Sir Anthony Eden and the Suez Crisis of 1956 the anatomy of a flawed personality

[摘要] When Anthony Eden became British Prime Minister on 6 April 1955 it seemed the culmination of a brilliant career in politics. Less than two years later that career was over, effectively destroyed by his behaviour over the nationalisation of the Suez Canal Company by the Egyptian President, Gamal Nasser. This study will examine Eden's actions and motives and demonstrate that his claim to have been an ardent opponent of appeasement in 1938 was untrue; that his claim that Nasser was a dictator like Mussolini and had to be stopped is contradicted by the evidence; that Nasser's control of the canal was unchanged by the nationalisation; that there was no legal basis for Britain interfering in the running of the canal; that Eden's recurring bouts of illness can have had no more than a minor impact on his actions and that it was Eden's own flawed character that guided his actions. Eden ended up lying to the country, lying to the House of Commons and, indeed, lying to himself in his attempt to justify his actions. It was a sad end to what had been a glittering career.

[发布机构] University:University of Birmingham;Department:School of History and Cultures, Department of Classics, Ancient History and Archaeology (CAHA)

[关键词] D History General and Old World;D History (General);D839 Post-war History, 1945 on