28 September 1970
In September 1970 Egyptian President, Gamal Abdel Nasserdied of a heart attack. Nasser had been in power in Egypt since 24 November 1954. He was succeeded by Muhammad Anwar Sadat in 1970. Nasser had been described as the first leader of an Arab nation who challenged what was perceived as the western dominance of the Middle East. However, Nasser suffered a major blow when Egypt and other Arab nations were defeated by Israel in a war that lasted only six days in 1967. At the time, Egypt was seen as the leading Arab nation and that  Arab people looked up to for leadership. For him, the comprehensive defeat of his army by Israel was a major blow and he offered his resignation.Nasser is still highly revered in both Egypt and the Arab world.
References

University of Liverpool, ‘Gamal Abdel Nasser’, [online], available at www.historylearningsite.co.uk[Accessed: 05 September 2012]|

Anwar Sadat,‘Anwar Sadat’, [online], available at sadat.umd.edu[Accessed: 05 September 2012]|

Boddy-Evans A. ‘This day in African History: 28 September’, from About African History, [online], available at www.africanhistory.about.com[Accessed: 5 September 2012]