheit
*Ambassador to the United States--Ambassador Nabil Fahmy
*Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Ambassador Maged Abdel Fattah Abdelaziz

===Foreign Relations===
Geography, population, history, military strength, and diplomatic expertise give Egypt extensive political influence in the Middle East and within the Non-Aligned Movement as a whole. Cairo has been a crossroads of Arab commerce and culture for millennia, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development.

The Arab League headquarters is in Cairo, and the Secretary General of the League is traditionally an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa is the present Secretary General of the Arab League. President Mubarak has often chaired the African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity). Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996.

Egypt is a key partner in the search for peace in the Middle East and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sadat's groundbreaking trip to Israel in 1977, the 1978 Camp David Accords, and the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty represented a fundamental shift in the politics of the region--from a strategy of confrontation to one of peace as a strategic choice. Egypt was subsequently ostracized by other Arab states and ejected from the Arab League from 1979 to 1989. Egypt played an important role in the negotiations leading to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991, which, under U.S. and Russian sponsorship, brought together all parties in the region to discuss Middle East peace. This support has continued to the present, with President Mubarak often intervening personally to promote peace negotiations. In 1996, he hosted the Sharm El-Sheikh "Summit of the Peacemakers" attended by President Clinton and other world leaders. In 2000, he hosted two summits at Sharm El-Sheikh and one at Taba in an effort to resume the Camp David negotiations suspended in July of 2000, and in June 2003, Mubarak hosted President Bush for another summit on the Middle East peace process. Throughout mid-2004, Egypt worked closely with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to facilitate stability following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, which occurred in August and September of 2005. Prior to this Egypt and Israel reached an agreement that allowed Egypt to deploy additional forces along the Philadelphi Corridor in an attempt to control the border and prevent the smuggling of weapons.

Egypt played a key role during the 1990-91 Gulf crisis. President Mubarak helped assemble the international coalition and deployed 35,000 Egyptian troops against Iraq to liberate Kuwait. The Egyptian contingent was the third-largest in the coalition forces, after the U.S. and U.K. In the aftermath of the Gulf war, Egypt signed the Damascus declaration with Syria and the Gulf states to strengthen Gulf security. Egypt continues to contribute regularly to UN peacekeeping missions, most recently in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In August 2004, Egypt was actively engaged in seeking a solution to the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, including the dispatch of military monitors. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Egypt, which has itself been the target of terrorist attacks, has been a key supporter of the U.S. war against terrorists and terrorist organizations such as Osama bin Ladin and al-Qaeda, and actively supported the Iraqi Governing Council, as well as the subsequent government of Prime Minister Allawi. In July 2005, terrorists attacked the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh. In the same month, Egypt's envoy to Iraq was assassinated.

==Defense==
Egypt's armed forces, among the largest in the region, include the army, air defense, air force, and navy. The armed forces inventory includes equipment from the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and China. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern American, French, and British equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt. To bolster stability and moderation in the region, Egypt has provided military assistance and training to a number of African and Arab states. Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner of the United States.

==Economy==
With the installation of the 2004 Egyptian parliament, the Government of Egypt began a new reform movement, following a stalled economic reform program begun in 1991, but moribund since the mid-1990s. In the past year, the cabinet economic team has simplified and reduced tariffs and taxes, improved the transparency of the national budget, revived stalled privatizations of public enterprises and implemented economic legislation designed to foster private sector-driven economic growth and improve Egypt's competitiveness. Despite these achievements, the economy is still hampered by government intervention, substantial subsidies for food, housing, and energy, and bloated public sector payrolls. Moreover, the public sector still controls most heavy industry.

In sectoral terms, agriculture is mainly in private hands, and has been largely deregulated, with the exception of cotton and sugar production. Construction, non-financial services, and domestic marketing are also largely private. The Egyptian economy, however, relies heavily on tourism, oil and gas exports, and Suez Canal revenues, much of which is controlled by the public sector and is also vulnerable to outside factors. The tourism sector suffered tremendously following a terrorist attack in Luxor in October 1997. The tourism sector feared a repeat of the downturn in tourist numbers when terrorists attacked resorts in the Sinai Peninsula in 2004 and 2005. So far, however, the sector has not suffered as greatly as expected.

The U.S. has a large assistance program in Egypt and provides funding for a variety of programs in addition to some cash transfers. A portion of U.S. assistance to Egypt under the 2003 Iraq war supplemental appropriations was provided in the form of bond guarantees, which were contingent upon Egyptian compliance with a series of economic conditions. Egypt met the conditions and in September 2005 issued $1.25 billion in 10-year bonds that were fully guaranteed by the United States. To support the Middle East peace process through regional economic integration, the United States permits products to be imported from Egypt without tariffs if they have been produced in Qualified Industrial Zones and 11.7% of the inputs of these products originate from Israel.
*GDP (2005 est.): $303 billion.
*Annual growth rate (2005 est.): 4.8%.
*Per capita GDP (2005 est.): $4,282.
*Natural resources: Petroleum and natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc.
*Agriculture: Products--cotton, rice, onions, beans, citrus fruits, wheat, corn, barley, sugar.
*Industry: Types--food processing, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals, construction, light manufacturing, iron and steel products, aluminum, cement, military equipment.
*Trade (FY 2005): Exports--$14.3 billion: petroleum, clothing and textiles, cotton, fruits and vegetables, manufactured goods. *Major markets--EU, U.S., Middle East, Japan. Imports--$24.1 billion: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, livestock, food and beverages, paper and wood products, chemicals. Major suppliers--EU, U.S., Japan.

===Agriculture===
Approximately one-third of Egyptian labor is engaged directly in farming, and many others work in the processing or trading of agricultural products. Nearly all of Egypt’s agricultural production takes place in some 2.5 million hectares (6 million acres) of fertile soil in the Nile Valley and Delta. Some desert lands are being developed for agriculture, including the ambitious Toshka project in Upper Egypt, but some other fertile lands in the Nile Valley and Delta are being lost to urbanization and erosion.

Warm weather and plentiful water permit several crops a year. Further improvement is possible, but land is worked intensively and yields are high. Cotton, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, sugar beets, onions, and beans are the principal crops. Increasingly, a few modern operations are producing fruits, vegetables and flowers, in addition to cotton, for export. While the desert hosts some large, modern farms, more common traditional farms occupy one acre each, typically in a canal-irrigated area along the banks of the Nile. Many small farmers also have cows, water buffaloes, and chicken, although larger modern farms are becoming more important.

The United States is a major supplier of wheat, corn, and soybean products to Egypt, almost all through commercial sales. Egypt is, in fact, traditionally the U.S.'s largest market for wheat sales. U.S. agricultural sales to Egypt average $1 billion annually. U.S. food assistance programs to Egypt ended in 1992 as Egypt became more prosperous. Egypt continues to receive modest food assistance through the World Food Program and from France.

"Egypt," wrote the Greek historian Herodotus 25 centuries ago, "is the gift of the Nile." The land's seemingly inexhaustible resources of water and soil carried by this mighty river created in the Nile Valley and Delta the world's most extensive [[oasis]]. Without the Nile, Egypt would be little more than a desert wasteland.

The river carves a narrow, cultivated floodplain, never more than 20 kilometers wide, as it travels northward toward Cairo from Lake Nasser on the Sudanese border, behind the Aswan High Dam. Just north of Cairo, the Nile spreads out over what was once a broad estuary that has been filled by riverine deposits to form a fertile delta about 250 kilometers wide (150 mi.) at the seaward base and about 160 kilometers (96 mi.) from south to north.

Before the construction of dams on the Nile, particularly the Aswan High Dam (started in 1952, completed in 1970), the fertility of the Nile Valley was sustained by the water flow and the silt deposited by the annual flood. Sediment is now obstructed by the Aswan High Dam and retained in Lake Nasser. The interruption of yearly, natural fertilization and the increasing salinity of the soil has been a manageable problem resulting from the dam. The benefits remain impressive: more intensive farming on millions of acres of land made possible by improved irrigation, prevention of flood damage, and the generation of billions of low-cost kilowatt hours of electricity.

The Western Desert accounts for about two-thirds of the country's land area. For the most part, it is a massive sandy plateau marked by seven major depressions. One of these, Fayoum, was connected about 3,600 years ago to the Nile by canals. Today, it is an important irrigated agricultural area.

===Natural Resources===
[[Image:Woman bread egypt.jpg|290px|right]]
In addition to the agricultural capacity of the Nile Valley and Delta, Egypt's natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, and iron ore. Crude oil is found primarily in the Gulf of Suez and in the Western Desert. Natural gas is found mainly in the Nile Delta, off the Mediterranean seashore, and in the Western Desert. Oil and gas accounts for approximately 12% of GDP. Export of petroleum and related products (including bunker and aviation sales) amounted to $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2003-04.

Crude oil production has been in decline for several years, from a high of more than 920,000 barrels per day (BPD) in 1995 to less than 662,000 BPD as of April 2006. To minimize the growing domestic demand of petroleum products, currently estimated at 25 million metric tons per year, Egypt is encouraging the production of natural gas. Over a 5-year period, production of natural gas increased by approximately 75% to reach about 3.3 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) by the end of FY 2003/04. Currently, gas accounts for almost 50% of all hydrocarbon usage in Egypt.

Over the last 22 years, more than 230 oil and gas exploration agreements have been signed and multinational oil companies spent more than $27 billion in exploration companions. As of September 2003, crude oil reserves were estimated at 2.8 billion barrels, and proven natural gas reserves were estimated at 62 trillion cubic feet (TCF) with probable additional reserves totaling another 40-60 TCF. Texas-based Apache Oil Company is the largest American investor in Egypt, with a total investment of more than $2.8 billion since 1996.

Egypt's excess of natural gas will more than meet its domestic demand for many years to come. The Ministry of Petroleum has determined that expanding the Egyptian petrochemical industry and increasing exports of natural gas as its most significant strategic objectives. As of September 2005, three liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains had been in operation. The first is in Damietta on the eastern side of the Delta and started exporting in early 2005. It is headed by the Spanish electric utility, Union Fenosa. The second LNG project is located at Idku on the western side of the Delta and started exporting in 2005. The first train started in April 2005, and the second in September. British Gas (BG) Group and the Malaysian state oil company Petronas are the major investors. Another project that will utilize gas for export and domestic consumption is the Mediterranean Gas Complex in Port Said where the Italian company AGIP and BP are the main shareholders. This facility will have a total cost of about $315 million and went on line in late 2004.

Egypt and Jordan established the Eastern Gas Company to export natural gas to Jordan, and then later to Syria and Lebanon. In summer 2003 Egypt began exporting gas to Jordan via a new pipeline from El Arish on Egypt’s north Sinai cost to Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba, and then underwater to the Jordanian city of Aqaba. Gas exports to Jordan generated gross revenues of approximately $60 million in 2003/04 and are currently reaching $85-100 million.

===Transport and Communication===
Transportation facilities in Egypt are centered in Cairo and largely follow the pattern of settlement along the Nile. The main line of the nation's 4,800-kilometer (2,800-mi.) railway network runs from Alexandria to Aswan. The well-maintained road network has expanded rapidly to over 21,000 miles, covering the Nile Valley and Delta, Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, the Sinai, and the Western oases.

Egypt Air provides reliable domestic air service to major tourist destinations from its Cairo hub, in addition to overseas routes. The Nile River system (about 1,600 km. or 1,000 mi.) and the principal canals (1,600 km.) are important locally for transportation. The Suez Canal is a major waterway of international commerce and navigation, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Major ports are Alexandria, Port Said, and Damietta on the Mediterranean, and Suez and Safraga on the Red Sea.

Egypt has long been the cultural and informational center of the Arab-speaking world, and Cairo is the region's largest publishing and broadcasting center. There are eight daily newspapers with a total circulation of more than 2 million, and a number of monthly newspapers, magazines, and journals. The majority of political parties have their own newspapers, and these papers conduct a lively, often highly partisan, debate on public issues.

Egyptian ground-broadcast television (ETV) is government controlled and depends heavily on commercial revenue. ETV sells its specially produced programs and soap operas to the Arab-speaking world. In addition to Egyptian programming, the Middle East Broadcast Company, a Saudi television station transmitting from London (MBC), Arab Radio and Television (ART), Al-Jazeera television, and other Gulf stations as well as Western networks such as CNN and BBC, provide access to more international programs to Egyptians who own satellite receivers.

ETV has two main channels, six regional channels, and three satellite channels. Of the two main channels, Channel I uses mainly Arabic, while Channel II is dedicated to foreigners and more cultured viewers, broadcasting news in English and French as well as Arabic.

Egyptian Satellite channels broadcast to the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. East Coast. In April 1998, Egypt launched its own satellite known as NileSat 101. Seven specialized channels cover news, culture, sports, education, entertainment, health, and drama. A second, digital satellite, Nilesat 102, was launched in August 2000. Many of its channels are rented to other stations.

Three new private satellite-based TV stations were launched in November 2001, marking a great change in Egyptian government policy. Dream TV 1 and 2 produce cultural programming, broadcast contemporary video clips and films featuring Egyptian and international actors, as well as soap operas; another private station focuses on business and general news. Both private channels transmit on NileSat.

Radio in Egypt almost all government controlled, using 44 short-wave frequencies, 18 medium-wave stations, and four FM stations. There are seven regional radio stations covering the country. Egyptian Radio transmits 60 hours daily overseas in 33 languages and three hundred hours daily within Egypt. In 2000, Radio Cairo introduced new specialized (thematic) channels on its FM station. So far, they include news, music, and sports. Radio enjoys more freedom than TV in its news programs, talk shows and analysis.

==History==

''Also see: [[Ancient Egypt]]''

Egypt has endured as a unified state for more than 5,000 years, and archaeological evidence indicates that a developed Egyptian society has existed for much longer. Egyptians take pride in their "pharaonic heritage" and in their descent from what they consider mankind's earliest civilization. The Arabic word for Egypt is Misr, which originally connoted "civilization" or "metropolis."
[[Image:5457e.jpg|right|thumb|300px|View of the Sphinx with Khafra Pyramid in background ''(Photograph taken by [http://www.ianandwendy.com Ian Sewell])'']]
Archaeological findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the dynastic history of the pharaohs began. Based on these time estimates, organized agriculture appeared by 6000 B.C.

In about 3100 B.C., Egypt was united under a ruler known as Mena, or [[Menes]], who inaugurated the 30 pharaonic dynasties into which Egypt's ancient history is divided--the Old and the Middle Kingdoms and the New Empire. The [[pyramid]]s at [[Giza]] (near Cairo), which were built in the fourth dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and state. The Great Pyramid, the tomb of Pharaoh [[Khufu]] (also known as Cheops), is the only surviving monument of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. Ancient Egypt reached the peak of its power, wealth, and territorial extent in the period called the New Empire (1567-1085 B.C.).

===Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab Conquerors===
In 525 B., [[Cambyses]], the son of [[Cyrus the Great]], led a [[Persian]] invasion force that dethroned the last pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. The country remained a Persian province until conquered by [[Alexander the Great]] in 322 BC, ushering in [[Ptolemeic]] rule Egypt that lasted for nearly 300 years. [[Cleopatra]] was the last ruler of that dynasty, but when she committed suicide after losing to Rome when her lover [[Marc Antony]] was defeated by [[Octavian]] in the [[Battle of Actium]], Egypt became a part of the [[Roman Empire]].

