This annotated chronology is based on the data sources that follow each entry. Public sources often provide conflicting information on classified military programs. In some cases we are unable to resolve these discrepancies, in others we have deliberately refrained from doing so to highlight the potential influence of false or misleading information as it appeared over time. In many cases, we are unable to independently verify claims. Hence in reviewing this chronology, readers should take into account the credibility of the sources employed here.
Inclusion in this chronology does not necessarily indicate that a particular development is of direct or indirect proliferation significance. Some entries provide international or domestic context for technological development and national policymaking. Moreover, some entries may refer to developments with positive consequences for nonproliferation.
23 July 1952
Gamal Abdul Nassar leads a coup by the Free Officers' Movement against King Fuad II. As a result, Muhammad Najib becomes Egypt's president and prime minister.
—"Timeline: Egypt," BBC News, 3 March 2003, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/790979.stm>.
1952
The number of Egyptian science graduates is estimated at just under 1,400. Some scientists from this pool reportedly express interest in nuclear research in so far as it relates to their field of specialization—medicine, agriculture, engineering, and chemistry.
—Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 1988), p. 49.
1954
Gamal Abdul Nassar becomes Egypt's prime minister.
—"Timeline: Egypt," BBC News, 3 March 2003, <http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/country_profiles/790979.stm>.
1955
According to a report prepared by an ad hoc committee formed by the Shura Consultative Council, Egypt launches its nuclear program. The Consultative Council serves an advisory role to the People's Assembly.
—"Consultative Council Discusses Nuclear Energy," Middle East News Agency, 28 June 1987.
March 1955
The Egyptian Board of Atomic Energy is created. Its functions include formulating policy for the Atomic Energy Establishment (AEE), which in turn conducts research into the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
—Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 1988), p. 49.
August 1955
The UN hosts its first Conference on the Peaceful Uses of Atomic Energy in Geneva. The Egyptian delegation makes contact with two young Egyptian researchers at the conference, Abdel Maaboud El Guibaily and Ismail Hazza, who will later play key roles in Egyptian nuclear research. [Note: El Guibaily will lead the establishment of isotope laboratories in Egypt, and Hazza would go on to head the nuclear chemistry division at the AEE Research Center in Inshas and later become Director-General of the AEE and Minister of Scientific Research.]
—"IAEA at 40: The Fifties," <http//www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Periodicals/
Bulletin/Bull393/Chronology/fifties.html>; Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 1988), p. 50.
1955-1957
The Egyptian Board of Atomic Energy sends missions to other countries to study their nuclear research agencies. Some of the countries visited include Austria, Denmark, France, Great Britain, Holland, India, Sweden, the United States, the Soviet Union, and West Germany.
—Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 1988), p. 50.
June 1956
The United States begins assisting Egypt in installing a radioisotope laboratory in the National Research Center at Inshas.
—Mohammad El-Sayed Selim, "Egypt and the Middle Eastern Nuclear Issue," Strategic Analysis, January 1996, p. 1382.
October 1957
Egypt is one of the 23 member states elected to the first IAEA Board of Governors.
—"IAEA at 40: The Fifties," <http//www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/Periodicals/
Bulletin/Bull393/Chronology/fifties.html>.
1957
Egypt selects Inshas as the site for its first nuclear research center. Inshas is located about 40-60km northeast of Cairo.
—Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 1988), p. 51; "Nuclear Research Center," Federation of American Scientists, 11 June 2000, <http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/egypt/facility/nrc.htm>.
1957
Egypt concludes its first nuclear protocol with the Soviet Union. The terms of the protocol include the supply of an experimental light water reactor for Inshas and equipment for a theoretical physics laboratory, including a Vandergraaf 2.5MW accelerator. Additionally, the Soviet Union agrees to accept Egyptian students for university training.
—Shyam Bhatia, Nuclear Rivals in the Middle East (New York: Routledge, 1988), p. 51.
1 March 1958
Construction of the Soviet-supplied light water reactor to be located at Inshas commences.
—"ETRR-1," Nuclear Research Reactors in the World, IAEA, 6 March 2001, <http://www.iaea.org/worldatom/rrdb/>.
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Updated August 2005 |
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