| In
the previous chapter I have described the very short Premiership of Mohammad
Tawfik Pasha, the son of Khedive Ismail, as a short but tumultuous
period that witnessed a grave conflict between the "Al Majlis Al Shouri"
(The
Consultative Assembly) and the Foreigners (Wilson and De
Bligniere) who were members of Tawfik's Cabinet. Tawfik,
who always strived to avoid any conflict with the Foreign Powers and particularly
England,
decided to stay on the sideline by presenting the resignation of his Cabinet
to his father, Ismail. The
Khedive called upon Mohammad
Cherif Pasha to form a new Cabinet,
on April 7 1879.
Mohammad
Cherif was born on November 26, 1826. His father,
Mohammad
Cherif Effendi was the "Qadi Qodat" of Egypt (Supreme
Judge). Mohammad Ali Pasha, who liked the boy very much, sent
him to France to pursue his Military Education. He graduated
from the St. Cyr Military Academy and was commissioned in the French
Army where he reached the grade of Captain. On his return to Egypt,
he was appointed as an Aide De Camp (ADC) to Solayman Pasha Al
Faransawi (Octave Joseph Anthelme Seve) and he eventually married
his boss' daughter. He climbed the higher echelons of the Egyptian
Army until he reached the grade of "Fariq" under the reign of Said
Pasha. He then started a civilian career and, in 1867,
he chaired the "Al Majlis Al Makhsous" (The Privy Council).
In 1875 he became the Speaker of the "Al Majlis Al Shouri".
(1)
Cherif
Pasha was very proud of his Turkish origin (in fact his father was
of Tcherkess background) and a little contemptuous towards Egyptians and
Armenians. It was rumored that he favored a Constitutional form of
Government. He died on April 19, 1887. Cherif Pasha
was an ancestor of Queen Nazli, the wife of King Fouad and
the mother of
King Farouk.
The
First Cherif Pasha's Cabinet (April 7 to July 5 1879).
The
appointment of Cherif Pasha to head "Majlis Al Nouzar" started
a new chapter in the modern History of Egypt. His Cabinet
did not include European members. He gave Ragheb Pasha the
portfolio of Finances, replacing Rivers Wilson, and Zaki Pasha
the portfolio of Public works, replacing De Bligniere. Cherif
Pasha kept for himself the Premiership, along with both the "Nizarats"
(Departments)
of the Interior and Foreign Affairs.
For
the first time, the deliberations and the minutes of the Cabinet were in
Arabic. The Cabinet ordered the reopening of the Military Academy
(Al Madrasa Al Harbyah), and it focused its attention on
developing the agriculture by modernizing the existing dams, in the Nile
Delta. It also started building a modern Medical School.
A preliminary amount of two thousands pounds was allocated for the first
stage of an Egyptian Museum building, and, for the first time, a study
was started for the project of a Tramways system to service the City of
Cairo.
Last
but not least, it was the Cherif's Cabinet that decided to reduce
the interests on the Public Debt from 7% to 6%, which, along
with the non-inclusion of Foreigners in the Cabinet, arose the wrath of
the Foreign Powers. The Public Debt Fund (La Caisse De
La Dette Publique, better known as "Sandouk Al Dayn") took legal
proceedings against the Egyptian Government in front of the Mixed Court
(Tribunal
Mixte or "Al Mahkamah Al Mokhtalatah").
At
that point, the European Powers, particularly England and France
decided to have Khedive Ismail removed from power, and, pressured
the Ottoman Sultan to issue a "Faraman" replacing Ismail
Pasha with his son Mohammad Tawfik Pasha.
On
June
30, 1879, Khedive Ismail embarked on his Khedivial Yacht "Al-Mahrousa"
on his way to Naples and exile, a page of history that would repeat
itself on July 26, 1952, when King Farouk left Alexandria
to
Naples
and
exile, also on the (refurbished) Royal Yacht "Al-Mahrousa". Five
days after the departure of Khedive Ismail, to be precise on
July
5, the new Khedive, Mohammad Tawfik, dismissed the Cherif
Pasha Cabinet at the instigation of the British and French Government,
and opted for a direct rule that will be assessed in the next chapter.
In
conclusion we can say that the Cherif Pasha's Cabinet started a
wave of nationalism that was be a prelude to the Orabi Revolution
and, 37 years after, to the 1919 Revolution and the birth
of the "Wafd" and the other political Parties that ruled Egypt
on
and off until the July 1952 Revolution.
Kamal K. Katba
(1)
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