Egypt was invaded and conquered by Arab forces under [[Islam]] in 642. A process of Arabization and Islamization ensued. Although a [[Coptic Christian]] minority remained--and remains today, constituting about 10% of the population--the Arab language inexorably supplanted the indigenous Coptic tongue. For the next 1,300 years, a succession of Arab, [[Mameluke]], and Ottoman [[caliph]]s, beys, and [[sultan]]s ruled the country.

Like most of the middle east, the current population in modern Egypt is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people, the Nubians and the [[Copts]] are considered to be the real natives to Egypt.

===European Influence===
The [[Ottoman Turks]] controlled Egypt from 1517 until 1882, except for a brief period of [[French]] rule under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. In 1805, [[Mohammed Ali (Egypt)|Mohammed Ali]], commander of an Albanian contingent of Ottoman troops, was appointed [[Pasha]], founding the dynasty that ruled Egypt, at least in name, until his great-great grandson, [[Farouk I]], was overthrown in 1952. Mohammed Ali the Great ruled Egypt until 1848, writing the first chapter in the modern history of Egypt. The growth of modern urban [[Cairo]] began in the reign of [[Ismail]] (1863-79). Eager to Westernize the capital, he ordered the construction of a European-style city to the west of the medieval core. The [[Suez Canal]] was completed in his reign in 1869, and its completion was celebrated by many events, including the commissioning of Verdi's "Aida" for the new opera house and the building of great palaces such as the Omar Khayyam (originally constructed to entertain the French Empress Eugenie, which is now the central section of the Cairo Marriott Hotel).

In 1882, British expeditionary forces crushed a revolt against the Ottoman rulers, marking the beginning of British occupation and the virtual inclusion of Egypt within the [[British Empire]]. In deference to growing nationalism, the U.K. unilaterally declared Egyptian independence in 1922. British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypt's political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms.

In the pre-1952 revolution period, three political forces competed with one another: the Wafd, a broadly based nationalist political organization strongly opposed to British influence; [[King Fuad]], whom the British had installed during [[World War II]]; and the British themselves, who were determined to maintain control over the Canal. Other political forces emerging in this period included the communist party (1925) and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] (1928), which eventually became a potent political and religious force.

During [[World War II]], British troops used Egypt as a base for Allied operations throughout the region. British troops were withdrawn to the [[Suez Canal]] area in 1947, but nationalist, anti-British feelings continued to grow after the war. On July 22-23, 1952, a group of disaffected army officers (the "free officers") led by Lt. Col. [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] overthrew King Farouk, whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in the 1948 war with [[Israel]]. Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, they abrogated the 1923 constitution and declared Egypt a republic on June 19, 1953. Nasser evolved into a charismatic leader, not only of Egypt, but the [[Arab world]], promoting and implementing "Arab socialism." He nationalized Egypt’s economy.

Nasser helped establish the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] of developing countries in September 1961, and continued to be a leading force in the movement until his death in 1970. When the United States held up military sales in reaction to Egyptian neutrality vis-à-vis [[Soviet Union|Moscow]], Nasser concluded an arms deal with [[Czechoslovakia]] in September 1955.

When the U.S. and the [[World Bank]] withdrew their offer to help finance the [[Aswan High Dam]] in mid-1956, Nasser nationalized the privately owned Suez Canal Company. The crisis that followed, exacerbated by growing tensions with Israel over [[guerrilla]] attacks from Gaza and Israeli reprisals, resulted in the invasion of Egypt that October by [[France]], [[Britain]], and Israel. Israel occupied the [[Sinai Peninsula]] while the canal was in the hands of the France and Britain, but all withdrew under U.S. pressure.

Nasser's domestic policies were arbitrary and frequently oppressive, yet generally popular. All opposition was stamped out, and opponents of the regime frequently were imprisoned without trial. Nasser's foreign and military policies helped provoke the [[Six-Day War|Israeli attack of June 1967]] that virtually destroyed Egypt's armed forces along with those of [[Jordan]] and [[Syria]]. Israel wrested and occupied the Sinai Peninsula and the [[Gaza Strip]] from Egypt. Personally, Nasser never recovered from that loss. Nasser, nonetheless, was revered by the masses in Egypt and in the Arab world until his death in 1970.

After Nasser's death, another of the original "free officers," Vice President [[Anwar el-Sadat]], was elected President. In 1971, Sadat concluded a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union, but a year later, ordered Soviet advisers to leave. In October 1973, he launched the [[Yom Kippur War]] with Israel, in which Egypt's armed forces achieved unexpected initial successes but were defeated in Israeli counterattacks.

===Camp David and the Peace Process===
In a momentous change from the Nasser era, President Sadat shifted Egypt from a policy of confrontation with Israel to one of peaceful accommodation through negotiations. Following the Sinai Disengagement Agreements of 1974 and 1975, Sadat created a fresh opening for progress by his dramatic visit to [[Jerusalem]] in November 1977, the first Egyptian head of state to do so. This led to President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s invitation to President Sadat and [[Prime Minister Begin]] to join him in trilateral negotiations at [[Camp David]].

The outcome was the historic [[Camp David Accords|Camp David accords]], signed by Egypt and Israel and witnessed by the U.S. on September 17, 1978. The accords led to the March 26, 1979, signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, by which Egypt regained control of the Sinai in May 1982 and guaranteed continuous U.S. economic aid. Throughout this period, U.S.-Egyptian relations steadily improved, but Sadat's willingness to break ranks by making peace with Israel earned him the enmity of most Arab states.

===Domestic Change===
[[Image:MuslimWomanEgypt.jpg|thumb|Muslim Woman]]
Sadat introduced greater political freedom and a new economic policy, the most important aspect of which was the infitah or "open door." This relaxed government controls over the economy and encouraged private, including foreign, investment. Sadat dismantled much of the existing political machine and brought to trial a number of former government officials accused of criminal excesses during the Nasser era.

Liberalization also included the reinstitution of due process and the legal banning of torture. Sadat tried to expand participation in the political process in the mid-1970s but later abandoned this effort. In the last years of his life, Egypt was racked by violence arising from discontent with Sadat's rule and sectarian tensions from radical Islam, and it experienced a renewed measure of repression.

===From Sadat to Mubarak===
On October 6, 1981, Islamic extremists assassinated President Sadat. [[Hosni Mubarak]], Vice President since 1975 and air force commander during the October 1973 war, was elected President later that month. He was subsequently confirmed by popular referendum for four more 6-year terms, most recently in September 2005. Mubarak has maintained Egypt's commitment to the Camp David peace process, while at the same time re-establishing Egypt's position as a leader in the Arab-speaking world. Egypt was readmitted to the [[Arab League]] in 1989. Egypt also has played a moderating role in such international fora as the [[UN]] and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Since 1991, Mubarak has overseen a domestic economic reform program to reduce the size of the public sector and expand the role of the private sector. There has been less progress in political reform. The November 2000 People's Assembly elections saw 34 members of the opposition win seats in the 454-seat assembly, facing a clear majority of 388 ultimately affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Opposition parties continue to face various difficulties in mounting credible electoral challenges to the NDP. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, remains an illegal organization and is not recognized as a political party (current Egyptian law prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion). Members are known publicly and openly speak their views, although they do not explicitly identify themselves as members of the organization. Members of the Brotherhood have been elected to the People's Assembly and local councils as independents, and most recently scored a major victory in 2005 parliamentary elections, winning 20% of the seats, thus forming the largest opposition group.

== See also ==
*[[Egyptian chronology]]
*[[Medicine in Egypt]]
*[[Aton]]
*[[Battle of Actium]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html Ancient Egypt] The Trustees of the British Museum.
*[http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Default.htm Egypt] Egypt State Information Service.

==References and Footnotes==

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}

Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm]

[[Category:Egypt]]
[[Category:African Countries]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:Egypt]]
[[Category:African History]]

Algeria

2009-05-20T20:48:02Z

Lilafaro:

{{Country
|name =ا''لجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية'' ''Al-Jumhūrīyah al-Jazā’irīyah ad-Dīmuqrāīyah ash-Sha’bīyah''
|map =Algeria rel01.jpg
|flag =Flag of Algeria.png
|arms =Arms of Algeria.png
|capital =Algiers
|capital-raw =
|government =Semi-presidential republic
|government-raw =
|language =Arabic
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Abdelaziz Bouteflika
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Abdelaziz Belkhadem
|pm-raw =
|area =919,595 sq mi
|pop =33,333,216 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$253.4 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$7,700
|currency =Algerian dinar
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''People's Democratic Republic of Algeria''' is [[Muslim]] nation in North [[Africa]], and the second-largest nation on the continent.

==Geography==
Algeria, the second-largest state in Africa, has a Mediterranean coastline of about 998 kilometers (620 mi.). The Tellian and Saharan Atlas mountain ranges cross the country from east to west, dividing it into three zones. Between the northern zone, Tellian Atlas, and the Mediterranean is a narrow, fertile coastal plain--the Tell (Arabic for hill)--with a moderate climate year round and rainfall adequate for agriculture. A high plateau region, averaging 914 meters (3,000 ft.) above sea level, with limited rainfall, great rocky plains, and desert, lies between the two mountain ranges. It is generally barren except for scattered clumps of trees and intermittent bush and pastureland. The third and largest zone, south of the Saharan Atlas mountain range, is mostly desert. About 80% of the country is desert, steppes, wasteland, and mountains. Algeria's weather varies considerably from season to season and from one geographical location to another. In the north, the summers are usually hot with little rainfall. Winter rains begin in the north in October. Frost and snow are rare, except on the highest slopes of the Tellian Atlas Mountains. Dust and sandstorms occur most frequently between February and May.

Soil erosion--from overgrazing, other poor farming practices, and desertification--and the dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents are leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters. The Mediterranean Sea, in particular, is becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff. There are inadequate supplies of potable water.

==People==
Ninety-one percent of the Algerian population lives along the Mediterranean coast on 12% of the country's total land mass. Forty-five percent of the population is urban, and urbanization continues, despite government efforts to discourage migration to the cities. About 1.5 million nomads and semi-settled Bedouin still live in the Saharan area.

Nearly all Algerians are Muslim, of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Official data on the number of non-Muslim residents is not available; however, practitioners report it to be less than 5,000. Most of the non-Muslim community is comprised of Methodist, Roman Catholic and Evangelical faiths; the Jewish community is virtually non-existent. There are about 1,100 American citizens in the country, the majority of whom live and work in the oil/gas fields in the south.

Algeria's educational system has grown dramatically since the country gained its independence. In the last 12 years, attendance has doubled to more than 5 million students. Education is free and compulsory to age 16. Despite government allocation of substantial educational resources, population pressures and a serious shortage of teachers have severely strained the system. Modest numbers of Algerian students study abroad, primarily in Europe and Canada. In 2000, the government launched a major review of the country's educational system and in 2004 efforts to reform the educational system began.

Housing and medicine continue to be pressing problems in Algeria. Failing infrastructure and the continued influx of people from rural to urban areas have overtaxed both systems. According to the United Nations Development Program, Algeria has one of the world's highest per housing unit occupancy rates, and government officials have publicly stated that the country has an immediate shortfall of 1.5 million housing units.

Like most of the middle east, the current population in modern Algeria is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people, the [[Berbers]] are considered to be the real natives to north [[Africa]].

==Government==
Under the 1976 Constitution (as modified 1979, and amended in 1988, 1989, and 1996) Algeria is a multi-party state. The Ministry of the Interior must approve all political parties. According to the Constitution, no political association may be formed "based on differences in religion, language, race gender or region." Algeria has universal suffrage at the age of 18.

The head of state is the president of the republic. The president, elected to a five-year term, and constitutionally limited to two terms, is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the prime minister as well as one-third of the upper house (the Council of the Nation). The prime minister presides over the Council of Ministers and serves as head of the government.

The Algerian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 380 members and an upper chamber, the Council of the Nation, with 144 members. The APN is elected every five years. Legislative elections were held in May 2007. Two-thirds of the Council of the Nation is elected by regional and municipal authorities; the rest are appointed by the president. The Council of the Nation serves a six-year term with one-half of the seats up for election or reappointment every three years. Either the president or one of the parliamentary chambers may initiate legislation. Legislation must be brought before both chambers before it becomes law. Sessions of the APN are televised.

Algeria is divided into 48 wilayates (states or provinces) headed by walis (governors) who report to the Minister of Interior. Each wilaya is further divided into communes. The wilayates and communes are each governed by an elected assembly.

===Principal Government Officials===
*President and Minister of National Defense--Abdelaziz Bouteflika
*Head of Government (Prime Minister)--Abdelaziz Belkhadem
*Minister of State for the Interior and Local Communities--Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni
*Minister of State for Foreign Affairs--Mourad Medelci
*Minister of State--Soltani Boudjerra
*Minister Delegate in Charge of National Defense--Abdelmalek Guenaizia

===Political Conditions===
Terrorist violence in Algeria resulted in more than 100,000 deaths during the 1990s. Although the security situation in the country has improved, addressing the underlying issues that brought about the political turmoil of the 1990s remains the government's major task. President Bouteflika implemented the Charter on Peace and National Reconciliation on March 1, 2006, as one way to bring closure. Thus far, it has successfully gained the surrender of a number of moderate Islamists, but paradoxically, has emboldened the more hard-core elements, in particular the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which changed its name in January 2007 to Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

In keeping with its amended Constitution, the Algerian Government espouses participatory democracy and free-market competition. The government has stated that it will continue to open the political process and encourage the creation of political institutions. Presidential elections took place in April 2004 and returned President Bouteflika to office with 84.99% of the vote. The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2009.

Algeria has more than 45 daily newspapers published in French and Arabic, with a total circulation of more than 1.5 million copies. There are 20 domestically printed weekly publications with total circulation of 622,000 and 11 monthly publications with total circulation of 600,000. In 2001, the government amended the Penal Code provisions relating to defamation and slander, a step widely viewed as an effort to rein in the press. While the Algerian press is relatively free to write as they choose, use of the defamation laws significantly increased the level of press harassment following President Bouteflika's April 2004 re-election victory, and as a result, the press began to self-censor. In July 2006, President Bouteflika pardoned all journalists convicted of defaming or insulting state institutions. The pardon effectively dismissed the charges against 67 people. Critics point out that according to the criminal code, insulting the president is punishable by prison sentence. Nevertheless, the pardon was widely seen as a significant step toward democracy. The government holds a monopoly over broadcast media; Algerian newspapers are widely seen to be the freest in the region.

Population growth and associated problems--unemployment and underemployment, inability of social services to keep pace with rapid urban migration, inadequate industrial management and productivity, a decaying infrastructure--continue to affect Algerian society. Increases in the production and prices of oil and gas over the past decade have led to exchange reserves reaching $80 billion. The government began an economic reform program in 1994, focusing on macroeconomic stability and structural reform. These reforms aimed at liberalizing the economy, making Algeria competitive in the global market, and meeting the needs of the Algerian people. In 2004, the government announced a $55 billion spending program to improve national infrastructure and social services; subsequent announcements have increased the proposed program to $120 billion.

