| National Union | |
| Native Name: | Arabic: الاتحاد القومي |
| Leader1 Title: | General Secretary |
| Leader1 Name: | Anwar Sadat Kamal el-Din Hussein |
| Leader2 Title: | Chairman |
| Leader2 Name: | Gamal Abdel Nasser |
| Foundation: | 28 May 1957 |
| Predecessor: | Liberation Rally |
| Successor: | Arab Socialist Union |
| Headquarters: | Cairo, Egypt |
| Position: | Left-wing |
| Country2: | Syria |
| Ideology: | Arab nationalism Arab socialism Pan-Arabism Nasserism Anti-Zionism Anti-Ikhwanism Republicanism Anti-communism |
| Country: | Egypt |
The National Union (Arabic: الاتحاد القومي ) was the only permitted party in the United Arab Republic,[1] [2] the political union between Egypt and Syria that existed from 1957 to 1962.
The National Union was founded by a presidential decree in Egypt in May 1957 by President Gamal Abdel Nasser as a successor to the Liberation Rally, with its permanent functions in effect from November 1957, shortly before the founding of the United Arab Republic.[3] After the formation of the UAR in 1958, the National Union also became the only legal political movement in Syria. In the latter country, the National Union was controlled by former Ba'athists and anti-communists.
The main objective of the National Union was to mobilize the population behind Nasser's policies, which consisted of pan-Arabism, reforms and the building of a welfare state. However, the National Union did not become a real mass movement, certainly not in Syria. The latter country withdrew from the UAR in September 1961. In 1962 Nasser replaced the National Union with the Arab Socialist Union (ASU).