United Arab Republic
In contrast to the expectations of Nasser’s Syrian supporters (mostly advocates of the Syrian Ba’ath Party), Nasser was not aiming at an equal control of power between the two countries. This governmental structure (announced on March 6, 1958) consisted of twenty Egyptian ministers and fourteen Syrian ministers. Only Egyptians got the highest positions in the government and this unbalanced division of power caused a disruption in the trust of Syria in Egypt. In October 1958, Sabri al-Asali, a Syrian vice-president, was compelled to resign due to his involvement in interventions for an Iraqi-Syrian union. This was followed by a reconstruction of the central cabinet which then consisted of fourteen Egyptian ministers and seven Syrian ministers. This was the starting point of a system wherein the central cabinet was in charge of the general policymaking and the regional cabinet controlled the day-by-day administration.