===Foreign Relations===
Algeria has traditionally practiced an activist foreign policy and in the 1960s and 1970s was noted for its support of Third World policies and independence movements. Algerian diplomacy was instrumental in obtaining the release of U.S. hostages from Iran in 1980. Since his first election in 1999, President Bouteflika worked to restore Algeria's international reputation, traveling extensively throughout the world. In July 2001, he became the first Algerian President to visit the White House in 16 years. He has made official visits to France, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, Japan, Portugal, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Latin American countries, among others, since his inauguration.

Algeria has taken the lead in working on issues related to the African continent. Host of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Conference in 2000, Algeria also was key in bringing Ethiopia and Eritrea to the peace table in 2000. In 2001, the 37th summit of the OAU formally adopted the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to address the challenges facing the continent. Algeria has taken a lead in reviving the Union of the Arab Maghreb with its neighbors.

Since 1976, Algeria has supported the Polisario Front, which claims to represent the population of Western Sahara. Contending that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination under the UN Charter, Algeria has provided the Polisario with support and sanctuary in refugee camps in the southwestern Algerian province of Tindouf. UN involvement in the Western Sahara includes MINURSO, a peacekeeping force, UNHCR, which handles refugee assistance and resettlement, and the World Food Program (WFP). Active diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary General are ongoing.

Algeria's support of self-determination for the Polisario is in opposition to Morocco's claim of sovereignty. The dispute remains a major obstacle to bilateral and regional cooperation. Although the land border between Morocco and Algeria was closed in the wake of a terrorist attack in 1994, the two have worked at improving relations, and in July 2004, Morocco lifted visa requirements for Algerians. Algeria reciprocated with the lifting of visa requirements for Moroccans on April 2, 2005. Algeria has friendly relations with its other neighbors in the Mahgreb, Tunisia and Libya, and with its sub-Saharan neighbors, Mali and Niger. It closely monitors developments in the Middle East and has been a strong proponent of the rights of the Palestinian people, as well as a supporter of Iraq's democratic transition.

Algeria has diplomatic relations with more than 100 foreign countries, and over 90 countries maintain diplomatic representation in Algiers. Algeria held a nonpermanent, rotating seat on the UN Security Council from January 2004 to December 2005. Algeria hosted 13 Arab leaders at the Arab League Summit, March 22-23, 2005.

==Defense==
Algeria's armed forces, known collectively as the Popular National Army (ANP), total 138,000 active members, with some 100,000 reservists. The president serves as Minister of National Defense. Military forces are supplemented by a 60,000-member national gendarmerie, a rural police force, under the control of the president and a 30,000-member Sureté Nationale or Metropolitan Police force under the Ministry of the Interior. Eighteen months of national military service is compulsory for men.

Algeria is a leading military power in the region and has demonstrated remarkable success in its struggle against terrorism. The Algerian military, having fought a decade-long insurgency, has increased expenditures in an effort to modernize and return to a more traditional defense role.

Due to historical difficulties in acquiring U.S. military equipment, Algeria's primary military supplier has traditionally been Russia, and to a lesser extent China; Algeria recently made large purchases of advanced weaponry from the former. Algeria has, however, in recent years, begun to diversify its supplies of military equipment to include U.S.-made airborne surveillance aircraft and ground radars.

==Economy==
The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the Algerian economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, nearly 30% of GDP, and over 97% of export earnings. Algeria has the ninth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world (2.7% of proven world total) and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th for oil reserves (2006). Its key oil and gas customers are Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. U.S. companies have played a major role in developing Algeria's oil and gas sector; of the $5.3 billion (on a historical-cost basis, according to statistics gathered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis) of U.S. investment in Algeria, the vast bulk is in the petroleum sector.

Faced with declining oil revenues and high-debt interest payments at the beginning of the 1990s, Algeria implemented a stringent macroeconomic stabilization program and rescheduled its $7.9 billion Paris Club debt in the mid-1990s. The macroeconomic program has been particularly successful at narrowing the budget deficit and at reducing inflation from of near-30% averages in the mid 1990s to almost single digits in 2000. Inflation was at 3.6% in 2004. Algeria's economy has grown by more than 5% in each of the past five years, posting 5.6% growth in 2006. The country's foreign debt fell from a high of $28 billion in 1999 to $5 billion in 2006; in that year Algeria paid off the last of its Paris Club debt. The spike in oil prices in 1999-2000 and 2004, the government's tight fiscal policy and conservative budgeting of oil prices from 2000 to present, a large increase in the trade surplus, and the near tripling of foreign exchange reserves have helped the country's finances.

The government pledges to continue its efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector. The Algerian Government has had little success at reducing high unemployment, officially estimated at 13% in 2006, though international estimates put the figure higher, and at improving living standards.

Priority areas are banking and judicial reform, improving the investment environment, partial or complete privatization of state enterprises, and reducing government bureaucracy. The government has privatized certain sectors of the economy and embraced joint venture investment opportunities with traditionally state owned and operated entities. In 2001, Algeria concluded an Association Agreement with the European Union, which was ratified in 2005 by both Algeria and the EU and took effect in September of that same year. The government is working toward accession to the World Trade Organization.

==History==
Since the 5th century B.C., the native peoples of northern Africa (first identified by the Greeks as "Berbers") were pushed back from the coast by successive waves of Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Arab, Turkish, and, finally, French invaders. The greatest cultural impact came from the Arab invasions of the 8th and 11th centuries A.D., which brought Islam and the Arabic language. The effects of the most recent (French) occupation--French language and European-inspired socialism--are still pervasive.

North African boundaries have shifted during various stages of the conquests. Algeria's modern borders were created by the French, whose colonization began in 1830. To benefit French colonists, most of whom were farmers and businessmen, northern Algeria was eventually organized into overseas departments of France, with representatives in the French National Assembly. France controlled the entire country, but the traditional Muslim population in the rural areas remained separated from the modern economic infrastructure of the European community.

Algerians began [[Algerian War of Independence|their uprising]] on November 1, 1954, to gain rights denied them under French rule. The revolution, launched by a small group of nationalists who called themselves the National Liberation Front (FLN), was a guerrilla war in which both sides targeted civilians and otherwise used brutal tactics. Eventually, protracted negotiations led to a cease-fire signed by France and the FLN on March 18, 1962, at Evian, France. The Evian Accords also provided for continuing economic, financial, technical, and cultural relations, along with interim administrative arrangements until a referendum on self-determination could be held. Over 1 million French citizens living in Algeria at the time, called the pieds-noirs (black feet), left Algeria for France.

The referendum was held in Algeria on July 1, 1962, and France declared Algeria independent on July 3. In September 1962 Ahmed Ben Bella was formally elected president. On September 8, 1963, a Constitution was adopted by referendum. On June 19, 1965, President Ben Bella was replaced in a non-violent coup by the Council of the Revolution headed by Minister of Defense Col. Houari Boumediene. Ben Bella was first imprisoned and then exiled. Boumediene, as President of the Council of the Revolution, led the country as Head of State until he was formally elected on December 10, 1976. Boumediene is credited with building "modern Algeria." He died on December 27, 1978.

Following nomination by an FLN Party Congress, Col. Chadli Bendjedid was elected president in 1979 and re-elected in 1984 and 1988. A new constitution was adopted in 1989 that allowed the formation of political parties other than the FLN. It also removed the armed forces, which had run the government since the days of Boumediene, from a designated role in the operation of the government. Among the scores of parties that sprang up under the new constitution, the militant Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was the most successful, winning more than 50% of all votes cast in municipal elections in June 1990 as well as in the first stage of national legislative elections held in December 1991.

Faced with the real possibility of a sweeping FIS victory, the National People's Assembly was dissolved by presidential decree on January 4, 1992. On January 11, under pressure from the military leadership, President Chadli Bendjedid resigned. On January 14, a five-member High Council of State was appointed by the High Council of Security to act as a collegiate presidency and immediately canceled the second round of elections. This action, coupled with political uncertainty and economic turmoil, led to a violent reaction by Islamists. On January 16, Mohamed Boudiaf, a hero of the Liberation War, returned after 28 years of exile to serve as Algeria's fourth president. Facing sporadic outbreaks of violence and terrorism, the security forces took control of the FIS offices in early February, and the High Council of State declared a state of emergency. In March, following a court decision, the FIS Party was formally dissolved, and a series of arrests and trials of FIS members occurred resulting in more than 50,000 members being jailed. Algeria became caught in a cycle of violence, which became increasingly random and indiscriminate. On June 29, 1992, President Boudiaf was assassinated in Annaba in front of TV cameras by Army Lt. Lembarek Boumarafi, who allegedly confessed to carrying out the killing on behalf of the Islamists.

Despite efforts to restore the political process, violence and terrorism dominated the Algerian landscape during the 1990s. In 1994, Liamine Zeroual, former Minister of Defense, was appointed Head of State by the High Council of State for a three-year term. During this period, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) launched terrorist campaigns against government figures and institutions to protest the banning of the Islamist parties. A breakaway GIA group--the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)--also undertook terrorist activity in the country. Government officials estimate that more than 100,000 Algerians died during this period.

Zeroual called for presidential elections in 1995, though some parties objected to holding elections that excluded the FIS. Zeroual was elected president with 75% of the vote. By 1997, in an attempt to bring political stability to the nation, the National Democratic Rally (RND) party was formed by a progressive group of FLN members. In September 1998, President Liamine Zeroual announced that he would step down in February 1999, 21 months before the end of his term, and that presidential elections would be held.

Algerians went to the polls in April 1999, following a campaign in which seven candidates qualified for election. On the eve of the election, all candidates except Abdelaziz Bouteflika pulled out amid charges of widespread [[electoral fraud]]. Bouteflika, the candidate who appeared to enjoy the backing of the military, as well as the FLN and the RND party regulars, won with an official vote count of 70% of all votes cast. He was inaugurated on April 27, 1999 for a 5-year term.

President Bouteflika's agenda focused initially on restoring security and stability to the country. Following his inauguration, he proposed an official amnesty for those who fought against the government during the 1990s with the exception of those who had engaged in "blood crimes," such as rape or murder. This "Civil Concord" policy was widely approved in a nationwide referendum in September 2000. Government officials estimate that 80% of those fighting the regime during the 1990s have accepted the civil concord offer and have attempted to reintegrate into Algerian society. Bouteflika also launched national commissions to study education and judicial reform, as well as restructuring of the state bureaucracy.

In 2001, Berber activists in the Kabylie region of the country, reacting to the death of a youth in gendarme custody, unleashed a resistance campaign against what they saw as government repression. Strikes and demonstrations in the Kabylie region were commonplace as a result, and some spread to the capital. Chief among Berber demands was recognition of Tamazight (a general term for Berber languages) as an official language, official recognition and financial compensation for the deaths of Kabyles killed in demonstrations, an economic development plan for the area and greater control over their own regional affairs. In October 2001, the Tamazight language was recognized as a national language, but the issue remains contentious as Tamazight has not been elevated to an official language.

Algeria's most recent presidential election took place on April 8, 2004. For the first time since independence, the presidential race was democratically contested through to the end. Besides incumbent President Bouteflika, five other candidates, including one woman, competed in the election. Opposition candidates complained of some discrepancies in the voting list; irregularities on polling day, particularly in Kabylie; and of unfair media coverage during the campaign as Bouteflika, by virtue of his office, appeared on state-owned television daily. Bouteflika was re-elected in the first round of the election with 84.99% of the vote. Just over 58% of those Algerians eligible to vote participated in the election.

In the years since Bouteflika was first elected, the security situation in Algeria has improved markedly. Terrorism, however, has not been totally eliminated, and terrorist incidents still occur, particularly in the provinces of Boumerdes, Tizi-Ouzou, and in the remote southern areas of the country. In April 2007, a series of bombings in Algiers targeted a government facility and police stations, killing 33 people. In addition, on July 11 a suicide bomber targeted military barracks in the Kabylie region, killing eight soldiers. The alleged mastermind behind the 2007 attacks was killed later in July during a raid led by Algerian security forces.

In September 2005, Algeria passed a referendum in favor of President Bouteflika's Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, paving the way for implementing legislation that will pardon certain individuals convicted of armed terrorist violence. The new Charter builds upon the Civil Concord, and the Rahma (clemency) Law shields from prosecution anyone who laid down arms in response to those previous amnesty offers. The Charter specifically excludes from amnesty those involved in mass murders, rapes, or the use of explosives in public places. The Charter was implemented in March 2006, and the window for combatants to receive amnesty expired in September 2006. Approximately 2,500 Islamists were released under the Charter, many of whom are now suspected of having returned to militant groups in Algeria.

{{License|license = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm]}}

[[Category:African Countries]]
[[Category:Algeria]]
[[Category:African History]]
[[Category:Africa]]
[[Category:French History]]

Algeria

2009-05-20T20:45:24Z

Lilafaro:

{{Country
|name =ا''لجمهورية الجزائرية الديمقراطية الشعبية'' ''Al-Jumhūrīyah al-Jazā’irīyah ad-Dīmuqrāīyah ash-Sha’bīyah''
|map =Algeria rel01.jpg
|flag =Flag of Algeria.png
|arms =Arms of Algeria.png
|capital =Algiers
|capital-raw =
|government =Semi-presidential republic
|government-raw =
|language =Arabic
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Abdelaziz Bouteflika
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Abdelaziz Belkhadem
|pm-raw =
|area =919,595 sq mi
|pop =33,333,216 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =$253.4 billion
|gdp-year =2006
|gdp-pc =$7,700
|currency =Algerian dinar
|idd =
|tld =
}}
The '''People's Democratic Republic of Algeria''' is [[Muslim]] nation in North [[Africa]], and the second-largest nation on the continent.

==Geography==
Algeria, the second-largest state in Africa, has a Mediterranean coastline of about 998 kilometers (620 mi.). The Tellian and Saharan Atlas mountain ranges cross the country from east to west, dividing it into three zones. Between the northern zone, Tellian Atlas, and the Mediterranean is a narrow, fertile coastal plain--the Tell (Arabic for hill)--with a moderate climate year round and rainfall adequate for agriculture. A high plateau region, averaging 914 meters (3,000 ft.) above sea level, with limited rainfall, great rocky plains, and desert, lies between the two mountain ranges. It is generally barren except for scattered clumps of trees and intermittent bush and pastureland. The third and largest zone, south of the Saharan Atlas mountain range, is mostly desert. About 80% of the country is desert, steppes, wasteland, and mountains. Algeria's weather varies considerably from season to season and from one geographical location to another. In the north, the summers are usually hot with little rainfall. Winter rains begin in the north in October. Frost and snow are rare, except on the highest slopes of the Tellian Atlas Mountains. Dust and sandstorms occur most frequently between February and May.

Soil erosion--from overgrazing, other poor farming practices, and desertification--and the dumping of raw sewage, petroleum refining wastes, and other industrial effluents are leading to the pollution of rivers and coastal waters. The Mediterranean Sea, in particular, is becoming polluted from oil wastes, soil erosion, and fertilizer runoff. There are inadequate supplies of potable water.

==People==
Ninety-one percent of the Algerian population lives along the Mediterranean coast on 12% of the country's total land mass. Forty-five percent of the population is urban, and urbanization continues, despite government efforts to discourage migration to the cities. About 1.5 million nomads and semi-settled Bedouin still live in the Saharan area.

