Prince Abbas Hilmi
Encyclopedia
Prince Abbas Hilmi (born 16 October 1941) is an Egypt
ian prince and financial manager
. A member of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty
, he is the only son of Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim and his Ottoman
wife Princess Neslişah.
in 1941, Prince Abbas Hilmi was named after his paternal grandfather Abbas Hilmi II
, the last khedive
of Egypt. Theirs was the most senior male branch descended from Isma'il Pasha
, and thus first in the line of succession to the Egyptian throne by virtue of the 1866 rules of succession. However, those rules were suspended by the British upon their proclamation of a protectorate over Egypt in 1914. Abbas Hilmi II was deposed, and his son Muhammad Abdel Moneim lost his place as heir apparent
. The throne passed to Abbas Hilmi II's uncles Hussein Kamel and Fuad I
. The Royal Edict of 13 April 1922 specifically excluded Abbas Hilmi II from the succession, although it stated that "this exception shall not apply to his sons and their progeny." This meant that Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim and his son Prince Abbas Hilmi remained eligible for the throne and retained a senior position in the order of precedence
of the Kingdom of Egypt
.
Prince Abbas Hilmi's two great-grandfathers on his mother's side were Mehmed VI
, the last Ottoman sultan, and Abdülmecid II, the last Ottoman caliph. Had the Ottoman monarchy not been abolished in 1922, Prince Abbas Hilmi would have received, in addition to his Egyptian princely title , the Ottoman title of sultanzade, which was given to the sons of imperial princesses.
In July 1952, the Free Officers
launched a military coup that led to the forced abdication of King Farouk of Egypt
in favour of his infant son Fuad II
. Due to Fuad II's minority, Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim was chosen by the new military rulers
to serve as regent, first as head of a temporary regency body
and later as sole prince regent
. However, he did not last long in the position, as the Egyptian monarchy was officially abolished on 18 June 1953. Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim and his wife Neslişah were arrested in 1957 and accused of taking part in an anti-Nasser
plot. Their souring relations with the new revolutionary regime forced them into exile. As a result, their son Prince Abbas Hilmi spent much of his life in England
and France
.
school in Street, Somerset
, Prince Abbas Hilmi pursued his higher studies at Christ Church, Oxford
. He worked for a discount house
, a bank
and an insurance broker
before joining Grieveson Grant & Co. in 1968. He remained with Grieveson Grant & Co., one of the City
's top stockbrokers, until 1981. In 1970, he made history by becoming the first foreign member of the London Stock Exchange
, his election having been rendered possible by a change of Rule 21, which had previously restricted membership to British citizens. After leaving Grieveson Grant & Co., Prince Abbas Hilmi became a General Manager of Schroder Asseily & Co. (1981–1983), and then Chairman of Hilmi and Associates (1983–1986), where he was mostly engaged in financial management activities and project finance assignments. After spending three years in London as Vice President of Kidder, Peabody & Co.
(1986–1989), he joined the Concord Group in 1989, only one year after its establishment. He was part of the three-member team that launched the Concord Group's Cairo office in 1994. Since then, Egypt has become the group's main focus area, with more than half of the assets it manages ($2.8 billion out of $3.4 billion) being invested in Egyptian securities
. Concord is currently among the largest asset management
firms in Egypt. One of the funds it manages, the Egypt Investment Company Ltd, has been repeatedly ranked by the International Herald Tribune
as the top performing fund in the world. Prince Abbas Hilmi still works for Concord, where he holds the position of Senior Managing Director.
's mausoleum, where he has reserved a burial plot for himself. In 2006, he founded the Friends of Manial Palace Museum Association, which seeks to preserve the palace
of his granduncle Prince Muhammad Ali
.
on 1 June, and the civil marriage took place at the Kensington
Register Office
in London
on 20 June. Mediha is a maternal granddaughter of Ahmad Midhat Abbas Yeghen, a descendant of one of the sisters of Muhammad Ali Pasha
, the founder of the Egyptian royal family. Prince Abbas Hilmi and his wife Mediha are thus genealogically related, as illustrated by the family tree below. The couple have a daughter, Sabiha Fatma (born 1974), and a son, Daoud Abdel Moneim (born 1979). As of 2005, Prince Abbas Hilmi's only sister Ikbal (born 1944) lived in Istanbul with their mother Neslişah (born 1921).
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
ian prince and financial manager
Financial adviser
A financial adviser, is a professional who renders financial services to individuals, businesses and governments. This can involve investment advice, which may include pension planning, and/or advice on life insurance and other insurances such as income protection insurance, critical illness...
