(1918-1970) President of Egypt from 1954-1970. Nasser came to power following the 1952 Free Officers' Coup in Egypt. As Egyptian President, he oversaw two regional wars with Israel, including the Suez Canal crisis in 1956 and the War of 1967, during which Israel captured the Sinai Peninsula, claiming it as a buffer zone. Nasser engaged in military action against the Israeli presence in the Sinai until his acceptance of the US-brokered Rogers Plan in 1970 that promised a return of the Sinai if Egypt ended hostilities with Israel; Israel, the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) and many Arab countries rejected this plan. Nasser was also well-known for his socialist and pan-Arab ideas, his harsh policies toward the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood and his support of the PLO. See Gordon, Joel. Nasser: Hero of the Arab Nation. Oxford, England: One World, 2006; and “Gamal Abdal Nasser.” Encyclopedia.com. 21 August 2011. http://www.encyclopedia.com/topic/Gamal_Abdal_Nasser.aspx.  http://www.justvision.org/glossary/nasser-gamal-abdul