Nearly all Algerians are Muslim, of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber stock. Official data on the number of non-Muslim residents is not available; however, practitioners report it to be less than 5,000. Most of the non-Muslim community is comprised of Methodist, Roman Catholic and Evangelical faiths; the Jewish community is virtually non-existent. There are about 1,100 American citizens in the country, the majority of whom live and work in the oil/gas fields in the south.

Algeria's educational system has grown dramatically since the country gained its independence. In the last 12 years, attendance has doubled to more than 5 million students. Education is free and compulsory to age 16. Despite government allocation of substantial educational resources, population pressures and a serious shortage of teachers have severely strained the system. Modest numbers of Algerian students study abroad, primarily in Europe and Canada. In 2000, the government launched a major review of the country's educational system and in 2004 efforts to reform the educational system began.

Housing and medicine continue to be pressing problems in Algeria. Failing infrastructure and the continued influx of people from rural to urban areas have overtaxed both systems. According to the United Nations Development Program, Algeria has one of the world's highest per housing unit occupancy rates, and government officials have publicly stated that the country has an immediate shortfall of 1.5 million housing units.

==Government==
Under the 1976 Constitution (as modified 1979, and amended in 1988, 1989, and 1996) Algeria is a multi-party state. The Ministry of the Interior must approve all political parties. According to the Constitution, no political association may be formed "based on differences in religion, language, race gender or region." Algeria has universal suffrage at the age of 18.

The head of state is the president of the republic. The president, elected to a five-year term, and constitutionally limited to two terms, is the head of the Council of Ministers and of the High Security Council. He appoints the prime minister as well as one-third of the upper house (the Council of the Nation). The prime minister presides over the Council of Ministers and serves as head of the government.

The Algerian Parliament is bicameral, consisting of a lower chamber, the National People's Assembly (APN), with 380 members and an upper chamber, the Council of the Nation, with 144 members. The APN is elected every five years. Legislative elections were held in May 2007. Two-thirds of the Council of the Nation is elected by regional and municipal authorities; the rest are appointed by the president. The Council of the Nation serves a six-year term with one-half of the seats up for election or reappointment every three years. Either the president or one of the parliamentary chambers may initiate legislation. Legislation must be brought before both chambers before it becomes law. Sessions of the APN are televised.

Algeria is divided into 48 wilayates (states or provinces) headed by walis (governors) who report to the Minister of Interior. Each wilaya is further divided into communes. The wilayates and communes are each governed by an elected assembly.

Like most of the middle east, the current population in modern Algeria is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people, the [[Berbers]] are considered to be the real natives to north [[Africa]].

===Principal Government Officials===
*President and Minister of National Defense--Abdelaziz Bouteflika
*Head of Government (Prime Minister)--Abdelaziz Belkhadem
*Minister of State for the Interior and Local Communities--Nourredine Yazid Zerhouni
*Minister of State for Foreign Affairs--Mourad Medelci
*Minister of State--Soltani Boudjerra
*Minister Delegate in Charge of National Defense--Abdelmalek Guenaizia

===Political Conditions===
Terrorist violence in Algeria resulted in more than 100,000 deaths during the 1990s. Although the security situation in the country has improved, addressing the underlying issues that brought about the political turmoil of the 1990s remains the government's major task. President Bouteflika implemented the Charter on Peace and National Reconciliation on March 1, 2006, as one way to bring closure. Thus far, it has successfully gained the surrender of a number of moderate Islamists, but paradoxically, has emboldened the more hard-core elements, in particular the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC), which changed its name in January 2007 to Al-Qaida in the Islamic Maghreb (AQIM).

In keeping with its amended Constitution, the Algerian Government espouses participatory democracy and free-market competition. The government has stated that it will continue to open the political process and encourage the creation of political institutions. Presidential elections took place in April 2004 and returned President Bouteflika to office with 84.99% of the vote. The next presidential elections are scheduled for 2009.

Algeria has more than 45 daily newspapers published in French and Arabic, with a total circulation of more than 1.5 million copies. There are 20 domestically printed weekly publications with total circulation of 622,000 and 11 monthly publications with total circulation of 600,000. In 2001, the government amended the Penal Code provisions relating to defamation and slander, a step widely viewed as an effort to rein in the press. While the Algerian press is relatively free to write as they choose, use of the defamation laws significantly increased the level of press harassment following President Bouteflika's April 2004 re-election victory, and as a result, the press began to self-censor. In July 2006, President Bouteflika pardoned all journalists convicted of defaming or insulting state institutions. The pardon effectively dismissed the charges against 67 people. Critics point out that according to the criminal code, insulting the president is punishable by prison sentence. Nevertheless, the pardon was widely seen as a significant step toward democracy. The government holds a monopoly over broadcast media; Algerian newspapers are widely seen to be the freest in the region.

Population growth and associated problems--unemployment and underemployment, inability of social services to keep pace with rapid urban migration, inadequate industrial management and productivity, a decaying infrastructure--continue to affect Algerian society. Increases in the production and prices of oil and gas over the past decade have led to exchange reserves reaching $80 billion. The government began an economic reform program in 1994, focusing on macroeconomic stability and structural reform. These reforms aimed at liberalizing the economy, making Algeria competitive in the global market, and meeting the needs of the Algerian people. In 2004, the government announced a $55 billion spending program to improve national infrastructure and social services; subsequent announcements have increased the proposed program to $120 billion.

===Foreign Relations===
Algeria has traditionally practiced an activist foreign policy and in the 1960s and 1970s was noted for its support of Third World policies and independence movements. Algerian diplomacy was instrumental in obtaining the release of U.S. hostages from Iran in 1980. Since his first election in 1999, President Bouteflika worked to restore Algeria's international reputation, traveling extensively throughout the world. In July 2001, he became the first Algerian President to visit the White House in 16 years. He has made official visits to France, South Africa, Italy, Spain, Germany, China, Japan, Portugal, Russia, the United Kingdom, and Latin American countries, among others, since his inauguration.

Algeria has taken the lead in working on issues related to the African continent. Host of the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Conference in 2000, Algeria also was key in bringing Ethiopia and Eritrea to the peace table in 2000. In 2001, the 37th summit of the OAU formally adopted the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD) to address the challenges facing the continent. Algeria has taken a lead in reviving the Union of the Arab Maghreb with its neighbors.

Since 1976, Algeria has supported the Polisario Front, which claims to represent the population of Western Sahara. Contending that the Sahrawis have a right to self-determination under the UN Charter, Algeria has provided the Polisario with support and sanctuary in refugee camps in the southwestern Algerian province of Tindouf. UN involvement in the Western Sahara includes MINURSO, a peacekeeping force, UNHCR, which handles refugee assistance and resettlement, and the World Food Program (WFP). Active diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute under the auspices of the United Nations Secretary General are ongoing.

Algeria's support of self-determination for the Polisario is in opposition to Morocco's claim of sovereignty. The dispute remains a major obstacle to bilateral and regional cooperation. Although the land border between Morocco and Algeria was closed in the wake of a terrorist attack in 1994, the two have worked at improving relations, and in July 2004, Morocco lifted visa requirements for Algerians. Algeria reciprocated with the lifting of visa requirements for Moroccans on April 2, 2005. Algeria has friendly relations with its other neighbors in the Mahgreb, Tunisia and Libya, and with its sub-Saharan neighbors, Mali and Niger. It closely monitors developments in the Middle East and has been a strong proponent of the rights of the Palestinian people, as well as a supporter of Iraq's democratic transition.

Algeria has diplomatic relations with more than 100 foreign countries, and over 90 countries maintain diplomatic representation in Algiers. Algeria held a nonpermanent, rotating seat on the UN Security Council from January 2004 to December 2005. Algeria hosted 13 Arab leaders at the Arab League Summit, March 22-23, 2005.

==Defense==
Algeria's armed forces, known collectively as the Popular National Army (ANP), total 138,000 active members, with some 100,000 reservists. The president serves as Minister of National Defense. Military forces are supplemented by a 60,000-member national gendarmerie, a rural police force, under the control of the president and a 30,000-member Sureté Nationale or Metropolitan Police force under the Ministry of the Interior. Eighteen months of national military service is compulsory for men.

Algeria is a leading military power in the region and has demonstrated remarkable success in its struggle against terrorism. The Algerian military, having fought a decade-long insurgency, has increased expenditures in an effort to modernize and return to a more traditional defense role.

Due to historical difficulties in acquiring U.S. military equipment, Algeria's primary military supplier has traditionally been Russia, and to a lesser extent China; Algeria recently made large purchases of advanced weaponry from the former. Algeria has, however, in recent years, begun to diversify its supplies of military equipment to include U.S.-made airborne surveillance aircraft and ground radars.

==Economy==
The hydrocarbons sector is the backbone of the Algerian economy, accounting for roughly 60% of budget revenues, nearly 30% of GDP, and over 97% of export earnings. Algeria has the ninth-largest reserves of natural gas in the world (2.7% of proven world total) and is the fourth-largest gas exporter; it ranks 14th for oil reserves (2006). Its key oil and gas customers are Italy, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. U.S. companies have played a major role in developing Algeria's oil and gas sector; of the $5.3 billion (on a historical-cost basis, according to statistics gathered by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis) of U.S. investment in Algeria, the vast bulk is in the petroleum sector.

Faced with declining oil revenues and high-debt interest payments at the beginning of the 1990s, Algeria implemented a stringent macroeconomic stabilization program and rescheduled its $7.9 billion Paris Club debt in the mid-1990s. The macroeconomic program has been particularly successful at narrowing the budget deficit and at reducing inflation from of near-30% averages in the mid 1990s to almost single digits in 2000. Inflation was at 3.6% in 2004. Algeria's economy has grown by more than 5% in each of the past five years, posting 5.6% growth in 2006. The country's foreign debt fell from a high of $28 billion in 1999 to $5 billion in 2006; in that year Algeria paid off the last of its Paris Club debt. The spike in oil prices in 1999-2000 and 2004, the government's tight fiscal policy and conservative budgeting of oil prices from 2000 to present, a large increase in the trade surplus, and the near tripling of foreign exchange reserves have helped the country's finances.

The government pledges to continue its efforts to diversify the economy by attracting foreign and domestic investment outside the energy sector. The Algerian Government has had little success at reducing high unemployment, officially estimated at 13% in 2006, though international estimates put the figure higher, and at improving living standards.

Priority areas are banking and judicial reform, improving the investment environment, partial or complete privatization of state enterprises, and reducing government bureaucracy. The government has privatized certain sectors of the economy and embraced joint venture investment opportunities with traditionally state owned and operated entities. In 2001, Algeria concluded an Association Agreement with the European Union, which was ratified in 2005 by both Algeria and the EU and took effect in September of that same year. The government is working toward accession to the World Trade Organization.

==History==
Since the 5th century B.C., the native peoples of northern Africa (first identified by the Greeks as "Berbers") were pushed back from the coast by successive waves of Phoenician, Roman, Vandal, Byzantine, Arab, Turkish, and, finally, French invaders. The greatest cultural impact came from the Arab invasions of the 8th and 11th centuries A.D., which brought Islam and the Arabic language. The effects of the most recent (French) occupation--French language and European-inspired socialism--are still pervasive.

North African boundaries have shifted during various stages of the conquests. Algeria's modern borders were created by the French, whose colonization began in 1830. To benefit French colonists, most of whom were farmers and businessmen, northern Algeria was eventually organized into overseas departments of France, with representatives in the French National Assembly. France controlled the entire country, but the traditional Muslim population in the rural areas remained separated from the modern economic infrastructure of the European community.

Algerians began [[Algerian War of Independence|their uprising]] on November 1, 1954, to gain rights denied them under French rule. The revolution, launched by a small group of nationalists who called themselves the National Liberation Front (FLN), was a guerrilla war in which both sides targeted civilians and otherwise used brutal tactics. Eventually, protracted negotiations led to a cease-fire signed by France and the FLN on March 18, 1962, at Evian, France. The Evian Accords also provided for continuing economic, financial, technical, and cultural relations, along with interim administrative arrangements until a referendum on self-determination could be held. Over 1 million French citizens living in Algeria at the time, called the pieds-noirs (black feet), left Algeria for France.

The referendum was held in Algeria on July 1, 1962, and France declared Algeria independent on July 3. In September 1962 Ahmed Ben Bella was formally elected president. On September 8, 1963, a Constitution was adopted by referendum. On June 19, 1965, President Ben Bella was replaced in a non-violent coup by the Council of the Revolution headed by Minister of Defense Col. Houari Boumediene. Ben Bella was first imprisoned and then exiled. Boumediene, as President of the Council of the Revolution, led the country as Head of State until he was formally elected on December 10, 1976. Boumediene is credited with building "modern Algeria." He died on December 27, 1978.

Following nomination by an FLN Party Congress, Col. Chadli Bendjedid was elected president in 1979 and re-elected in 1984 and 1988. A new constitution was adopted in 1989 that allowed the formation of political parties other than the FLN. It also removed the armed forces, which had run the government since the days of Boumediene, from a designated role in the operation of the government. Among the scores of parties that sprang up under the new constitution, the militant Islamic Salvation Front (FIS) was the most successful, winning more than 50% of all votes cast in municipal elections in June 1990 as well as in the first stage of national legislative elections held in December 1991.

Faced with the real possibility of a sweeping FIS victory, the National People's Assembly was dissolved by presidential decree on January 4, 1992. On January 11, under pressure from the military leadership, President Chadli Bendjedid resigned. On January 14, a five-member High Council of State was appointed by the High Council of Security to act as a collegiate presidency and immediately canceled the second round of elections. This action, coupled with political uncertainty and economic turmoil, led to a violent reaction by Islamists. On January 16, Mohamed Boudiaf, a hero of the Liberation War, returned after 28 years of exile to serve as Algeria's fourth president. Facing sporadic outbreaks of violence and terrorism, the security forces took control of the FIS offices in early February, and the High Council of State declared a state of emergency. In March, following a court decision, the FIS Party was formally dissolved, and a series of arrests and trials of FIS members occurred resulting in more than 50,000 members being jailed. Algeria became caught in a cycle of violence, which became increasingly random and indiscriminate. On June 29, 1992, President Boudiaf was assassinated in Annaba in front of TV cameras by Army Lt. Lembarek Boumarafi, who allegedly confessed to carrying out the killing on behalf of the Islamists.

Despite efforts to restore the political process, violence and terrorism dominated the Algerian landscape during the 1990s. In 1994, Liamine Zeroual, former Minister of Defense, was appointed Head of State by the High Council of State for a three-year term. During this period, the Armed Islamic Group (GIA) launched terrorist campaigns against government figures and institutions to protest the banning of the Islamist parties. A breakaway GIA group--the Salafist Group for Preaching and Combat (GSPC)--also undertook terrorist activity in the country. Government officials estimate that more than 100,000 Algerians died during this period.

Zeroual called for presidential elections in 1995, though some parties objected to holding elections that excluded the FIS. Zeroual was elected president with 75% of the vote. By 1997, in an attempt to bring political stability to the nation, the National Democratic Rally (RND) party was formed by a progressive group of FLN members. In September 1998, President Liamine Zeroual announced that he would step down in February 1999, 21 months before the end of his term, and that presidential elections would be held.

