What happened
On 23 July 1952 the Free Officers, a clandestine group of army officers, seized power in a nearly bloodless coup — General Muhammad Naguib served as figurehead, while Colonel Gamal Abdel Nasser was the moving force. King Farouk abdicated and left Egypt on 26 July 1952. The monarchy was abolished and a republic declared on 18 June 1953, ending roughly 150 years of the Muhammad Ali dynasty.
Background
The humiliating 1948 defeat in Palestine, palace corruption under King Farouk, the continuing British military presence on the canal, and the burning of Cairo in January 1952 had discredited the old order. Early measures of the new regime included a land reform limiting large estates and a purge of the old party system. In the ensuing power struggle Naguib was pushed aside by 1954, and Nasser became the unchallenged leader.
Consequences
The revolution made the army the core of Egyptian politics for decades. It also inspired officer movements and anti-colonial politics across the Arab world. 23 July remains Egypt’s national day.