[115th Congress Public Law 310]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[[Page 4423]]
ANWAR SADAT CENTENNIAL
CELEBRATION ACT
[[Page 132 STAT. 4424]]
Public Law 115-310
115th Congress
An Act
To award the Congressional Gold Medal to Anwar Sadat in recognition of
his heroic achievements and courageous contributions to peace in the
Middle East. <<NOTE: Dec. 13, 2018 - [H.R. 754]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled, <<NOTE: Anwar Sadat
Centennial Celebration Act. 31 USC 5111 note.>>
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Anwar Sadat Centennial Celebration
Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Anwar Sadat was born on December 25, 1918, in Mit Abu
al-Kum, al-Minufiyah, Egypt, as 1 of 13 children in a poor
Egyptian family.
(2) In 1938, Sadat graduated from the Royal Military Academy
in Cairo and was appointed to the Signal Corps.
(3) Sadat entered the Army as a second lieutenant and was
posted to Sudan where he met Gamal Abdel Nasser and fellow
junior officers who became the ``Free Officers'' who led the
Egyptian revolution of 1952.
(4) Sadat held various high positions during Nasser's
presidency, assuming the role of President of the National
Assembly in 1960 and Vice President in 1964.
(5) President Nasser died of a heart attack on September 28,
1970, at which point Sadat became acting President. Sadat was
subsequently elected as the third President of Egypt.
(6) On October 6, 1973, President Sadat, along with his
Syrian counterparts, launched an offensive against Israel. A
permanent cease-fire was reached on October 25, 1973.
(7) In 1974, after talks facilitated by Secretary of State
Henry Kissinger, Egypt and Israel signed an agreement allowing
Egypt to formally retrieve land in the Sinai. President Sadat
later wrote in his memoirs that his meetings with Kissinger
``marked the beginning of a relationship of mutual understanding
with the United States culminating and crystallizing in what we
came to describe as a `peace process'. Together we started that
process and the United States still supports our joint efforts
to this day''.
(8) Months of diplomacy between Egypt and Israel followed
the signing of this initial agreement and a second disengagement
agreement, the Sinai Interim Agreement, was signed in September
of 1975.
(9) President Sadat addressed a joint session of Congress on
November 5, 1975, during which he underscored the shared
[[Page 132 STAT. 4425]]
values between the United States and Egypt. In this speech,
President Sadat addressed the path to peace, saying, ``We are
faced, together with other nations, with one of the greatest
challenges of our time, namely the task of convincing this
generation, and those to follow, that we can finally build a
viable international system capable of meeting the demands of
tomorrow and solving the problems of the coming age''.
(10) On November 19, 1977, President Sadat became the first
Arab leader to visit Israel, meeting with the Israeli Prime
Minister, Menachem Begin. President Sadat spoke before the
Israeli Knesset in Jerusalem about his views on how to achieve
comprehensive peace in the Arab-Israeli conflict.
(11) Before commencing negotiations, President Sadat
courageously announced to the Knesset, ``I have come to you so
that together we might build a durable peace based on justice,
to avoid the shedding of 1 single drop of blood from an Arab or
an Israeli. It is for this reason that I have proclaimed my
readiness to go to the farthest corner of the world''. President
Sadat further poignantly stated that ``any life lost in war is a
human life, irrespective of its being that of an Israeli or an
Arab. * * * When the bells of peace ring, there will be no hands
to beat the drums of war''.
(12) On September 17, 1978, President Jimmy Carter hosted
President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin at Camp David where the
3 leaders engaged in 13 days of negotiations that resulted in
the ``Framework for Peace in the Middle East'' (commonly known
as the ``Camp David Accords'').
(13) Following negotiations, President Sadat and Prime
Minister Begin signed the Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty (in this
section referred to as the ``Peace Treaty'') at the White House
on March 26, 1979. Addressing President Sadat at the signing of
the Peace Treaty, which remains an important anchor for peace in
the region today, Prime Minister Begin commended President Sadat
by saying, ``In the face of adversity and hostility, you have
demonstrated the human value that can change history--civil
courage''.
(14) The Peace Treaty featured mutual recognition of each
country by the other and ultimately the cessation of the state
of war that had existed between Israel and Egypt since the 1948
Arab-Israeli War. Israel completely withdrew its armed forces
and civilians from the rest of the Sinai.
(15) In 1978, both President Sadat and Prime Minister Begin
were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for signing the Peace Treaty,
which made Egypt the first Arab country to officially recognize
Israel.