Algerians went to the polls in April 1999, following a campaign in which seven candidates qualified for election. On the eve of the election, all candidates except Abdelaziz Bouteflika pulled out amid charges of widespread [[electoral fraud]]. Bouteflika, the candidate who appeared to enjoy the backing of the military, as well as the FLN and the RND party regulars, won with an official vote count of 70% of all votes cast. He was inaugurated on April 27, 1999 for a 5-year term.

President Bouteflika's agenda focused initially on restoring security and stability to the country. Following his inauguration, he proposed an official amnesty for those who fought against the government during the 1990s with the exception of those who had engaged in "blood crimes," such as rape or murder. This "Civil Concord" policy was widely approved in a nationwide referendum in September 2000. Government officials estimate that 80% of those fighting the regime during the 1990s have accepted the civil concord offer and have attempted to reintegrate into Algerian society. Bouteflika also launched national commissions to study education and judicial reform, as well as restructuring of the state bureaucracy.

In 2001, Berber activists in the Kabylie region of the country, reacting to the death of a youth in gendarme custody, unleashed a resistance campaign against what they saw as government repression. Strikes and demonstrations in the Kabylie region were commonplace as a result, and some spread to the capital. Chief among Berber demands was recognition of Tamazight (a general term for Berber languages) as an official language, official recognition and financial compensation for the deaths of Kabyles killed in demonstrations, an economic development plan for the area and greater control over their own regional affairs. In October 2001, the Tamazight language was recognized as a national language, but the issue remains contentious as Tamazight has not been elevated to an official language.

Algeria's most recent presidential election took place on April 8, 2004. For the first time since independence, the presidential race was democratically contested through to the end. Besides incumbent President Bouteflika, five other candidates, including one woman, competed in the election. Opposition candidates complained of some discrepancies in the voting list; irregularities on polling day, particularly in Kabylie; and of unfair media coverage during the campaign as Bouteflika, by virtue of his office, appeared on state-owned television daily. Bouteflika was re-elected in the first round of the election with 84.99% of the vote. Just over 58% of those Algerians eligible to vote participated in the election.

In the years since Bouteflika was first elected, the security situation in Algeria has improved markedly. Terrorism, however, has not been totally eliminated, and terrorist incidents still occur, particularly in the provinces of Boumerdes, Tizi-Ouzou, and in the remote southern areas of the country. In April 2007, a series of bombings in Algiers targeted a government facility and police stations, killing 33 people. In addition, on July 11 a suicide bomber targeted military barracks in the Kabylie region, killing eight soldiers. The alleged mastermind behind the 2007 attacks was killed later in July during a raid led by Algerian security forces.

In September 2005, Algeria passed a referendum in favor of President Bouteflika's Charter for Peace and National Reconciliation, paving the way for implementing legislation that will pardon certain individuals convicted of armed terrorist violence. The new Charter builds upon the Civil Concord, and the Rahma (clemency) Law shields from prosecution anyone who laid down arms in response to those previous amnesty offers. The Charter specifically excludes from amnesty those involved in mass murders, rapes, or the use of explosives in public places. The Charter was implemented in March 2006, and the window for combatants to receive amnesty expired in September 2006. Approximately 2,500 Islamists were released under the Charter, many of whom are now suspected of having returned to militant groups in Algeria.

{{License|license = This work is in the [[public domain]] in the United States because it is a work of the United States Federal Government under the terms of Title 17, Chapter 1, Section 105 of the US Code.| source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/8005.htm]}}

[[Category:African Countries]]
[[Category:Algeria]]
[[Category:African History]]
[[Category:Africa]]
[[Category:French History]]

Morocco

2009-05-20T20:43:59Z

Lilafaro:

{{country
|name=المملكة المغربية'' Al-Mamlaka al-Maghribiyya Tagldit n Lmeghrib''
|map=Morocco rel 79.JPG
|flag=Flag of Morocco.png
|arms=Arms of Morocco.png
|capital=Rabat
|government=Constitutional monarchy
|language=Arabic, Italian, English
|king=Mohammed VI
|pm=Abbas El Fassi
|area=172,414 sq. mi.
|pop=33,757,175
|pop-basis=(2006 estimate)
|gdp=$152.5 billion
|gdp-year=(2006 estimate)
|gdp-pc=$4,600
|currency=Moroccan dirham
}}
The '''Kingdom of Morocco''' is a country in northwest [[Africa]].

==Geography==
Morocco is bordered by [[Algeria]] to the east and the western [[Sahara]] to the south, with a coastline on both the Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea. The largest city is [[Casablanca]]. The capital city is [[Rabat]]. Some of the other large cities in Morocco are [[Marrakech]], [[Tanjier]], and Safi.

==People==
Moroccans are predominantly Sunni Muslims of Arab, Berber, or mixed Arab-Berber ancestry. The Arabs brought Islam, along with Arabic language and culture, to the region from the Arabian Peninsula during the Muslim conquests of the 7th century. Today, there remains a Jewish community of approximately 5,000, and a largely expatriate Christian population of 5,000, who enjoy religious freedom and full civil rights. Morocco is also home to a 300-500-person Baha'i community which, in recent years, has been able to worship free from government interference.

Arabic is Morocco's official language, but French is widely taught and serves as the primary language of commerce and government. Moroccan colloquial Arabic is composed of a unique combination of Arabic, Berber and French dialects. Along with Arabic, about 10 million Moroccans, predominantly in rural areas, also speak one of the three Moroccan Berber dialects (Tarifit, Tashelhit, and Tamazight). Spanish is also used in the northern part of the country. English is rapidly becoming the foreign language of choice among educated youth and is offered in all public schools from the fourth year on.

Most people live west of the Atlas Mountains, a range that insulates the country from the Sahara Desert. Casablanca is the center of commerce and industry and the leading port; Rabat is the seat of government; Tangier is the gateway to Spain and also a major port; "Arab" Fes is the cultural and religious center; and "Berber" Marrakech is a major tourist center.

Education in Morocco is free and compulsory through primary school (age 15). Nevertheless, many children--particularly girls in rural areas--do not attend school. The country's literacy rate reveals sharp gaps in education, both in terms of gender and location; while country-wide literacy rates are estimated at 39% among women and 64% among men, the female literacy rate in rural areas is only 10%.

Morocco is home to 14 public universities. Mohammed V University in Rabat is one of the country's most famous schools, with faculties of law, sciences, liberal arts, and medicine. Karaouine University, in Fes, is a longstanding center for Islamic studies and is the oldest university in the Maghreb. Morocco has one private, English language university, Al-Akhawayn, in Ifrane, founded in 1993 by King Hassan II and King Fahd of Saudi Arabia. The curriculum is based on an American model.
*Population (2007): 33,757,175. (The population of disputed territory Western Sahara is 350,000.)
*Annual growth rate (2007): 1.528%. Birth rate (2007 est.)--21.64 births/1,000 population; death rate (2007 est.)--5.54 deaths/1,000 population.
*Ethnic groups: Arab-Berber 99%.
*Religions: Muslim 99.99%, Jewish population estimated at 4,000 people, Christian population estimated at less than 1,000.
*Languages: Arabic (official), several Berber dialects; French functions as the language of business, government, and diplomacy.
*Education: Years compulsory--9. Literacy (age 15 and over can read and write)--total population 51.7%; female 39.4% (2003 est.).
*Health: Infant mortality rate (2007 est.)--38.85/1,000. Life expectancy at birth (2007 est.)--total population 71.22 yrs., male 68.88 yrs., female 73.67 yrs.
*Work force (2006): 11.25 million.
*Unemployment rate (2006 est.): 7.7%.

Like most of the middle east, the current population in modern Morocco is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people, the [[Berbers]] are considered to be the real natives to north [[Africa]].

==Government and Political Conditions==

Morocco was the first nation to recognize the [[United States]], in 1780.

Morocco is divided into 16 administrative regions (further broken into provinces and prefectures); the regions are administered by Walis (governors) appointed by the King.

The Moroccan Constitution provides for a monarchy with a Parliament and an independent judiciary. Ultimate authority rests with the King. The King presides over the Council of Ministers; appoints the prime minister following legislative elections; appoints all members of the government taking into account the prime minister's recommendations; and may, at his discretion, terminate the tenure of any minister, dissolve the Parliament, call for new elections, or rule by decree. The King is the Commander in Chief of the military and holds the title of Amir al-Mou'minin, the country's religious leader.

Since the constitutional reform of 1996, the bicameral legislature consists of a lower chamber called the Chamber of Representatives, which is directly elected, and an upper chamber, the Chamber of Counselors, whose members are indirectly elected through various regional, local, and professional councils. The councils' members themselves are directly elected. Parliament's powers, though limited, were expanded under the 1992 and 1996 constitutional revisions to include budgetary matters, approval authority, and establishment of commissions of inquiry to investigate the government's actions. The lower chamber of Parliament may dissolve the government through a vote of no confidence.

Parliamentary elections were held in November 2002 and were considered largely free, fair, and transparent. At that time, King Mohammed VI formed a government appointing then-Interior Minister Driss Jettou as Prime Minister. Cabinet level positions were drawn from most major parties in the coalition.

Following the 2002 elections, King Mohammed VI highlighted several goals toward which the new government should work: expanded employment opportunities, economic development, meaningful education, and increased housing availability. To meet the King's objectives, the Jettou government embarked on a series of initiatives and reforms, which Jettou laid out in his early days as Prime Minister.

Jettou emphasized that modernization and revitalization of the country's infrastructure (roads, trains, communications, water, etc.) and national economy (support for Moroccan businesses, preparations for competition, modernization of modes of production, etc.), were necessary to further development progress in Morocco.

In order to create employment opportunities, the government is promoting investment in the tourism, industrial, fishing, and service industries, and is ameliorating, restructuring, and modernizing the education system.

Parliamentary elections were held in September 2007. Abbas El Fassi was designated to form a new government.

===Principal Government Officials===
*Head of State--King Mohammed VI
*Prime Minister--Driss Jettou

===Foreign Relations===
[[Image:Rudolf Ernst The letter.jpg|thumb|Rudolf Ernst, The Letter.]]
Morocco is a moderate Arab state which maintains close relations with Europe and the United States. It is a member of the UN and belongs to the Arab League, Arab Maghreb Union (UMA), Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and the Non-Aligned Movement. King Mohammed VI is the chairman of the OIC's Al-Quds Jerusalem Committee. Although not a member of the African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity--OAU), Morocco remains involved in African diplomacy. It contributes consistently to UN peacekeeping efforts on the continent.

Morocco is active in Maghreb, Arab, and African affairs. It supports the search for peace and moderation in the Middle East. In 1986, then-King Hassan II took the daring step of inviting then-Israeli Prime Minister Peres for talks, becoming only the second Arab leader to host an Israeli leader. Following the September 1993 signing of the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles, Morocco accelerated its economic ties and political contacts with Israel. In September 1994, Morocco and Israel announced the opening of bilateral liaison offices. These offices were closed in 2000 following sustained Israeli-Palestinian violence, but Moroccan-Israeli diplomatic contacts continue.

Morocco was the first Arab state to condemn Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990, and sent troops to help defend Saudi Arabia. Morocco maintains close relations with Saudi Arabia and the Persian Gulf states, which have provided Morocco with substantial amounts of financial assistance. Morocco has supported efforts to stabilize Iraq following the downfall of Saddam Hussein.

Morocco was among the first Arab and Islamic states to denounce the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the United States and declare solidarity with the American people in the war against terror. Morocco has seen its own terrorism at home as well. On May 16, 2003, Moroccan suicide bombers simultaneously attacked five sites in Casablanca, killing more than 40 people and wounding over 100. More than a million people subsequently demonstrated to condemn the attacks. In April 2007, a series of suicide bomb attacks occurred in central Casablanca, one taking place near the U.S. consulate general and one near the American Language Center. The bombings demonstrated Morocco's vulnerability to extremists who capitalize on widespread poverty and social exclusion.

The major issue in Morocco's foreign relations is its claim to Western Sahara. As a result of Algeria's continued support for the Polisario Front in the dispute over Western Sahara, relations between Morocco and Algeria have remained strained over the past several decades, although they have full diplomatic relations and there is periodic high-level contact between the two countries.

====Western Sahara====
For more than 30 years, Morocco and the independence-seeking Popular Front of the Liberation of Saguia al Hamra and Rio de Oro (Polisario Front) have vied for control of the [[Western Sahara]], a former Spanish territory. Morocco's claim to sovereignty over the Western Sahara is based largely on a historical argument of traditional loyalty of the Sahrawi tribal leaders to the Moroccan sultan as spiritual leader and ruler. The Polisario claims to represent the aspirations of the Western Saharan inhabitants for independence. Algeria claims none of the territory for itself but maintains that Sahrawis should determine the territory's future status.

From 1904 until 1975, Spain occupied the entire territory, which is divided into a northern portion, the Saguia el Hamra, and a southern two-thirds, known as Rio de Oro. In 1969, the Polisario Front was formed to combat the occupation of the territory. In November 1975, King Hassan mobilized 350,000 unarmed Moroccan citizens in what came to be known as the "Green March" into Western Sahara. The march was designed to both demonstrate and strengthen Moroccan claims to the territory. On November 14, Spain, Morocco, and Mauritania announced a tripartite agreement for an interim administration under which Spain agreed to share administrative authority with Morocco and Mauritania, leaving aside the question of sovereignty. With the establishment of a Moroccan and Mauritanian presence throughout the territory, however, Spain's role in the administration of the Western Sahara ceased.

After a period of hostilities, Mauritania withdrew from the territory in 1979 and signed a peace treaty with the Polisario, relinquishing all claims to the territory. Moroccan troops occupied the region vacated by Mauritania and later proclaimed the territory reintegrated into Morocco. Morocco subsequently built a fortified berm around three-fourths of Western Sahara and has de facto administrative control over 80% of the territory.

At the OAU (now African Union) summit in June 1981, King Hassan announced his willingness to hold a referendum in the Western Sahara. Subsequent meetings of an OAU Implementation Committee proposed a cease-fire, a UN peacekeeping force, and an interim administration to assist with an OAU-UN-supervised referendum on the issue of independence or annexation. In 1984, the OAU seated a delegation of the Sahara Democratic Arab Republic (SDAR), the shadow government of the Polisario. Morocco subsequently withdrew from the OAU.

In 1988, Moroccan and Polisario representatives agreed on a joint UN/OAU settlement proposal for a referendum, but due to disagreements it never took place. In 1991, the UN brokered a cease-fire and settlement plan, and established the United Nations Mission for Referendum in Western Sahara (known by its French acronym, MINURSO), which deployed a roughly 200-person monitoring force to the territory.

The UN continues to explore with the parties ways of arriving at a mutually agreed political settlement and to promote confidence-building measures between the parties in the interim. In 2003, former Secretary of State James Baker, working as UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's Personal Envoy, put forward a peace plan calling for a referendum on issues of autonomy or integration with Morocco. While the Polisario Front and the Algerian Government accepted the plan, Morocco rejected it. After a seven-year effort to assist the parties in coming to an agreement, James Baker resigned as Personal Envoy in June 2004. In August of the same year, Kofi Annan appointed Alvaro de Soto Special Representative for the Western Sahara, to continue Baker's work. Special Representative de Soto left MINURSO in May 2005, and was replaced in July 2005 by Peter van Walsum of the Netherlands.

