The
sudden and unexpected death of Khedive Tawfik, on January 7, 1892,
left the Khedivial Throne vacant and opened to many speculations
and intrigues, particularly from the Ottoman Authorities who wanted to
replace the deceased Khedive with a candidate of their choice.
To put a stop to these intrigues, the British hastened to crown Abbas
Helmi, the oldest son of Tawfik who was then not yet 18 years
of age and a student at the Military Academy in Vienna, as the new Khedive
of Egypt. Under pressure from the British Government, the
Ottoman Sultan issued the “Faraman” (Decree) appointing Abbas
Helmi the Second as Khedive of Egypt. As a return of the
favor, the Ottomans tried to occupy and annex the Sinai Peninsula
but their request was met with a firm British refusal.
The
British Government felt that Tawfik‘s death was God sent.
It gave them a good excuse to maintain indefinitely their occupation of
Egypt
claiming that the new Khedive was too young and inexperienced to
rule by himself. It also felt that the young Khedive would
feel indebted to the Brits for his appointment against Ottoman opposition,
and that he would remain sitting on “their lap” for all the duration
of his reign.
For
the first few months in power, the young khedive did not disappoint his
masters in London and Cairo; but before the end of his first
year, he started showing signs of nationalism and attachment to Egyptian
rights. To make things worse, Abbas dismissed the Cabinet
of Mustafa Fahmi, which was re-invested at the death of Tawfik,
and appointed Husein Fakhri Pasha, a man not much liked by the Brits,
as his new Prime Minister!!
Born
in Cairo on August 12, 1874, Abbas was the oldest son of
Khedive Tawfik; educated in Cairo and in Switzerland, he
was a young cadet at the Viennese Military Academy when his father died.
He was appointed as a Khedive on January 8, 1892 and was
fired by the Brits on December 19, 1914, after the Ottoman Empire
joined the Centrist Powers (the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires) in
their war against the “Entente cordiale” (the British, French and
Tsarist Empires). During his nearly 23 years of rule, Abbas
appointed eight Cabinets.
He
was a fierce nationalist and his relation with Lord Cromer was abysmal.
It is believed that he was very close to Mustafa Kamel Pasha and
Mohammad
Farid Bey and he was believed to be the “sponsor” of “ Al
Hizb Al Watani” (the National Party) and its newspaper, “Al Liwa”.
While Abbas was vacationing in Turkey, in July 1914,
a young Egyptian student tried to assassinate him and he was convalescing
in Turkey when Great Britain declared
Egypt as a Protectorate,
removing it completely from the Ottoman Orbit, abolished the Khedivial
title and appointed Husein Kamel, a son of Khedive Ismail,
as Sultan of Egypt. Abbas spent the rest of his life
in exile in Europe. He was a strong supporter of the Axis during the Second
World War but he died in Geneva, on December 21, 1944, just
a few months before its disastrous end. His son, Prince Abdel
Monem married the gracious Princess Chewikar, the grand daughter
of the late Ottoman Sultan Abdel Hamid.
When
Mustafa
Fahmi resigned his Cabinet, at the death of Khedive Tawfik,
he was requested by Khedive Abbas (and Lord Cromer) to continue
serving. During nearly a year in power, the Second Mustafa Fahmi
Cabinet had, all in all, 49 meetings all of them attended by British Representatives.
During that year, the British power intensified and the Cabinet agreed
to appoint a British Deputy Minister at the Ministry of Finances and a
British Inspector General of the Egyptian Police. A third Brit was
imported from India to assume the position of General Inspector Of the
Irrigation with a yearly salary of 800 pounds. Through these
three appointments, the Colonial Power controlled the most important aspect
of Egypt: its finances, its law and order and its water!!
