Cover boy 2

We are still in our journey with our Egyptian Cover boys of the Time magazine since 1923 till now ,Please check the first part of the post .Now we go to the fourth Egyptian leader who appeared on the cover of the Time .

He was the first Free officer and the second President of Egypt historically and the second most Egyptian Leader who found his way to the cover of the Time through his ruling years from 1954 to 1970 . you will be amazed how he was a controversial character and you will learn how the media can turn 180 degrees because of the international polices , yes I am talking about President Gamal Abd El-Nasser whom whether you like or dislike you can't deny that he was a center of news in the world and in his time there were many events ,international crisis and wars in only 16 years. The relationship between Nasser and the foreign press with the Time in particular was strange , I mean they would attack him and on the same time they would publish a long interview with him !! The strange thing which puzzles me is that I know that Nasser had special departments for monitoring what was published abroad whether in the Egyptian Presidency or in the Foreign ministry "My grand mother's brother was a head for it for couple of years during the Nasserite era" not to mention of course the intelligence , so I do not know how he used to welcome them for interview anyhow may be it was an intelligent move to communicate with the outside world specifically the West

The relation between them was an example of how the American administration considered Nasser ,it was like a mirror of reflection to the phases in the Egyptian-American relations during that time

The first time was on Sep. 26, 1955 they considered Nasser revolutionary  with a very beautiful illustration for the young officer and behind him a beautiful illustration of ancient Egypt Wall that looks like a wall from one of the Karnak Temples , representing Egyptians behind him

The second time was on August 27, 1956 and the revolutionary turned in to a Counterpuncher dictator during the Suez Crisis after the Nationalization of the Suez Canal,now he became the new villain of the western world , you only have to see the cover and how the cartoonist illustrated Nasser and compare it with 1955 cover to know the difference in the attitudes and view , the close up look with a devilish smile and big hawk nose not to mention the ancient Egyptian Wall behind representing an Egyptian soldiers from Ancient Egypt holding riffles and swords , it was full of meanings with direct messages , the difference from the previous less than year issue is amazing .The cartoonist who made that cover was  Ernest Hamlin Baker

The third time was on July 28,1958 , after two years from the Suez Issue the Counterpuncher dictator became an adventurer in the middle east whether with his new United Arab Republic or the crisis in Lebanon 1958 ,the marines came to the middle east ,still the cover was different than the one in 1956 , first of all the it was an photograph representing Nasser and the Egyptian Old green flag that was going to be changed later ,here Nasser was no longer wearing his military suite and for the first time you find a normal smile on his face , in 1955 the cartoonist did not show him smiling and in 1956 he had that cartoon devilish smile , but in 1958 he had this calm smile  another remark Nasser name on the cover was no longer associated with Egypt like in 1955 or in 1956 may be because then he became the President Of UAE . The Photograph was taken by famous photojournalist David Douglas Duncan

Now after 5 years Nasser made it for the fourth time appearing on the cover of the time on March 29, 1963,the epic of the Pan Arabism ,again he returned as Nasser of Egypt yet he became the most influential man in the Arab world , sending his armies to Yemen , supporting revolutions here and there, his allies were like the pain in the ass , the pan Arabism dream from the Ocean to the Gulf and his alliance with the Soviet Union were like the pain in the ass for America and its allies in the Arab world . The adventurer from 5 years ago became the Camel driver , leading the Arab world I guess .The cover was another illustration influenced with the history of ancient Egypt ,Nasser as a pharaoh standing with side by side with Sphinx , there are three men with sticks walking in the shadow I do not know who they were if you have idea please tell me , the very interesting part in the cover that time was the Arabic proverb on the right corner of the magazine "Keep your tents separate and bring your heart together" already I do not in Arabic a proverb like this but in the end I do not know all the proverbs , the proverb is about the Arab unity of course by the way .That cover was drawn by illustrator Robert Vickery

After another 6 years later He made it again for the fifth time on the cover of the time on May. 16, 1969 ,yes after the defeat of the Six days . That issue included  a long interview with him made by two journalists one of them was the managing editor of the time then himself in Nasser's house.There was another report about the general conditions of the Arab world Egypt in particular after the defeat which affected the whole Arabic world painfully ,not only the countries of the front .very powerful Nasser was illustrated like A stone statue behind him a stone wall ,in a very powerful way with the title a deadlock in the middle east , strong and sad look in the eyes of Nasser of Egypt who was longer a dictator or adventurer but a president of Egypt.The cartoonist who made that cover was Louis Glanzman

That was the last time Nasser would appear alive on the Time as the following sixth time , he appeared on the international magazine after his death on October 12,1970 in a graphical cover made of combined a photo for Nasser and other photos of Egypt of Abu Simbel II temple ,from the war , with two shapes of Crescent representing the Islamic identity of the Egypt and the Arab world with red background , I do not know if they chose red on purpose referring to the alliance with the soviets of what. Nasser was not an easy politician or leader and what he made that was considered a legacy was questioned in that critical time in whether to stay or vanish and the most important question to the west then who fill his vacuum . This cover was designed by Lawrence Lowry

President Nasser appeared 6 times in his 16 years rule of Egypt ,4 illustrated covers and two photographic covers. The covers presented the troubled relation with the west and specifically the United States .

This is the end of the second ,there will be a third part covering the rest of the Egyptian leaders who appeared on the cover of the time , I hope that the post was not too long ,damn it when blogger.com will add the read more feature !!??

Technorati tags: Time Magazine, President Gamal Abd El-Nasser, Politics, History, 1950s, 1960s, media, press, international, middle east, Suez Canal, Six days war, Arab world, photos, covers, Egypt, Egyptians