The Western Sahara dispute remains the primary impediment to regional integration and development goals. The parties were able to set aside some of their differences when, in August 2004, U.S. Senator Richard Lugar led a mission to the region that resulted in the release of 404 Moroccan prisoners of war who had long been held by the Polisario. Today, approximately 90,000 Sahrawi refugees live in camps around Tindouf, Algeria. The exact number of refugees living in these camps is not known since there has never been a reliable census of the population. Several thousand Sahrawis also live in the Moroccan-controlled area of Western Sahara among a large number of Moroccan settlers. Morocco considers the Western Sahara part of its national territory, while Polisario insists on the right of the people of the Western Sahara to self-determination. Algeria supports self-determination of the Sahrawis. The issue remains a major stumbling block to Moroccan-Algerian relations and regional integration.

The United States has consistently encouraged the parties to work with the United Nations, and with each other, in a spirit of flexibility and compromise, to find a mutually acceptable settlement. In this regard, the U.S. has welcomed Morocco's recent introduction of an autonomy initiative, is encouraged that it has spurred discussion, and believes that it has created an opportunity for Morocco and the Polisario to come to an agreement on this long-simmering problem. The United Nations Security Council resolution, which provides MINURSO its mandate, has been renewed for six-month intervals since its inception and is expected to be approved for a subsequent extension in October 2007. The U.S. has raised with the UN our support for direct negotiations without preconditions, as called for in the resolution, and in June and August 2007 the Moroccans and the Polisario, with Algeria and Mauritania participating as interested neighbor states, met for two rounds of talks in Manhasset, New York, mediated by Peter van Walsum. A third round of negotiations is tentatively planned for November 2007 in Switzerland.

==Economy==
Macroeconomic stability, coupled with low inflation and relatively slow economic growth, has characterized the Moroccan economy over the past several years. The government continues to pursue reform, liberalization, and modernization aimed at stimulating growth and creating jobs. Employment, however, remains overly dependent on the agriculture sector, which is extremely vulnerable to inconsistent rainfall. Morocco's primary economic challenge is to accelerate growth in order to reduce high levels of unemployment and underemployment. While overall unemployment stands at 7.7%, this figure masks significantly higher urban unemployment, as high as 33% among urban youths.

Through a foreign exchange rate anchor and well-managed monetary policy, Morocco has held inflation rates to industrial country levels over the past decade; inflation between 1999 and 2004 remained at 1.5% and fell to 1% in 2005. Despite criticism among exporters that the dirham has become badly overvalued, the country maintains a current account surplus. Foreign exchange reserves are strong, with over $16 billion in reserves, the equivalent of 11 months of imports at the end of 2005. The combination of strong foreign exchange reserves and active external debt management gives Morocco ample capacity to service its debt. Current external debt stands at about $17.9 billion.

Economic growth has been hampered by an over-reliance on the agriculture sector. Agriculture production is extremely susceptible to rainfall levels and ranges from 15% to 20% of GDP. Given that almost 40% of Morocco's population depends directly on agriculture, droughts have a severe negative effect on the economy.

The current government is continuing a series of structural reforms begun in recent years. The most promising reforms have been in the labor market and financial sectors, and privatization has accelerated the sale of Global System for Mobile Communications (GSM) licenses in recent years. Morocco also has liberalized rules for oil and gas exploration and has granted concessions for many public services in major cities. The tender process in Morocco is becoming increasingly transparent. Many believe, however, that the process of economic reform must be accelerated in order to reduce urban unemployment.

In January 2006, the bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between the United States and Morocco went into effect. The FTA represents an important step towards President Bush's vision of a Middle East Free Trade Area and is the first in Africa. The U.S.-Morocco FTA eliminated tariffs on 95% of bilateral trade in consumer and industrial products with all remaining tariffs to be eliminated within nine years. The negotiations produced a comprehensive agreement covering not only market access but also intellectual property rights protection, transparency in government procurement, investments, services, and e-commerce. The FTA provides new trade and investment opportunities for both countries and will encourage economic reforms and liberalization already underway.
*GDP (2006): $56.72 billion.
*GDP growth rate (2006 est.): 6.7%
*Per capita GDP (PPP, 2006): $4,400.
*Natural resources: Phosphates, fish, manganese, lead, silver, and copper.
*Agriculture: Products--barley, citrus fruits, vegetables, olives, livestock, and fishing.
*Industry: Types--phosphate mining, manufacturing and handicrafts, construction and public works, energy. Sector Information as % GDP (2006): Agriculture 13.3%, industry 31.2%, services 55.5%.
*Monetary unit: Moroccan dirham.
*Trade: Exports--$11.72 billion (2006). Major partners--EU 71.5%, India 4.1%, U.S. 2.6%, and Brazil 2.4%. Imports-- $21.22 billion (2006). Major partners--EU 52.1%, Saudi Arabia 4.8%, Russia 6.7%, China 5.2%, U.S. 3.4%.
*Budget: Revenues, $15.85 billion; expenditures, $20.39 billion, including capital expenditures of $2.19 billion. (2006 est.). *External debt: $17.9 billion (2006 est.).

==History==
Morocco's strategic location has shaped its history. Beginning with the Phoenicians, many foreigners were drawn to this area. Romans, Visigoths, Vandals and Byzantine Greeks ruled successively. Arab forces began occupying Morocco in the seventh century A.D., bringing their civilization and Islam. The Alaouite dynasty, which has ruled Morocco since 1649, claims descent from the Prophet Muhammad.

Morocco's location and resources led to early competition among European powers in Africa, beginning with successful Portuguese efforts to control the Atlantic coast in the 15th century. France showed a strong interest in Morocco as early as 1830. Following recognition by the United Kingdom in 1904 of France's "sphere of influence" in Morocco, the Algeciras Conference (1906) formalized France's "special position" and entrusted policing of Morocco to France and Spain jointly. The Treaty of Fes (1912) made Morocco a protectorate of France. By the same treaty, Spain assumed the role of protecting power over the northern and southern (Saharan) zones.

Nationalist political parties, which took shape under the French protectorate, began a strong campaign for independence after World War II. Declarations such as the Atlantic Charter (a joint U.S.-British statement set forth, among other things, the right of all people to choose the form of government under which they live), served as a base for the independence movement. A manifesto of the Istiqlal (Independence) Party in 1944 was one of the earliest public demands for independence. That party subsequently provided most of the leadership for the nationalist movement and remains a dominant political force.

In 1953, France exiled the highly respected Sultan Mohammed V and replaced him with the unpopular Mohammed Ben Aarafa. Ben Aarafa's reign was widely perceived as illegitimate, and sparked active opposition to French rule. France allowed Mohammed V to return in 1955, and by 1956, Morocco had regained its independence.

In the year 2006, Moroccans celebrated their 50th year of independence from France. After gaining independence on March 2, 1956, Morocco regained control over certain Spanish-ruled areas through agreements with Spain in 1956 and 1958. The internationalized city of Tangier was reintegrated with the signing of the Tangier Protocol on October 29, 1956. The Spanish enclave of Ifni in the south became part of Morocco in 1969. Spain, however, retains control over the small coastal enclaves of Ceuta and Melilla in the north.

During the 1990s, King Hassan made great strides toward economic and political liberalization. King Hassan died on July 23, 1999, and was succeeded by his son, Mohammed VI, who pledged to continue these reforms. Under Mohammed VI, the Moroccan Government has undertaken a number of economic, political, and social reforms, including the 2003 Moudawana, a reform of the family status code, and the 2006 Equity and Reconciliation Commission, which investigated allegations of human rights abuse from 1956 to 1999.

=References=
*[http://www.lonelyplanet.com/worldguide/destinations/africa/morocco]
*[http://i-cias.com/morocco/]
*[https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/mo.html]

==See Also==

[[World History Lecture Six]]

[[World History Lecture Thirteen]]

[[Category:African Countries]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:Morocco]]

User:Lilafaro

2009-05-20T20:41:30Z

Lilafaro: Created page with 'Greetings and welcome!'

Greetings and welcome!

Egypt

2009-05-20T20:40:55Z

Lilafaro:

{{Country
|name =''جمهورية مصر العربية ''Gumhūriyyat Misr al-Arabiyyah'''
|map =Egypt rel97.jpg
|map2 =Location of Egypt.png
|flag =Flag of Egypt.png
|arms =Arms of Egypt.png
|capital =Cairo
|capital-raw =
|government =Semi-Presidential republic
|government-raw =
|language =Arabic
|king =
|queen =
|monarch-raw =
|president =Hosni Mubarak
|president-raw =
|chancellor =
|chancellor-raw =
|pm =Ahmed Nazif
|pm-raw =
|area =386,660 sq mi
|pop =80,335,036 (2007)
|pop-basis =
|gdp =
|gdp-year =$329.791 billion (2006)
|gdp-pc =$4,836 (2006)
|currency =Egyptian pound
|idd =
|tld =
}}

''This entry relates to the Republic of Egypt. For Pharaonic and Greco-Roman Egypt see [[Ancient Egypt]]''

'''Egypt''' is a country located in north-east [[Africa]], and is the site of one of the oldest recorded civilizations on earth.

==Name==
The name "Egypt" is derived from the [[Greek]] word ''Aígyptos'' (Αίγυπτος), which was possibly a corruption from the compound word ''Aegaeon uptiōs'' (''Aίγαίου υπτίως''), meaning "below the Aegean" (Strabo). Ancient Egyptians referred to their land as ''Kemet'' ("black land"), in reference to the black [[silt]] deposited by the annual [[Nile]] [[flood]]s.

"Misr" (مصر)is the modern [[Arabic]] name for Egypt, which is based upon the [[Hebrew]] word "Mizraim" (מִצְרַיִם); the ancient Hebrews referred to Egypt as the "land of Mizraim" after the founder of that country.

==Geography==
Egypt has four main regions: the Eastern and Western Deserts, the Sinai Peninsula, and the Nile Valley and Delta, where about 99 percent of population lives. Modest amounts of [[rain]]fall occur along the Mediterranean coast; rainfall throughout the remainder of the country is minimal to nonexistent.

==People==
Egypt is the most populous country in the Arab-speaking world and the second-most populous on the African Continent. Nearly all of the country's 79 million people live in [[Cairo]] and [[Alexandria]]; elsewhere on the banks of the Nile; in the Nile delta, which fans out north of Cairo; and along the [[Suez Canal]]. These regions are among the world's most densely populated, containing an average of over 3,820 persons per square mile (1,540 per sq. km.), as compared to 181 persons per sq. mi. for the country as a whole.
[[Image:Egypt shop owner.jpg|left]]
Small communities spread throughout the [[desert]] regions of Egypt are clustered around oases and historic trade and transportation routes. The government has tried with mixed success to encourage migration to newly [[irrigation|irrigated]] land reclaimed from the desert. However, the proportion of the population living in rural areas has continued to decrease as people move to the cities in search of employment and a higher standard of living.

The Egyptians are a fairly homogeneous people of Hamitic origin. Mediterranean and Arab influences appear in the north, and there is some mixing in the south with the Nubians of northern [[Sudan]]. Ethnic minorities include a small number of [[Bedouin]] Arab nomads in the eastern and western deserts and in the [[Sinai]], as well as some 50,000-100,000 Nubians clustered along the Nile in Upper (southern) Egypt.

The literacy rate is about 58% of the adult population. Education is free through university and compulsory from ages six through 15. Rates for primary and secondary education have strengthened in recent years. Ninety-three percent of [[children]] enter [[primary school]] today, compared with 87% in 1994. Major universities include Cairo University (100,000 students), Alexandria University, and the 1,000-year-old Al-Azhar University, one of the world's major centers of Islamic learning.

Egypt's vast and rich [[literature]] constitutes an important cultural element in the life of the country and in the Arab-speaking world as a whole. Egyptian novelists and poets were among the first to experiment with modern styles of Egyptian literature, and the forms they developed have been widely imitated. Egyptian novelist Naguib Mahfouz was the first Egyptian to win the [[Nobel prize]] for literature. Egyptian books and films are available throughout the Middle East.
*Population (July 2006 est.): 78,887,007.
*Annual growth rate (2006 est.): 1.75%.
*Ethnic groups: Egyptian, Bedouin Arab, Nubian.
*Religions: Muslim 94%, Coptic Christian and other 6%.
*Languages: Arabic (official), English, French.
*Education: Years compulsory--ages 6-15. Literacy--total adult: 58%.
*Health: Infant mortality rate (2006 est.)--31.33 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (2006 est.): 71 years.

==Government and Political Conditions==
The Egyptian Constitution provides for a strong executive. Authority is vested in an elected president who can appoint one or more vice presidents, a prime minister, and a cabinet. The president's term runs for 6 years. Egypt's legislative body, the People's Assembly, has 454 members--444 popularly elected and 10 appointed by the president. The constitution reserves 50% of the assembly seats for "workers and peasants." The assembly sits for a 5-year term but can be dissolved earlier by the President. There also is a 264-member Shura (consultative) Council, in which 88 members are appointed and 174 elected for 6-year terms. Below the national level, authority is exercised by and through governors and mayors appointed by the central government and by popularly elected local councils.

Opposition party organizations make their views public and represent their followers at various levels in the political system, but power is concentrated in the hands of the President and the National Democratic Party majority in the People's Assembly and those institutions dominate the political system. In addition to the ruling National Democratic Party, there are 18 other legally recognized parties, whereas in 2004 there were only 16 other legally recognized parties.

The November 2000 elections were generally considered to have been more transparent and better executed than past elections, because of universal judicial monitoring of polling stations. On the other hand, opposition parties continue to lodge credible complaints about electoral manipulation by the government. There are significant restrictions on the political process and freedom of expression for non-governmental organizations, including professional syndicates and organizations promoting respect for human rights.

Progress was seen in the September 2005 presidential elections when parties were allowed to field candidates against President Mubarak and his National Democratic Party. In early 2005, President Mubarak proposed amending the constitution to allow, for the first time in Egypt's history, competitive, multi-candidate elections. An amendment was drafted by parliament and approved by public referendum in late May 2005. In September 2005, President Mubarak was reelected, according to official results, with 88% of the vote. His two principal challengers, Ayman Nour and No'man Gom'a, took 7% and 3% of the vote respectively.

Egypt's judicial system is based on European (primarily French) legal concepts and methods. Under the Mubarak government, the courts have demonstrated increasing independence, and the principles of due process and judicial review have gained greater respect. The legal code is derived largely from the Napoleonic Code. Marriage and personal status (family law) are primarily based on the religious law of the individual concerned, which for most Egyptians is Islamic Law (Sharia).

===Principal Government Officials===
*President--Mohamed Hosny Mubarak
*Prime Minister--Dr. Ahmed Nazif
*Minister of Foreign Affairs--Ahmed Aboul Gheit
*Ambassador to the United States--Ambassador Nabil Fahmy
*Permanent Representative to the United Nations--Ambassador Maged Abdel Fattah Abdelaziz

===Foreign Relations===
Geography, population, history, military strength, and diplomatic expertise give Egypt extensive political influence in the Middle East and within the Non-Aligned Movement as a whole. Cairo has been a crossroads of Arab commerce and culture for millennia, and its intellectual and Islamic institutions are at the center of the region's social and cultural development.