One
of the best achievement of that Cabinet was the amnesty accorded to Abdalla
Al Nadim, Hasan Moussa Al Aqqad and Mohammad Ebeid who participated
in the Orabi Rebellion. Other achievements were the lowering
of taxes and the reduction of the Salt Tax. On May 5, 1892,
the Khedive and his Prime Minister inaugurated the “Embaba” Bridge,
which took two years to build and was designed by two French Engineers.
The Cabinet also adopted a new system of filling Public Service positions;
only those who passed a competition could be appointed without distinction
between those who received their education locally and those who received
it in Europe.
In
January
1893, an unprecedented crisis arose between the Khedive and
the British Government represented by Lord Cromer. The
Khedive
felt
that the Prime Minister was too “soft” with the Brits and fired
him and his cabinet. Without consulting withLord Cromer, he
requested Husein Fakhri Pasha (1),
on January 15, 1893, to form a new Cabinet. On January
17, 1893, the British Cabinet had an emergency session, in London,
and declared that the fact that the Egyptian Khedive could fire
an existing Cabinet and appoint a new one without prior consultation with
the British Resident, in Cairo, was simply unacceptable (2).
An ultimatum was sent to
Egypt, which forced the Khedive
to accept the resignation of the Fakhri Cabinet, on January 18,
1893, making it one of the shortest living Cabinet in the history of
the Country.
Fakhri
was born in Cairo on September 25, 1843. The scion of a Circassian
family, he was educated in the “Princes” School along with the children
of the ruling Mohammad Ali Family. He studied Law in France
and, at his return to Egypt was appointed at the ministry Of Justice. Fakhri
served
as Justice Minister in the Cabinets of Mustafa Ryad Pasha (twice)
and Mohammad Cherif Pasha. His appointment as Prime Minister
by Khedive Abbas was short lived. His son,
Mahmoud Fakhri
Pasha, married Princess Fawqiya, the daughter of King Fouad,
from his first wife, Princess Shewekar, and the half sister of King
Farouk.
(To be continued)
Kamal K. Katba
(1)
| (2)
Lord
Dufferin was sent out to Egypt to study the general condition
of affairs in Egypt, and in his report he stated that in his opinion
"European
assistance in the various "departments of Egyptian administration
would be absolutely necessary for some time to come," for, he wrote,
" it is frightful to contemplate the misery and misfortune which would
be entailed!
On
the population were these departments to be left unorganised by a few high-minded
European officials . . . . This," he added, "is especially true,
in regard to financial matters, for the maintenance of Egypt's financial
equilibrium is the guarantee of her independence."
In
summing up the conclusions at which he had arrived, he stated that "before
a guarantee of Egypt's independence can be said to exist, the administrative
system of which it is the leading characteristic must have time to consolidate,
and . . . we can hardly consider. the work of reorganisation complete,
or the responsibilities imposed upon us by circumstances adequately
discharged, until we have seen Egypt shake herself free from the initial
embarrassments which I have enumerated .in this report."
Acting
upon Lord Dufferin's advice, the British Government, therefore,
decided to leave an Army of Occupation in Egypt for the time being,
and to appoint a diplomatic agent to supervise the government of the country,
with the assistance of a number of Europeans who should work hand in hand
with the native Ministers and officials in a nominally native-Egyptian.
administration.
It
wad arranged that the existing treaties with the Porte should be
upheld, that is to say, Egypt was to be regarded as a part
of the Turkish Empire, paying the established tribute of £682,000
per annum to its overlord in the manner of a loyal vassal state. The Turco
Egyptian treaties, placed certain restrictions upon the Khedive's
Government: no political arrangements could be made with any other state
without the consent of the Porte, nor could war or peace be declared
at any time or in any direction by Egypt; the Egyptian army was still limited
to a maximum of 18,000 men; the coinage was to be issued and the
taxes collected in the name of the Sultan. In reality the
British were in total control of the Egyptian administration and staunchly
refused to allow the Khedive to fire an existing Cabinet and appoint
a new one without prior consultation with the British Resident. |
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