Political Parties have existed in Egypt since the late 19th century, evolving in its organization and structure. They evolved in since that time till today. This article lists political parties that have existed in Egypt from the 19th century to the present. For the current state, see List of political parties in Egypt.
Emergence of political parties in Egypt in the 20th century was a reflection of social, economic, and cultural interactions as well as certain historical, national and political circumstances, leading to the creation and development of modern institutions of government administration and society, such as the parliament, cabinets, political parties, syndicates, etc. This emergence has been gradual and has gone through successive stages. Political parties have firstly been formed as secret societies that were followed by formation of political groups.
The National Party, not to be confused with the later National Democratic Party (NDP), was the first party, formed in 1907 by Mostafa Kamel. In less than ten years, there was a great variety in these parties; in their nature, formation, organization, power, their popular base and platforms. There were national parties, groups dominated by the royal palace, others formed by the occupation authority as well as ideological parties expressing certain ideologies.
In 1907–1920, the already-formed political parties in Egypt were a starting signal for the dissemination of further parties; however, they were restricted due to the British occupation and Egyptian subordination to the Ottoman Empire. The February 1922 Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence and the issuance of the 1923 Constitution led to the establishment of a royal constitutional rule based on party pluralism and the principles of liberal democracy.
During 1923–1952, Egypt witnessed a remarkable experience rich in political and democratic practices, however, such an experience was marked with many defects such as the British occupation, foreign intervention in Egypt's affairs and the royal palace's interference in political life. With the outbreak of the July 1952 Revolution, the Egyptian regime worked to liquidate the opposition. In January 1953, an enactment was adopted on disbanding the political parties and adoption of the one-party rule. The enactment of the parties' law in 1977 demonstrated Egypt's political regime officially turned into the era of party pluralism.
This practice of democracy has stopped for a period of time in Egyptian history. After the 1952 Revolution, all political parties were disbanded and replaced with a succession of government parties, which alone were allowed to operate. In 1977, with the enactment of the parties' law, Egypt returned to being a multi-party state but - at least until the ongoing Egyptian Revolution of 2011 - politics continued to be dominated by the government party, the National Democratic Party, with competing parties being allowed to operate having very little chance of attaining power.
Following the 1952 revolution, political parties were outlawed by the Revolutionary Command Council and a single government party was founded to mobilize support for the government. This was in turn superseded by similar parties, centred on supporting the government and President Gamal Abdel Nasser. It remained so under Nasser's successor Anwar El Sadat, for the first seven years of his rule, before multiparty elections were allowed again in 1977.
• The Socialist Liberal Party (1976 — 2011).
• The National Democratic Party (1978 - 2011).
The New Wafd Party, officially the Egyptian Wafd Party and also known as the Al-Wafd Party, is a nationalist liberal party in Egypt.
Saad Zaghloul Pasha was an Egyptian revolutionary and statesman. He was the leader of Egypt's nationalist Wafd Party.
Ismail al-Azhari was a Sudanese nationalist and political figure. He served as the first Prime Minister of Sudan between 1954 and 1956, and as Head of State of Sudan from 1965 until he was overthrown by Gaafar Nimeiry in 1969.
Liberalism in Egypt or Egyptian liberalism is a political ideology that traces its beginnings to the 19th century.
The National Democratic Party, often referred to in Egypt as simply the National Party, was the ruling political party in Egypt from 1978 to 2011. It was founded by President Anwar Sadat in 1978. The NDP wielded uncontested power in state politics, usually considered a de facto single party, with authoritarian characteristics, inside an officially multi-party system, from its creation until the resignation of Sadat's successor Hosni Mubarak in response to the Egyptian Revolution of 2011.
The Wafd Party was a nationalist liberal political party in Egypt. It was said to be Egypt's most popular and influential political party for a period from the end of World War I through the 1930s. During this time, it was instrumental in the development of the 1923 constitution, and supported moving Egypt from dynastic rule to a constitutional monarchy, where power would be wielded by a nationally-elected parliament. The party was dissolved in 1952, after the 1952 Egyptian Revolution.
The History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt (1939–1954) discusses the History of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt from its actions during World War II to its official dissolution by the Egyptian government.
The Democratic Unionist Party, also referred to by itself as the Original Democratic Unionist Party, is a political party in Sudan, closely tied to the Khatmiyya Sufi order.
The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état and 23 July Revolution, was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952 the revolution began with the toppling of King Farouk in a coup d'état by the Free Officers Movement. This group of army officers was led by Mohamed Naguib and Gamal Abdel Nasser. The Revolution ushered in a wave of revolutionary politics in the Arab World, and contributed to the escalation of decolonisation, and the development of Third World solidarity during the Cold War.
Fouad Pasha Serageddin, was an Egyptian politician and leader of Egypt's Wafd Party.
The Kingdom of Egypt was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in 1953 following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. Until the Anglo-Egyptian treaty of 1936, the Kingdom was only nominally independent, as the United Kingdom retained control of foreign relations, communications, the military, and Sudan. Officially, Sudan was governed as a condominium of the two states; however, in reality, true power in Sudan lay with the United Kingdom. Between 1936 and 1952, the United Kingdom continued to maintain its military presence, and its political advisers, at a reduced level, which resulted in the increase of Egyptian sovereignty and independence.
The Egyptian revolution of 1919 was a nation-wide revolution in the Sultanate of Egypt against British occupation which lasted from November 1918 to July 1919. Occurring right after the end of World War I, the revolution served as the culmination of successive decades of opposition by Egyptian nationalists to the occupation, and was directly sparked by the British-ordered exile of Wafd Party leader Saad Zaghloul and several other party members.
The Sultanate of Egypt was the short-lived protectorate that the United Kingdom imposed over Egypt between 1914 and 1922.
Ismail Sidky Pasha was an Egyptian politician who served as Prime Minister of Egypt from 1930 to 1933 and again in 1946.
The Arab Socialist Union was an Egyptian political party based on the principles of Nasserism and Arab socialism.
Egypt's first experience of secularism started with the British Occupation (1882–1922), the atmosphere which allowed the protection of debate. In this environment pro-secularist intellectuals like Yaqub Sarruf, Faris Nimr, Nicola Haddad who sought political asylum from Ottoman Rule were able to publish their work. This debate had then become a burning issue with the work of Egyptian Shaykh Ali Abdel Raziq (1888–1966), “The most momentous document in the crucial intellectual and religious debate of modern Islamic history”.
Safiya Zaghloul was an Egyptian political activist. She was among the early leaders of the Wafd Party.
The Young Egypt Party also known as the Green Shirts was a fascist Egyptian nationalist political party. It is notable for counting a young Anwar Sadat as a member.
Abbas Halim, also known as Nabil Abbas Halim or Sherief Abbas Halim, was a prince of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and a labour activist in Egypt.
The Liberal Constitutional Party was an Egyptian political party founded in 1922 by a group of politicians who left the Wafd Party.
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