Muhammad Anwar El Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from October 15, 1970 until his assassination. He had been a senior member of the Free Officers who overthrew the Muhammad Ali Dynasty in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, and was a close confidante of Gamal Abdel Nasser, whom he succeeded as President in 1970.

He is best known for his official visit to Israel On November 19, 1977. He met with Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, and spoke before the Knesset in Jerusalem about his views on how to achieve a comprehensive peace to the Arab-Israeli conflict, which included the full implementation of UN Resolutions 242 and 338.

He made the visit after receiving an invitation from Begin and once again sought a permanent peace settlement. This visit went against the U.S. and Soviet Union’s intentions, which were to revive the international Geneva Conference. In 1978, this resulted in the Camp David Peace Agreement, for which Sadat and Begin received the Nobel Peace Prize.