Mustafa an-Nahhas Pasha
Encyclopedia
Mustafa el-Nahhas Pasha or Mustafa Nahhas was an Egyptian
Egyptians
Egyptians are nation an ethnic group made up of Mediterranean North Africans, the indigenous people of Egypt.Egyptian identity is closely tied to geography. The population of Egypt is concentrated in the lower Nile Valley, the small strip of cultivable land stretching from the First Cataract to...

 political figure.

Education, activism and exile

He was born in Samanud (Gharbiyya), where his father was a lumber merchant. He graduated from el-Nassereyya Elementary School in Cairo in 1891 and the Khedivial Secondary School in 1896. After earning his license from the Khedivial Law School in 1900, he worked in Mohammad Farid
Mohammad Farid
This article is about the Egyptian political figure. For the former Afghan football coach, see Mohammad Farid Mohammad Farid or Muhammad Farîd was an influential Egyptian political figure of Turkish ancestry...

's law office before opening his own practice in Mansoura. In 1904 he became a judge in the Tanta National Court. He was dismissed from the bench in 1919 when he joined the Wafd
WAFD
WAFD is a Hot Adult Contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Webster Springs, West Virginia, serving East Central West Virginia. WAFD is owned and operated by Summit Media Broadcasting, LLC.-External links:*...

 as a representative of the Egyptian National Party. Exiled with Saad Zaghlul
Saad Zaghlul
Saad Zaghloul was an Egyptian revolutionary, and statesman. He served as Prime Minister of Egypt from January 26, 1924 to November 24, 1924.-Education, activism and exile:...

 to the Seychelles
Seychelles
Seychelles , officially the Republic of Seychelles , is an island country spanning an archipelago of 115 islands in the Indian Ocean, some east of mainland Africa, northeast of the island of Madagascar....

 in 1921-1923, Nahhas was chosen upon his repatriation to represent Samanud in the first Chamber of Deputies elected under the 1923 Constitution.

Political history

He became minister for communications in 1924. Reelected in 1926 as a deputy from Sir Abu Nanna (Gharbiyya) and barred by the British from taking another cabinet post, he was elected one of the Chamber's two vice presidents and, in 1927, its president. Upon Sa'd Zaghlul's death in August 1927, he defeated Sa'd's nephew in the contest to lead the Wafd Party. He served as Prime Minister of Egypt
Prime Minister of Egypt
The Prime Minister of Egypt is the head of the Egyptian government. According to the constitution, the prime minister is the leader of the largest political party in the Egyptian Parliament....

 in 1928, 1930, between 1936 and 1937, from 1942 until 1944, and finally between 1950 and 1952. Nahhas married a much younger wife from a very prominent family, Zainab Hanem Elwakil, who was more than 30 years younger than he was. His wife was said to have great influence on him, and is alleged to have played a big role in spoiling the friendship between Mustafa el-Nahhas and Makram Ebeid. Although Makram Ebeid apologized years later for the lies he spread about Nahhas pasha and his wife in his infamous book (The black book), their friendship was never the same. His wife died two years after his death in 1967. His and her cemetery are located in the Elwakil yard in BASATEEN, Cairo.

He also helped found the Arab League
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...

 in 1944. He was prime minister for only a few months in 1928 after clashing with the king
Fuad I of Egypt
Fuad I was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and Sudan, Sovereign of Nubia, Kordofan, and Darfur. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty, he became Sultan of Egypt and Sudan in 1917, succeeding his elder brother Sultan Hussein Kamel...

 over his desire to strictly limit royal power. When the Great Palestinian Revolt of 1936-1939 started el-Nahhas pasha helped to found the Arab Higher Committee to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people. He was one of the signers of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936
Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936
The Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936 was a treaty signed between the United Kingdom and the Kingdom of Egypt; it is officially known as The Treaty of Alliance Between His Majesty, in Respect of the United Kingdom, and His Majesty, the King of Egypt...

, but in 1951 he denounced it. This led to anti-British riots, which led to his dismissal as Prime Minister in January, 1952. After the Egyptian Revolution of 1952, the Wafd party was dissolved. Both he and his wife were imprisoned from 1953 to 1954. He then retired to private life. His death on 23 August 1965 led to a mass demonstration at his funeral, one that was allowed but not welcomed by Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser
Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death. A colonel in the Egyptian army, Nasser led the Egyptian Revolution of 1952 along with Muhammad Naguib, the first president, which overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan, and heralded a new period of...

's government.Tens of thousands of people in the funeral procession where chanting "no leader after you Nahhas".
The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
x
OK