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Boutros Ghali

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Boutros Ghali
Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ Ⲅⲁⲗⲓ
بطرس غالى
9th Prime Minister of Egypt
In office
8 November 1908 – 21 February 1910
MonarchAbbas II
Preceded byMustafa Fahmi Pasha
Succeeded byMuhammad Said Pasha
Personal details
Born(1846-05-12)12 May 1846
Kiman-al-'Arus, Beni Suef, Eyalet of Egypt
Died21 February 1910(1910-02-21) (aged 63)
Cairo, Khedivate of Egypt
RelationsBoutros Boutros-Ghali (Grandson)

Boutros Ghali (12 May 1846 – 21 February 1910; Coptic: Ⲡⲉⲧⲣⲟⲥ Ⲅⲁⲗⲓ, Arabic: بطرس غالى; styled Boutros Ghali Bey later Boutros Ghali Pasha) was an Egyptian politican, who served as the Prime Minister of Egypt from 1908 to 1910.

Early life

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Boutros Ghali was born on 12 May 1846[1] to a Coptic Christian family in Kiman-al-'Arus, a village of Beni Suef, Egypt, in 1846.[2] His father was Ghali Nayruz, the steward of Prince Mustafa Fadil.[2] Boutros Ghali studied Arabic, Ottoman Turkish, Persian, English, and French.[2]

Career

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After graduation, Ghali became a teacher at the patriarchal school.[2] Ghali's public career began in 1875 with his appointment to the post of clerk in the newly constituted Mixed Court by Sharif Pasha.[3] Next he became the representative of the Egyptian government on the Commission of the Public Debt.[3] Ghali began to work in the justice ministry in 1879 and was appointed secretary general of the ministry with the title of Bey. His following post was as first secretary of the council of ministers to which he was appointed in September 1881.[3] However, in October 1881 he again began to work in the justice ministry. Upon the request of Mahmoud Sami al-Barudi, Ghali was awarded the rank of Pasha, being the first Coptic recipient of such an honour in Egypt.[3] In 1886, he was appointed head of a commission for the selection of Sharia court judges, which was an unusual appointment due to his religious background, leading to protests by Muslims.[3]

Ghali's first ministerial portfolio was the minister of finance in 1893.[4] Then he was made foreign minister in 1894.[4]

In 1901 he was decorated as the 650th Grand-Cross of the Royal Military Order of Our Lady of the Concepcion of Vila Viçosa of Portugal. The same year Ghali joined the freemason lodge of Egypt.[5]

He was appointed prime minister on 8 November 1908, replacing Mustafa Fahmi Pasha in the post.[6] He also retained the post of foreign minister during his premiership.[4] Ghali remained in office until 21 February 1910 and was replaced by Muhammad Said Pasha.[6]

Death

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Bust of Boutros Ghali, Church of SS Peter and Paul (Boutrosiya, Cairo)

Ghali was accused of favouring the British in the Denshawai incident. On 20 February 1910, Ghali was shot by Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a twenty-three-year-old pharmacology graduate,[7] who had just returned from Britain.[8] Ghali was leaving the ministry of foreign affairs when Wardani fired five shots, three of which lodged in the premier's body.[9] Ghali died a day later, on 21 February.[9]

The assassin, who confessed to the killing of Ghali, had been educated in Lausanne, Paris, and London and was a member of Mustafa Kamil Pasha's Watani Party.[7] His father was a governor and his uncle was a Pasha.[7] Wardani was executed on 28 June 1910.[9]

The assassination of Ghali was the first of a series of assassinations that continued until 1915.[7] It was also the first public assassination of a senior statesman in Egypt in more than a century.[7]

Family

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Ghali had "many sons",[10] the most notable being:

Boutros Ghali's brother Amin Ghali (1865–1933) was a public prosecutor; Amin's son Ibrahim Amin Ghali was a diplomat who worked to rehabilitate his uncle's reputation.[10]

Honors

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Egyptian national honors

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Ribbon bar Honor
Grand Cordon of the Order of Muhammad Ali
Grand Cordon of the Order of Ismail

Foreign honors

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Ribbon bar Country Honor
Ethiopian Empire Grand Cordon of the Order of Solomon
Ottoman Empire Grand Cordon of the Order of Osmanieh
Kingdom of Greece Grand Commander of the Order of the Redeemer
Kingdom of Italy Grand Officier of the Order of the Crown of Italy
United Kingdom Honorary Knight Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George
United Kingdom Honorary Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order

See also

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References

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Sources

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  • Goldschmidt, Arthur (1993). "The Butrus Ghali Family". Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt. 30: 183–188. doi:10.2307/40000236. ISSN 0065-9991. JSTOR 40000236.

Citations

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  1. ^ "مجلة روز اليوسف - العائلة البطرسية : سيرة عائلة قبطية غيرت تاريخ مصر". Archived from the original on 3 February 2019. Retrieved 3 February 2019.
  2. ^ a b c d "B. Ghali". The Coptic Encyclopedia. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  3. ^ a b c d e Seikaly, Samir (January 1977). "Prime Minister and Assassin: Buṭrus Ghālī and Wardānī". Middle Eastern Studies. 13 (1): 112–123. doi:10.1080/00263207708700338. JSTOR 4282624.
  4. ^ a b c Arthur Goldschmidt Jr. (1999). Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt. Boulder, CO: L. Reinner. p. 61. ISBN 978-1555872298.
  5. ^ Karim Wissa (1989). "Freemasonry in Egypt 1798-1921: A Study in Cultural and Political Encounters". Bulletin (British Society for Middle Eastern Studies). 16 (2): 155. JSTOR 195148.
  6. ^ a b "Egypt Prime Ministers". World Statesmen. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  7. ^ a b c d e Reid, Donald M. (1982). "Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 15 (4): 625–651. doi:10.2307/217848. JSTOR 217848.
  8. ^ The Modern Middle East and North Africa by Aroian and Mitchell
  9. ^ a b c "Egyptian assassin hanged". The Day. Cairo. 28 June 1910. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  10. ^ a b c d Goldschmidt 1993, p. 187
  11. ^ Schmeman, Serge (20 July 2000). "A Separate Peace". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 January 2013.
  12. ^ Goldschmidt 1993, pp. 183, 188
  13. ^ "Correction". The New York Times. 19 September 1999. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  14. ^ Quinn, Ben (9 January 2012). "Anger over appearance of ex-Egyptian finance minister at LSE lecture". The Guardian. London. Retrieved 17 February 2016.
  15. ^ Goldschmidt 1993, p. 188
Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Egypt
1908–1910
Succeeded by