Completing his studies at Indiana University in 1978, Foley left Indiana and took a $99 one-way flight to Amsterdam, where he began to tour Europe. In London, he met photo editor Horst Faas, then the Associated Press (AP) photo chief for the Middle East and Europe. Faas sent Foley on assignment to Egypt, where he worked for the next several years, primarily covering the presidency of Anwar Sadat. Foley was present at the 6 October 1981 military parade in which Sadat was assassinated, and photographed him only moments before his death, calling the photograph "The Last Smile".