History of the Republic of Egypt
On 22–26 July 1952, the Free Officers, a group of disaffected officers in the Egyptian army founded by Gamal Abdel Nasser, and headed by General Muhammad Naguib, initiated the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 with the overthrowing King Farouk, whom the military blamed for Egypt's poor performance in the 1948 war with Israel and lack of progress in fighting poverty, disease, and illiteracy in Egypt. In the following two years, the Free Officers consolidated power, and, following a brief experiment with civilian rule, abrogated the 1953 constitution, and declared Egypt a republic on 18 June 1953, Muhammad Naguib as Egypt's first President.
1958 Egyptian United Arab Republic referendum
A referendum on the United Arab Republic was held in Egypt on 21 February 1958, alongside a simultaneous referendum in Syria. The referendum consisted of two questions; one on the formation of the UAR, and the other on Gamal Abdel Nasser's candidacy for the post of President of the UAR. Both were approved, with fewer than 300 votes against and a 98.1% voter turnout.