The former Egyptian leader referred to in the crossword solution is Anwar Sadat, who served as the third President of Egypt 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, with whom he served as Vice President from 1964 to 1966. During his presidency, Sadat led Egypt in the Yom Kippur War of 1973 and later made peace with Israel in 1979, for which he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.