Egypt was the first country in Africa and the Middle East to adopt a Western- style written constitution. In 1879, Egypt's French-educated Prime Minister, Mohamed Sherif Pasha, was asked by Khedive Ismail to emulate a French- style constitution. Another constitution was drafted in early 1882, but was scrapped after Britain occupied Egypt that same year. Other insignificant constitutions were passed in 1883 and 1913. The following is a list of the more relevant constitutional events that have taken place since then. 19 April 1923 : The most liberal constitution in the nation's history stated that Egypt was a sovereign parliamentary democracy with a king at its head. The throne was to be hereditary and confined to the family of Mohamed Ali, who founded modern Egypt in 1805. The constitution also mandated a complete separation of powers between the judicial, legislative and executive authorities. 21 October 1930 : This autocratic constitution, the brainchild of prime minister Ismail Sedqi, gave King Fouad -- a descendant of Mohamed Ali -- absolute power over the executive authority. 30 November 1934 : After nationwide protests led by students at Cairo University, King Fouad cancelled the 1930 constitution, and re-established the version passed in 1923. 10 December 1952 : After the 23 July 1952 Revolution, interim president Mohamed Naguib cancelled the 1923 constitution. In January 1953, a commission was formed to draft a new constitution. By February, a new constitution, valid until 1956, was brought into being. It provided the 1952 Revolution's leaders with sweeping powers, not subject to any parliamentary supervision. 16 January 1956 : A new constitution stipulating that a presidential candidate must receive 50 per cent of the National Assembly's support to run for the post was passed. The candidate would then face a yes-or-no public referendum. 1 February 1958 : Following the Egyptian-Syrian union, the 1956 constitution was cancelled. The new document, however, retained the 1956 constitution's method of electing the president. 25 March 1964 : After president Gamal Abdel-Nasser adopted socialism as a form of governance; an interim constitution was passed reflecting this new trend. The constitution maintained the same system of electing the president. 11 September 1971 : The current constitution was passed. Its Article 67 states that the People's Assembly shall nominate the president of the republic, and that the nomination shall be referred to the people for a referendum. To be nominated, candidates must be supported by at least one-third of the assembly's members. The candidate who then earns two-thirds of the assembly's votes is referred to the people for a referendum. If none of the candidates obtains the said majority, the nomination process is repeated two days later. 30 April 1980 : The People's Assembly approved an amendment of Article 77, proposed by NDP MP Fayda Kamel. The amendment stipulated that the president of the republic could be re-elected for "other" -- rather than just two -- successive terms. The amendment was finally approved in a public referendum on 22 May, 1980.
