Anwar Sadat was the third President of Egypt, serving from 1970 until his assassination in 1981. He was a major figure in the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 and a close ally of Gamal Abdel Nasser, who appointed him Vice President in 1969. Sadat was instrumental in launching the Yom Kippur War in 1973 to regain the Sinai Peninsula from Israel, and he made a historic visit to Israel in 1977, which led to the 1979 peace treaty between Egypt and Israel. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1978 for his efforts to create peace in the Middle East.