The Arab League headquarters is in Cairo, and the Secretary General of the League is traditionally an Egyptian. Former Egyptian Foreign Minister Amre Moussa is the present Secretary General of the Arab League. President Mubarak has often chaired the African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity). Former Egyptian Deputy Prime Minister Boutros Boutros-Ghali served as Secretary General of the United Nations from 1991 to 1996.

Egypt is a key partner in the search for peace in the Middle East and resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Sadat's groundbreaking trip to Israel in 1977, the 1978 Camp David Accords, and the 1979 Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty represented a fundamental shift in the politics of the region--from a strategy of confrontation to one of peace as a strategic choice. Egypt was subsequently ostracized by other Arab states and ejected from the Arab League from 1979 to 1989. Egypt played an important role in the negotiations leading to the Madrid Peace Conference in 1991, which, under U.S. and Russian sponsorship, brought together all parties in the region to discuss Middle East peace. This support has continued to the present, with President Mubarak often intervening personally to promote peace negotiations. In 1996, he hosted the Sharm El-Sheikh "Summit of the Peacemakers" attended by President Clinton and other world leaders. In 2000, he hosted two summits at Sharm El-Sheikh and one at Taba in an effort to resume the Camp David negotiations suspended in July of 2000, and in June 2003, Mubarak hosted President Bush for another summit on the Middle East peace process. Throughout mid-2004, Egypt worked closely with Israel and the Palestinian Authority to facilitate stability following Israel’s withdrawal from Gaza, which occurred in August and September of 2005. Prior to this Egypt and Israel reached an agreement that allowed Egypt to deploy additional forces along the Philadelphi Corridor in an attempt to control the border and prevent the smuggling of weapons.

Egypt played a key role during the 1990-91 Gulf crisis. President Mubarak helped assemble the international coalition and deployed 35,000 Egyptian troops against Iraq to liberate Kuwait. The Egyptian contingent was the third-largest in the coalition forces, after the U.S. and U.K. In the aftermath of the Gulf war, Egypt signed the Damascus declaration with Syria and the Gulf states to strengthen Gulf security. Egypt continues to contribute regularly to UN peacekeeping missions, most recently in East Timor, Sierra Leone, and Liberia. In August 2004, Egypt was actively engaged in seeking a solution to the crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan, including the dispatch of military monitors. Following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States, Egypt, which has itself been the target of terrorist attacks, has been a key supporter of the U.S. war against terrorists and terrorist organizations such as Osama bin Ladin and al-Qaeda, and actively supported the Iraqi Governing Council, as well as the subsequent government of Prime Minister Allawi. In July 2005, terrorists attacked the Egyptian city of Sharm El Sheikh. In the same month, Egypt's envoy to Iraq was assassinated.

==Defense==
Egypt's armed forces, among the largest in the region, include the army, air defense, air force, and navy. The armed forces inventory includes equipment from the United States, France, Italy, the United Kingdom, the former Soviet Union, and China. Equipment from the former Soviet Union is being progressively replaced by more modern American, French, and British equipment, a significant portion of which is built under license in Egypt. To bolster stability and moderation in the region, Egypt has provided military assistance and training to a number of African and Arab states. Egypt remains a strong military and strategic partner of the United States.

==Economy==
With the installation of the 2004 Egyptian parliament, the Government of Egypt began a new reform movement, following a stalled economic reform program begun in 1991, but moribund since the mid-1990s. In the past year, the cabinet economic team has simplified and reduced tariffs and taxes, improved the transparency of the national budget, revived stalled privatizations of public enterprises and implemented economic legislation designed to foster private sector-driven economic growth and improve Egypt's competitiveness. Despite these achievements, the economy is still hampered by government intervention, substantial subsidies for food, housing, and energy, and bloated public sector payrolls. Moreover, the public sector still controls most heavy industry.

In sectoral terms, agriculture is mainly in private hands, and has been largely deregulated, with the exception of cotton and sugar production. Construction, non-financial services, and domestic marketing are also largely private. The Egyptian economy, however, relies heavily on tourism, oil and gas exports, and Suez Canal revenues, much of which is controlled by the public sector and is also vulnerable to outside factors. The tourism sector suffered tremendously following a terrorist attack in Luxor in October 1997. The tourism sector feared a repeat of the downturn in tourist numbers when terrorists attacked resorts in the Sinai Peninsula in 2004 and 2005. So far, however, the sector has not suffered as greatly as expected.

The U.S. has a large assistance program in Egypt and provides funding for a variety of programs in addition to some cash transfers. A portion of U.S. assistance to Egypt under the 2003 Iraq war supplemental appropriations was provided in the form of bond guarantees, which were contingent upon Egyptian compliance with a series of economic conditions. Egypt met the conditions and in September 2005 issued $1.25 billion in 10-year bonds that were fully guaranteed by the United States. To support the Middle East peace process through regional economic integration, the United States permits products to be imported from Egypt without tariffs if they have been produced in Qualified Industrial Zones and 11.7% of the inputs of these products originate from Israel.
*GDP (2005 est.): $303 billion.
*Annual growth rate (2005 est.): 4.8%.
*Per capita GDP (2005 est.): $4,282.
*Natural resources: Petroleum and natural gas, iron ore, phosphates, manganese, limestone, gypsum, talc, asbestos, lead, zinc.
*Agriculture: Products--cotton, rice, onions, beans, citrus fruits, wheat, corn, barley, sugar.
*Industry: Types--food processing, textiles, chemicals, petrochemicals, construction, light manufacturing, iron and steel products, aluminum, cement, military equipment.
*Trade (FY 2005): Exports--$14.3 billion: petroleum, clothing and textiles, cotton, fruits and vegetables, manufactured goods. *Major markets--EU, U.S., Middle East, Japan. Imports--$24.1 billion: machinery and transport equipment, petroleum products, livestock, food and beverages, paper and wood products, chemicals. Major suppliers--EU, U.S., Japan.

===Agriculture===
Approximately one-third of Egyptian labor is engaged directly in farming, and many others work in the processing or trading of agricultural products. Nearly all of Egypt’s agricultural production takes place in some 2.5 million hectares (6 million acres) of fertile soil in the Nile Valley and Delta. Some desert lands are being developed for agriculture, including the ambitious Toshka project in Upper Egypt, but some other fertile lands in the Nile Valley and Delta are being lost to urbanization and erosion.

Warm weather and plentiful water permit several crops a year. Further improvement is possible, but land is worked intensively and yields are high. Cotton, rice, wheat, corn, sugarcane, sugar beets, onions, and beans are the principal crops. Increasingly, a few modern operations are producing fruits, vegetables and flowers, in addition to cotton, for export. While the desert hosts some large, modern farms, more common traditional farms occupy one acre each, typically in a canal-irrigated area along the banks of the Nile. Many small farmers also have cows, water buffaloes, and chicken, although larger modern farms are becoming more important.

The United States is a major supplier of wheat, corn, and soybean products to Egypt, almost all through commercial sales. Egypt is, in fact, traditionally the U.S.'s largest market for wheat sales. U.S. agricultural sales to Egypt average $1 billion annually. U.S. food assistance programs to Egypt ended in 1992 as Egypt became more prosperous. Egypt continues to receive modest food assistance through the World Food Program and from France.

"Egypt," wrote the Greek historian Herodotus 25 centuries ago, "is the gift of the Nile." The land's seemingly inexhaustible resources of water and soil carried by this mighty river created in the Nile Valley and Delta the world's most extensive [[oasis]]. Without the Nile, Egypt would be little more than a desert wasteland.

The river carves a narrow, cultivated floodplain, never more than 20 kilometers wide, as it travels northward toward Cairo from Lake Nasser on the Sudanese border, behind the Aswan High Dam. Just north of Cairo, the Nile spreads out over what was once a broad estuary that has been filled by riverine deposits to form a fertile delta about 250 kilometers wide (150 mi.) at the seaward base and about 160 kilometers (96 mi.) from south to north.

Before the construction of dams on the Nile, particularly the Aswan High Dam (started in 1952, completed in 1970), the fertility of the Nile Valley was sustained by the water flow and the silt deposited by the annual flood. Sediment is now obstructed by the Aswan High Dam and retained in Lake Nasser. The interruption of yearly, natural fertilization and the increasing salinity of the soil has been a manageable problem resulting from the dam. The benefits remain impressive: more intensive farming on millions of acres of land made possible by improved irrigation, prevention of flood damage, and the generation of billions of low-cost kilowatt hours of electricity.

The Western Desert accounts for about two-thirds of the country's land area. For the most part, it is a massive sandy plateau marked by seven major depressions. One of these, Fayoum, was connected about 3,600 years ago to the Nile by canals. Today, it is an important irrigated agricultural area.

===Natural Resources===
[[Image:Woman bread egypt.jpg|290px|right]]
In addition to the agricultural capacity of the Nile Valley and Delta, Egypt's natural resources include petroleum, natural gas, phosphates, and iron ore. Crude oil is found primarily in the Gulf of Suez and in the Western Desert. Natural gas is found mainly in the Nile Delta, off the Mediterranean seashore, and in the Western Desert. Oil and gas accounts for approximately 12% of GDP. Export of petroleum and related products (including bunker and aviation sales) amounted to $2.7 billion in fiscal year 2003-04.

Crude oil production has been in decline for several years, from a high of more than 920,000 barrels per day (BPD) in 1995 to less than 662,000 BPD as of April 2006. To minimize the growing domestic demand of petroleum products, currently estimated at 25 million metric tons per year, Egypt is encouraging the production of natural gas. Over a 5-year period, production of natural gas increased by approximately 75% to reach about 3.3 billion cubic feet per day (BCFD) by the end of FY 2003/04. Currently, gas accounts for almost 50% of all hydrocarbon usage in Egypt.

Over the last 22 years, more than 230 oil and gas exploration agreements have been signed and multinational oil companies spent more than $27 billion in exploration companions. As of September 2003, crude oil reserves were estimated at 2.8 billion barrels, and proven natural gas reserves were estimated at 62 trillion cubic feet (TCF) with probable additional reserves totaling another 40-60 TCF. Texas-based Apache Oil Company is the largest American investor in Egypt, with a total investment of more than $2.8 billion since 1996.

Egypt's excess of natural gas will more than meet its domestic demand for many years to come. The Ministry of Petroleum has determined that expanding the Egyptian petrochemical industry and increasing exports of natural gas as its most significant strategic objectives. As of September 2005, three liquefied natural gas (LNG) trains had been in operation. The first is in Damietta on the eastern side of the Delta and started exporting in early 2005. It is headed by the Spanish electric utility, Union Fenosa. The second LNG project is located at Idku on the western side of the Delta and started exporting in 2005. The first train started in April 2005, and the second in September. British Gas (BG) Group and the Malaysian state oil company Petronas are the major investors. Another project that will utilize gas for export and domestic consumption is the Mediterranean Gas Complex in Port Said where the Italian company AGIP and BP are the main shareholders. This facility will have a total cost of about $315 million and went on line in late 2004.

Egypt and Jordan established the Eastern Gas Company to export natural gas to Jordan, and then later to Syria and Lebanon. In summer 2003 Egypt began exporting gas to Jordan via a new pipeline from El Arish on Egypt’s north Sinai cost to Taba on the Gulf of Aqaba, and then underwater to the Jordanian city of Aqaba. Gas exports to Jordan generated gross revenues of approximately $60 million in 2003/04 and are currently reaching $85-100 million.

===Transport and Communication===
Transportation facilities in Egypt are centered in Cairo and largely follow the pattern of settlement along the Nile. The main line of the nation's 4,800-kilometer (2,800-mi.) railway network runs from Alexandria to Aswan. The well-maintained road network has expanded rapidly to over 21,000 miles, covering the Nile Valley and Delta, Mediterranean and Red Sea coasts, the Sinai, and the Western oases.

Egypt Air provides reliable domestic air service to major tourist destinations from its Cairo hub, in addition to overseas routes. The Nile River system (about 1,600 km. or 1,000 mi.) and the principal canals (1,600 km.) are important locally for transportation. The Suez Canal is a major waterway of international commerce and navigation, linking the Mediterranean and Red Seas. Major ports are Alexandria, Port Said, and Damietta on the Mediterranean, and Suez and Safraga on the Red Sea.

Egypt has long been the cultural and informational center of the Arab-speaking world, and Cairo is the region's largest publishing and broadcasting center. There are eight daily newspapers with a total circulation of more than 2 million, and a number of monthly newspapers, magazines, and journals. The majority of political parties have their own newspapers, and these papers conduct a lively, often highly partisan, debate on public issues.

Egyptian ground-broadcast television (ETV) is government controlled and depends heavily on commercial revenue. ETV sells its specially produced programs and soap operas to the Arab-speaking world. In addition to Egyptian programming, the Middle East Broadcast Company, a Saudi television station transmitting from London (MBC), Arab Radio and Television (ART), Al-Jazeera television, and other Gulf stations as well as Western networks such as CNN and BBC, provide access to more international programs to Egyptians who own satellite receivers.

ETV has two main channels, six regional channels, and three satellite channels. Of the two main channels, Channel I uses mainly Arabic, while Channel II is dedicated to foreigners and more cultured viewers, broadcasting news in English and French as well as Arabic.

Egyptian Satellite channels broadcast to the Middle East, Europe, and the U.S. East Coast. In April 1998, Egypt launched its own satellite known as NileSat 101. Seven specialized channels cover news, culture, sports, education, entertainment, health, and drama. A second, digital satellite, Nilesat 102, was launched in August 2000. Many of its channels are rented to other stations.

Three new private satellite-based TV stations were launched in November 2001, marking a great change in Egyptian government policy. Dream TV 1 and 2 produce cultural programming, broadcast contemporary video clips and films featuring Egyptian and international actors, as well as soap operas; another private station focuses on business and general news. Both private channels transmit on NileSat.

Radio in Egypt almost all government controlled, using 44 short-wave frequencies, 18 medium-wave stations, and four FM stations. There are seven regional radio stations covering the country. Egyptian Radio transmits 60 hours daily overseas in 33 languages and three hundred hours daily within Egypt. In 2000, Radio Cairo introduced new specialized (thematic) channels on its FM station. So far, they include news, music, and sports. Radio enjoys more freedom than TV in its news programs, talk shows and analysis.

==History==

''Also see: [[Ancient Egypt]]''

Egypt has endured as a unified state for more than 5,000 years, and archaeological evidence indicates that a developed Egyptian society has existed for much longer. Egyptians take pride in their "pharaonic heritage" and in their descent from what they consider mankind's earliest civilization. The Arabic word for Egypt is Misr, which originally connoted "civilization" or "metropolis."
[[Image:5457e.jpg|right|thumb|300px|View of the Sphinx with Khafra Pyramid in background ''(Photograph taken by [http://www.ianandwendy.com Ian Sewell])'']]
Archaeological findings show that primitive tribes lived along the Nile long before the dynastic history of the pharaohs began. Based on these time estimates, organized agriculture appeared by 6000 B.C.

In about 3100 B.C., Egypt was united under a ruler known as Mena, or [[Menes]], who inaugurated the 30 pharaonic dynasties into which Egypt's ancient history is divided--the Old and the Middle Kingdoms and the New Empire. The [[pyramid]]s at [[Giza]] (near Cairo), which were built in the fourth dynasty, testify to the power of the pharaonic religion and state. The Great Pyramid, the tomb of Pharaoh [[Khufu]] (also known as Cheops), is the only surviving monument of the [[Seven Wonders of the Ancient World]]. Ancient Egypt reached the peak of its power, wealth, and territorial extent in the period called the New Empire (1567-1085 B.C.).

