Coup Atlas Research Database
← Back to explorer
65111171954SuccessfulPalace coup

Egypt, 1954 — palace coup

Egypt (EGY)North Africa, AfricaNovember 17, 1954

Event Summary

In the days immediately following Mohamed Naguib's removal on November 14, 1954, the Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council under Gamal Abdel Nasser consolidated its control, leaving the presidency vacant and Nasser as chairman of the council and the effective head of state. Naguib, Egypt's first president and the popular face of the 1952 revolution, had been stripped of all posts and confined after being accused of sympathizing with the outlawed Muslim Brotherhood in the wake of the October 1954 attempt on Nasser's life. With Naguib gone, the last significant check on Nasser inside the ruling group was removed.

Nasser governed as prime minister and RCC chairman, held no formal presidential title until his election in June 1956, and moved to build the one-party authoritarian state that would define Egypt for decades.

Researched Details

Researched

Independent research, added record by record. Hover any label for what it means.

Target identified in Coup Atlas research: Mohamed Naguib, President of Egypt (removed days earlier; RCC under Nasser consolidated control)
RESEARCHED NAME
Key figures
Gamal Abdel Nasser (RCC chairman and effective head of state)
Mohamed Naguib (removed president, under house arrest)

Sources

Over the following months Nasser gradually forced Naguib from power, formally removing him as president in November 1954 and establishing himself as the effective leader of Egypt.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council" open source ↗
After Naguib's removal in November 1954 the position of president stood vacant, and Nasser assumed power as president only in June 1956.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "Republic of Egypt (1953-1958)" open source ↗
Following the 1954 assassination attempt, Nasser cracked down on the Muslim Brotherhood, put President Naguib under house arrest, and assumed executive office, before being formally elected president in June 1956.
SOURCE REVIEWED Wikipedia, "Gamal Abdel Nasser" open source ↗
The official Egyptian presidency record notes that from Naguib's removal on 14 November 1954 the president position remained vacant until 1956, when Nasser took office.
SOURCE REVIEWED Egyptian Presidency (presidency.eg), Museum of the Revolutionary Command Council open source ↗

Editorial Note

The Cline dataset lists a second Egypt event on 17 November 1954, coded with the leader not physically harmed, closely following the 14 November removal. Sources treat the removal of Naguib and Nasser's consolidation as one connected episode over mid-November 1954 rather than two distinct coups, so this entry documents the consolidation phase and cross-references the 14 November record. Three Wikipedia articles and the official Egyptian presidency site were read directly.

Cross-Reference

Only one dataset carries it. One of the three reference datasets we check against carries this event; the others do not list it. That is not a contradiction — the datasets cover different periods and use different thresholds — but it means the record has had less outside corroboration.

Identifiers for finding this same event in the other datasets:

Cline Center id
65111171954

How the match is made is described in crossref-report.md.

Outcome and Target

Coup Atlas research identifies the target as: Mohamed Naguib, President of Egypt (removed days earlier; RCC under Nasser consolidated control).

Baseline coding: Incumbent executive removed from power. Recorded leader fate: deposed; not physically harmed. The baseline file does not name individual targets; researched names are kept in a separate layer.

Baseline Dataset Citation

Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset, v2.2.2
Peyton, Buddy, Joseph Bajjalieh, Michael Martin, and Andrea Gerald. 2026. Cline Center Coup d’État Project Dataset. Cline Center for Advanced Social Research. V.2.2.2. February 17. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. doi: 10.13012/B2IDB-9651987_V10
⚑ This citation establishes the coded baseline record; use the claim-level sources above for the researched narrative.

Baseline Source-Document Entries

Wikipedia

New York Times

“Nasser Assumes Duties of Naguib,” November 18, 1954
“For 18 Years Nasser Had Almost Hypnotic Power In His Leadership of Egyptians,” September 29, 1970
“The Arabs Have Lost a Hero – And Symbol of Unity,” October 4, 1970

This is the citation trail carried by the baseline dataset, grouped by outlet and rejoined from the line-wrapped original. Coup Atlas has not independently re-checked every document; read the original before citing a specific claim. URLs the import damaged beyond safe repair are shown as plain text and listed in citations-report.md. How this list is built →

Know something about this event?
Tips are reviewed against sources before anything is added.