page_title: Arab Socialist Union (Egypt)
section_title: Foundation
hierarchical_section_title: Arab Socialist Union (Egypt) / History / Foundation
caption_attribution_description: English: Members of the Executive Committee of the Arab Socialist Union of Egypt during the Second Session of the National Conference on the war with Israel
context_page_description: The Arab Socialist Union was an Egyptian political party based on the principles of Nasserist Arab socialism.
context_section_description: The Arab Socialist Union was founded in Egypt in December 1962 by Gamal Abdel Nasser as the country's sole political party. The ASU grew out of the Free Officers Movement of the Egyptian Revolution of 1952. The party's formation was just one part in Nasser's National Charter. The Charter set out an agenda of nationalization, agrarian reform, and constitutional reform, which formed the basis of ASU policy. The programme of nationalisation under Nasser saw seven billion Egyptian pounds of private assets transferred into the public sector. Banks, insurance companies, many large shipping companies, major heavy industries and major basic industries were converted to public control. Land reforms saw the maximum area of private land ownership successively reduced from 200 to 100 feddans.  A 90% top rate of income tax was levied on income over ten thousand Egyptian pounds. Boards of directors were required to have a minimum number of workers, and workers and peasants were guaranteed at least half of the seats in the People's Assembly.  The Charter also saw a strong assertion of Arab nationalism, within the context of historical Egyptian nationalism.
caption: The Executive Committee of the ASU at a party conference, March 1969. From right to left: Diaa al-Din Dawoud, Mahmoud Fawzi, Hussein el-Shafei, Gamal Abdel Nasser, Anwar Sadat, Ali Sabri and Labib Shukair.
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