(16) While presenting the Nobel Peace Prize to President
Sadat, Aase Lionaes, Chairman of the Norwegian Nobel Committee,
said, ``During the 30 preceding years, the peoples of the Middle
East have, on 4 separate occasions, been the victims of warfare
and there seemed no prospect of peace. President Sadat's great
contribution to peace was that he had sufficient courage and
foresight to break away from this vicious circle. His decision
to accept Prime Minister Menachem Begin's invitation of November
17, 1977, to attend a meeting of the Israeli parliament on
November 19 was an act of great courage, both from a personal
and from a political point of view. This was
[[Page 132 STAT. 4426]]
a dramatic break with the past and a courageous step forward
into a new age''.
(17) During his Nobel lecture, President Sadat remarked, ``I
made my trip because I am convinced that we owe it to this
generation and the generations to come not to leave a stone
unturned in our pursuit of peace''.
(18) In remarks to the People's Assembly in Cairo on March
10, 1979, President Carter praised President Sadat, telling the
Assembly, ``Your President has demonstrated the power of human
courage and human vision to create hope where there had been
only despair.''. President Carter also said that the Peace
Treaty would ``strengthen cooperation between Egypt and the
United States'' and underscored the support of the United States
for the agreement, saying, ``I fully share and will support
President Sadat's belief that stability must be maintained in
this part of the world * * * He and I recognize that the
security of this vital region is being challenged. I applaud his
determination to meet that challenge, and my Government will
stand with him''.
(19) The signing of the Peace Treaty enraged many
individuals who opposed normalized relations with Israel.
President Sadat was assassinated on October 6, 1981, by Khalid
Islambouli, a member of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. President Sadat
was well aware of the controversy to which his actions would
lead, but pushed for peace anyway.
(20) Upon the death of President Sadat, President Ronald
Reagan proclaimed, ``President Sadat was a courageous man whose
vision and wisdom brought nations and people together. In a
world filled with hatred, he was a man of hope. In a world
trapped in the animosities of the past, he was a man of
foresight, a man who sought to improve a world tormented by
malice and pettiness''.
(21) President Sadat is recognized in the United States and
throughout the world as a respected leader and champion of peace
whose vision provided a roadmap for the peaceful resolution of
conflict that endures nearly 40 years after its inception.
(22) President Sadat bravely reached out to Israel and
dedicated himself to peace, furthering the national security of
Egypt and the stability of the Middle East.
(23) On the 30th anniversary of the Peace Treaty, President
Barack Obama praised the enduring legacy of the Camp David
Accords and the ``courage and foresight of these leaders, who
stood together in unity to change the course of our shared
history''. President Obama closed by saying, ``Today, as we seek
to expand the circle of peace among Arabs and Israelis, we take
inspiration from what Israel and Egypt achieved 3 decades ago,
knowing that the destination is worthy of the struggle''.
(24) The Camp David Accords and the Peace Treaty continue to
serve the interests of the United States by preserving peace and
serving as a foundation for partnership and dialogue in a region
fraught with conflict and division.
SEC. 3. CONGRESSIONAL GOLD MEDAL.
(a) Award Authorized.--The Speaker of the House of Representatives
and the President pro tempore of the Senate shall
[[Page 132 STAT. 4427]]
make appropriate arrangements for the posthumous award, on behalf of
Congress, of a gold medal of appropriate design to Anwar Sadat in
recognition of his achievements and heroic actions to attain
comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
(b) Design and Striking.--For the purpose of the award referred to
in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Treasury (referred to in this
Act as the ``Secretary'') shall strike a gold medal with suitable
emblems, devices, and inscriptions to be determined by the Secretary.
(c) <<NOTE: Jehan Sadat.>> Presentation.--
(1) In general.--The gold medal referred to in subsection
(a) shall be presented to--
(A)(i) the widow of Anwar Sadat, Jehan Sadat; or
(ii) if Jehan Sadat is unavailable, the next of kin
of Jehan Sadat; and
(B) a representative of the Government of Egypt.
(2) Award of medal.--Following the presentation described in
paragraph (1), the gold medal shall be given to--
(A) Jehan Sadat; or
(B) if Jehan Sadat is unavailable, the next of kin
of Jehan Sadat.
SEC. 4. DUPLICATE MEDALS.
The Secretary may strike and sell duplicates in bronze of the gold
medal struck under section 3 under such regulations as the Secretary may
prescribe, at a price sufficient to cover the cost thereof, including
labor, materials, dies, use of machinery, and overhead expenses, and the
cost of the gold medal.
SEC. 5. STATUS OF MEDALS.
(a) National Medals.--The medals struck under this Act are national
medals for purposes of chapter 51 of title 31, United States Code.
(b) Numismatic Items.--For purposes of sections 5134 and 5136 of
title 31, United States Code, all medals struck under this Act shall be
considered to be numismatic items.
Approved December 13, 2018.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--H.R. 754 (S. 266):
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 164 (2018):
Sept. 26, considered and passed House.
Dec. 4, considered and passed Senate.
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