===Persian, Greek, Roman, and Arab Conquerors===
In 525 B., [[Cambyses]], the son of [[Cyrus the Great]], led a [[Persian]] invasion force that dethroned the last pharaoh of the 26th Dynasty. The country remained a Persian province until conquered by [[Alexander the Great]] in 322 BC, ushering in [[Ptolemeic]] rule Egypt that lasted for nearly 300 years. [[Cleopatra]] was the last ruler of that dynasty, but when she committed suicide after losing to Rome when her lover [[Marc Antony]] was defeated by [[Octavian]] in the [[Battle of Actium]], Egypt became a part of the [[Roman Empire]].

Egypt was invaded and conquered by Arab forces under [[Islam]] in 642. A process of Arabization and Islamization ensued. Although a [[Coptic Christian]] minority remained--and remains today, constituting about 10% of the population--the Arab language inexorably supplanted the indigenous Coptic tongue. For the next 1,300 years, a succession of Arab, [[Mameluke]], and Ottoman [[caliph]]s, beys, and [[sultan]]s ruled the country.

Like most of the middle east, the current population in modern Egypt is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people.

===European Influence===
The [[Ottoman Turks]] controlled Egypt from 1517 until 1882, except for a brief period of [[French]] rule under [[Napoleon Bonaparte]]. In 1805, [[Mohammed Ali (Egypt)|Mohammed Ali]], commander of an Albanian contingent of Ottoman troops, was appointed [[Pasha]], founding the dynasty that ruled Egypt, at least in name, until his great-great grandson, [[Farouk I]], was overthrown in 1952. Mohammed Ali the Great ruled Egypt until 1848, writing the first chapter in the modern history of Egypt. The growth of modern urban [[Cairo]] began in the reign of [[Ismail]] (1863-79). Eager to Westernize the capital, he ordered the construction of a European-style city to the west of the medieval core. The [[Suez Canal]] was completed in his reign in 1869, and its completion was celebrated by many events, including the commissioning of Verdi's "Aida" for the new opera house and the building of great palaces such as the Omar Khayyam (originally constructed to entertain the French Empress Eugenie, which is now the central section of the Cairo Marriott Hotel).

In 1882, British expeditionary forces crushed a revolt against the Ottoman rulers, marking the beginning of British occupation and the virtual inclusion of Egypt within the [[British Empire]]. In deference to growing nationalism, the U.K. unilaterally declared Egyptian independence in 1922. British influence, however, continued to dominate Egypt's political life and fostered fiscal, administrative, and governmental reforms.

In the pre-1952 revolution period, three political forces competed with one another: the Wafd, a broadly based nationalist political organization strongly opposed to British influence; [[King Fuad]], whom the British had installed during [[World War II]]; and the British themselves, who were determined to maintain control over the Canal. Other political forces emerging in this period included the communist party (1925) and the [[Muslim Brotherhood]] (1928), which eventually became a potent political and religious force.

During [[World War II]], British troops used Egypt as a base for Allied operations throughout the region. British troops were withdrawn to the [[Suez Canal]] area in 1947, but nationalist, anti-British feelings continued to grow after the war. On July 22-23, 1952, a group of disaffected army officers (the "free officers") led by Lt. Col. [[Gamal Abdel Nasser]] overthrew King Farouk, whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in the 1948 war with [[Israel]]. Following a brief experiment with civilian rule, they abrogated the 1923 constitution and declared Egypt a republic on June 19, 1953. Nasser evolved into a charismatic leader, not only of Egypt, but the [[Arab world]], promoting and implementing "Arab socialism." He nationalized Egypt’s economy.

Nasser helped establish the [[Non-Aligned Movement]] of developing countries in September 1961, and continued to be a leading force in the movement until his death in 1970. When the United States held up military sales in reaction to Egyptian neutrality vis-à-vis [[Soviet Union|Moscow]], Nasser concluded an arms deal with [[Czechoslovakia]] in September 1955.

When the U.S. and the [[World Bank]] withdrew their offer to help finance the [[Aswan High Dam]] in mid-1956, Nasser nationalized the privately owned Suez Canal Company. The crisis that followed, exacerbated by growing tensions with Israel over [[guerrilla]] attacks from Gaza and Israeli reprisals, resulted in the invasion of Egypt that October by [[France]], [[Britain]], and Israel. Israel occupied the [[Sinai Peninsula]] while the canal was in the hands of the France and Britain, but all withdrew under U.S. pressure.

Nasser's domestic policies were arbitrary and frequently oppressive, yet generally popular. All opposition was stamped out, and opponents of the regime frequently were imprisoned without trial. Nasser's foreign and military policies helped provoke the [[Six-Day War|Israeli attack of June 1967]] that virtually destroyed Egypt's armed forces along with those of [[Jordan]] and [[Syria]]. Israel wrested and occupied the Sinai Peninsula and the [[Gaza Strip]] from Egypt. Personally, Nasser never recovered from that loss. Nasser, nonetheless, was revered by the masses in Egypt and in the Arab world until his death in 1970.

After Nasser's death, another of the original "free officers," Vice President [[Anwar el-Sadat]], was elected President. In 1971, Sadat concluded a treaty of friendship with the Soviet Union, but a year later, ordered Soviet advisers to leave. In October 1973, he launched the [[Yom Kippur War]] with Israel, in which Egypt's armed forces achieved unexpected initial successes but were defeated in Israeli counterattacks.

===Camp David and the Peace Process===
In a momentous change from the Nasser era, President Sadat shifted Egypt from a policy of confrontation with Israel to one of peaceful accommodation through negotiations. Following the Sinai Disengagement Agreements of 1974 and 1975, Sadat created a fresh opening for progress by his dramatic visit to [[Jerusalem]] in November 1977, the first Egyptian head of state to do so. This led to President [[Jimmy Carter]]'s invitation to President Sadat and [[Prime Minister Begin]] to join him in trilateral negotiations at [[Camp David]].

The outcome was the historic [[Camp David Accords|Camp David accords]], signed by Egypt and Israel and witnessed by the U.S. on September 17, 1978. The accords led to the March 26, 1979, signing of the Egypt-Israel peace treaty, by which Egypt regained control of the Sinai in May 1982 and guaranteed continuous U.S. economic aid. Throughout this period, U.S.-Egyptian relations steadily improved, but Sadat's willingness to break ranks by making peace with Israel earned him the enmity of most Arab states.

===Domestic Change===
[[Image:MuslimWomanEgypt.jpg|thumb|Muslim Woman]]
Sadat introduced greater political freedom and a new economic policy, the most important aspect of which was the infitah or "open door." This relaxed government controls over the economy and encouraged private, including foreign, investment. Sadat dismantled much of the existing political machine and brought to trial a number of former government officials accused of criminal excesses during the Nasser era.

Liberalization also included the reinstitution of due process and the legal banning of torture. Sadat tried to expand participation in the political process in the mid-1970s but later abandoned this effort. In the last years of his life, Egypt was racked by violence arising from discontent with Sadat's rule and sectarian tensions from radical Islam, and it experienced a renewed measure of repression.

===From Sadat to Mubarak===
On October 6, 1981, Islamic extremists assassinated President Sadat. [[Hosni Mubarak]], Vice President since 1975 and air force commander during the October 1973 war, was elected President later that month. He was subsequently confirmed by popular referendum for four more 6-year terms, most recently in September 2005. Mubarak has maintained Egypt's commitment to the Camp David peace process, while at the same time re-establishing Egypt's position as a leader in the Arab-speaking world. Egypt was readmitted to the [[Arab League]] in 1989. Egypt also has played a moderating role in such international fora as the [[UN]] and the Non-Aligned Movement.

Since 1991, Mubarak has overseen a domestic economic reform program to reduce the size of the public sector and expand the role of the private sector. There has been less progress in political reform. The November 2000 People's Assembly elections saw 34 members of the opposition win seats in the 454-seat assembly, facing a clear majority of 388 ultimately affiliated with the ruling National Democratic Party (NDP). Opposition parties continue to face various difficulties in mounting credible electoral challenges to the NDP. The Muslim Brotherhood, founded in Egypt in 1928, remains an illegal organization and is not recognized as a political party (current Egyptian law prohibits the formation of political parties based on religion). Members are known publicly and openly speak their views, although they do not explicitly identify themselves as members of the organization. Members of the Brotherhood have been elected to the People's Assembly and local councils as independents, and most recently scored a major victory in 2005 parliamentary elections, winning 20% of the seats, thus forming the largest opposition group.

== See also ==
*[[Egyptian chronology]]
*[[Medicine in Egypt]]
*[[Aton]]
*[[Battle of Actium]]

== External links ==
*[http://www.ancientegypt.co.uk/menu.html Ancient Egypt] The Trustees of the British Museum.
*[http://www.sis.gov.eg/En/Default.htm Egypt] Egypt State Information Service.

==References and Footnotes==

{{Copyright Details (US Government)}}

Source = [http://www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/5309.htm]

[[Category:Egypt]]
[[Category:African Countries]]
[[Category:Muslim-Majority Countries]]
[[Category:Egypt]]
[[Category:African History]]

Assyrian Empire

2009-05-20T20:37:30Z

Lilafaro:

[[Image:Assyrian empire.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Extent of the Assyrian Empire]]
(for Modern Assyrians, see [[Assyrians]])

'''Assyria''' was a very ancient kingdom in northern [[Mesopotamia]]. Today that would be in northern [[Iraq]].

It was dependent on [[Babylonia]] for a while, but rose to become an independent state in the 14th century B.C. Beginning with the 12th century it declined, only to reemerge as a kingdom again in the 8th century B.C. Under a sequence of powerful Assyrian kings of [[Tiglath-pileser III]], [[Shalmaneser V]], [[Sargon II]], [[Sennacherib]] and [[Esarhaddon]], Assyria expanded by force and controlled most of the [[Middle East]] from [[Egypt]] to the [[Persian Gulf]].

The Assyrians were known for their cruelty and military skills, and more than a few references in the [[Bible]] lament their treatment of the [[Hebrews]]. The [[Old Testament]] mentions “Assyria” 119 times, including this typical verse: “The Lord was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.” ([[II Kings]] 18:7 ([[NRS]]))

The Assyrians conquered Samaria, the northern kingdom of [[Israel]], in 722 B.C., but [[Judah]] remained free.

The Assyrian Empire declined quickly when a simultaneous revolt of Babylon and [[Media]] occurred in 625 B.C. A people who ruled through terror, they had no loyal allies when it looked like they could be overthrown. [[Nineveh]], the capital of Assyria, was taken in 612 B.C. and razed to the ground. Fighting continued through 609 B.C. and for a few years the Assyrian general [[Ashur-uballit]] tried to save a remnant of the Empire with [[Harran]] as its capital, but that last gasp was destroyed in 605 B.C. The Babylonians quickly assumed prominence in the Middle East as the next great Empire as they began their own military campaigns.

Like most of the [[middle east]], the current population in modern [[Syria]] is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people.

== Notable Assyrian Rulers ==
[[Image:Assyrian.jpg|250px|right]]
* Ashur-nasir-pal II - 883 to 859 B.C.
* Shalmaneser III - 859 to 824 B.C.
* Shamshi-Adad V - 824 to 810 B.C.
* Semiramis - 810 to 806 B.C. (Widow of Shamshi-Adad V)
* Ada-nirari III - 806 to 782 B.C. (Son of Semiramis)
* (A series of incompetent rulers ruled between 782 to 745 B.C.)
* Tiglath-pilesar III - 745 to 727 B.C.
* Shalmaneser V - 727 to 722 B.C.
* Sargon II - 722 to 705 B.C.
* Sennacherib - 705 to 681 B.C.
* Essarhaddon - 681 to 668 B.C.
* Ashurbanipal - 668 to 625 B.C.
* (Final rapid disintegration 625 to 612 B.C., destroyed for good in 605 B.C.)
{{Clear}}

*See also [[Assyrians]]

[[Category:Ancient History]]
[[Category:Assyria]]

Assyrian Empire

2009-05-20T20:36:49Z

Lilafaro:

[[Image:Assyrian empire.jpg|300px|right|thumb|Extent of the Assyrian Empire]]
(for Modern Assyrians, see [[Assyrians]])

'''Assyria''' was a very ancient kingdom in northern [[Mesopotamia]]. Today that would be in northern [[Iraq]].

It was dependent on [[Babylonia]] for a while, but rose to become an independent state in the 14th century B.C. Beginning with the 12th century it declined, only to reemerge as a kingdom again in the 8th century B.C. Under a sequence of powerful Assyrian kings of [[Tiglath-pileser III]], [[Shalmaneser V]], [[Sargon II]], [[Sennacherib]] and [[Esarhaddon]], Assyria expanded by force and controlled most of the [[Middle East]] from [[Egypt]] to the [[Persian Gulf]].

The Assyrians were known for their cruelty and military skills, and more than a few references in the [[Bible]] lament their treatment of the [[Hebrews]]. The [[Old Testament]] mentions “Assyria” 119 times, including this typical verse: “The Lord was with him; wherever he went, he prospered. He rebelled against the king of Assyria and would not serve him.” ([[II Kings]] 18:7 ([[NRS]]))

The Assyrians conquered Samaria, the northern kingdom of [[Israel]], in 722 B.C., but [[Judah]] remained free.

The Assyrian Empire declined quickly when a simultaneous revolt of Babylon and [[Media]] occurred in 625 B.C. A people who ruled through terror, they had no loyal allies when it looked like they could be overthrown. [[Nineveh]], the capital of Assyria, was taken in 612 B.C. and razed to the ground. Fighting continued through 609 B.C. and for a few years the Assyrian general [[Ashur-uballit]] tried to save a remnant of the Empire with [[Harran]] as its capital, but that last gasp was destroyed in 605 B.C. The Babylonians quickly assumed prominence in the Middle East as the next great Empire as they began their own military campaigns.

Like most of the [[middle east]], the current population is by [[Arabs]] that have Arabized the [[indigenous]] people.

== Notable Assyrian Rulers ==
[[Image:Assyrian.jpg|250px|right]]
* Ashur-nasir-pal II - 883 to 859 B.C.
* Shalmaneser III - 859 to 824 B.C.
* Shamshi-Adad V - 824 to 810 B.C.
* Semiramis - 810 to 806 B.C. (Widow of Shamshi-Adad V)
* Ada-nirari III - 806 to 782 B.C. (Son of Semiramis)
* (A series of incompetent rulers ruled between 782 to 745 B.C.)
* Tiglath-pilesar III - 745 to 727 B.C.
* Shalmaneser V - 727 to 722 B.C.
* Sargon II - 722 to 705 B.C.
* Sennacherib - 705 to 681 B.C.
* Essarhaddon - 681 to 668 B.C.
* Ashurbanipal - 668 to 625 B.C.
* (Final rapid disintegration 625 to 612 B.C., destroyed for good in 605 B.C.)
{{Clear}}

*See also [[Assyrians]]

[[Category:Ancient History]]
[[Category:Assyria]]