between Egypt and Syria, with its capital in Cairo, administered by the same institutions that governed Egypt. The agreement to establish the United Arab Republic was made on 1 February 1958. The National Union party was designed and used by Nasser to include and co-opt Syrian political actors into the Egyptian state apparatus. The Egyptian union with Syria unravelled on the morning of 28 September 1961, following a military coup. The coup leaders also expelled all Egyptians from the country. Nasser believed that one of the reasons why the UAR failed was because the degree of social reform necessary for such an ambitious project had not matriculated. Therefore, he increased the socialist nature of his government's policies. In 1962, Nasser disbanded the National Union and replaced it with the Arab Socialist Union to reflect this change in direction. The names of these organizations – Liberation Rally, National Union, and the Arab Socialist Union – were significant. In each case, the word 'party' was scrupulously avoided, given its powerful connotations within Egypt of division and lack of national purpose. Therefore, the single party in Egypt was never conceived of as being an active institution with decision-making powers; rather, it was considered a civic association to mobilize the people. "Indeed, it was viewed more as a means of mobilizing political participation than as a vehicle for popular participation." President Anwar El Sadat (1970–1981) Gamel Nasser died while holding office in 1970, and his Vice-President and successor, President Anwar El Sadat, began a four-phased approach to introducing a multi-party system: he issued the 1974 October Paper; he established (platforms); he formed the Misr Party (ASPE); and finally in 1978 he formed the National Democratic Party. In the October Paper, Sadat reaffirmed his commitment to establishing a constitutional democratic government, preserving Egypt's socialist character, and rejecting the "theory of the single party" and acknowledged calls for a multi-party system. The October Paper also announced Egypt's new economic policy as combining Arab capital, Western technology, and the state's abundant resources in an effort to transform the Egyptian economy. The new economic policy became known as al-Infitah al-Iqtisadi (the Economic Opening, or Open Door policy). President Sadat's October Paper and political reform were motivated by self-preservation, not democratic idealism. Perceiving the Arab Socialist Union as a potential threat to his Presidency, Sadat divided the ASU into three ideological platforms. He then disbanded the ASU entirely in