. A member of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty
Muhammad Ali Dynasty
The Muhammad Ali Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, from the 19th to the mid-20th Century. It is named after its progenitor, Muhammad Ali Pasha, regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. It was also more formally known as the Alawiyya Dynasty...
, he is the only son of Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim and his Ottoman
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
wife Princess Neslişah.
Early life
Born in CairoCairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
in 1941, Prince Abbas Hilmi was named after his paternal grandfather Abbas Hilmi II
Abbas II of Egypt
HH Abbas II Hilmi Bey was the last Khedive of Egypt and Sudan .-Early life:...
, the last khedive
Khedive
The term Khedive is a title largely equivalent to the English word viceroy. It was first used, without official recognition, by Muhammad Ali Pasha , the Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, and vassal of the Ottoman Empire...
of Egypt. Theirs was the most senior male branch descended from Isma'il Pasha
Isma'il Pasha
Isma'il Pasha , known as Ismail the Magnificent , was the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he was removed at the behest of the United Kingdom...
, and thus first in the line of succession to the Egyptian throne by virtue of the 1866 rules of succession. However, those rules were suspended by the British upon their proclamation of a protectorate over Egypt in 1914. Abbas Hilmi II was deposed, and his son Muhammad Abdel Moneim lost his place as heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
. The throne passed to Abbas Hilmi II's uncles Hussein Kamel and Fuad I
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...
. The Royal Edict of 13 April 1922 specifically excluded Abbas Hilmi II from the succession, although it stated that "this exception shall not apply to his sons and their progeny." This meant that Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim and his son Prince Abbas Hilmi remained eligible for the throne and retained a senior position in the order of precedence
Order of precedence
An order of precedence is a sequential hierarchy of nominal importance of items. Most often it is used in the context of people by many organizations and governments...
of the Kingdom of Egypt
Kingdom of Egypt
The Kingdom of Egypt was the first modern Egyptian state, lasting from 1922 to 1953. The Kingdom was created in 1922 when the British government unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt, in place since 1914. Sultan Fuad I became the first king of the new state...
.
Prince Abbas Hilmi's two great-grandfathers on his mother's side were Mehmed VI
Mehmed VI
Mehmet VI was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922...
, the last Ottoman sultan, and Abdülmecid II, the last Ottoman caliph. Had the Ottoman monarchy not been abolished in 1922, Prince Abbas Hilmi would have received, in addition to his Egyptian princely title , the Ottoman title of sultanzade, which was given to the sons of imperial princesses.
In July 1952, the Free Officers
Free Officers Movement
In Egypt, the clandestine revolutionary Free Officers Movement was composed of young junior army officers committed to unseating the Egyptian monarchy and its British advisors...
launched a military coup that led to the forced abdication of King Farouk of Egypt
Farouk of Egypt
Farouk I of Egypt , was the tenth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936....
in favour of his infant son Fuad II
Fuad II of Egypt
Fuad II was the last King of Egypt and Sudan.- Biography :He ascended the throne on 26 July 1952 upon the abdication of his father King Farouk I following the Egyptian Revolution of 1952...
. Due to Fuad II's minority, Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim was chosen by the new military rulers
Egyptian Revolutionary Command Council
The Revolutionary Command Council was the body established to supervise Egypt and Sudan after the Revolution of 1952. It initially selected Ali Maher Pasha as Prime Minister, but forced him to resign after conflict over land reform. At that time, the Council took full control of Egypt...
to serve as regent, first as head of a temporary regency body
Regencies in Egypt
Regencies in Egypt date back to Pharaonic times. Throughout Egypt's long history, there have been several instances of regents assuming power due to the reigning monarch's minority, physical illness or poor mental health. There have also been several cases of coregencies where two monarchs ruled...
and later as sole prince regent
Prince Regent
A prince regent is a prince who rules a monarchy as regent instead of a monarch, e.g., due to the Sovereign's incapacity or absence ....
. However, he did not last long in the position, as the Egyptian monarchy was officially abolished on 18 June 1953. Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim and his wife Neslişah were arrested in 1957 and accused of taking part in an anti-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...
plot. Their souring relations with the new revolutionary regime forced them into exile. As a result, their son Prince Abbas Hilmi spent much of his life in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
.
Business activities
Educated at MillfieldMillfield
Millfield is an independent school in Street in Somerset, in south-west England.The school currently has a roll of 1,260 pupils, of whom 910 are boarders...
school in Street, Somerset
Street, Somerset
Street is a small village and civil parish in the county of Somerset, England. It is situated on a dry spot in the Somerset Levels, at the end of the Polden Hills, south-west of Glastonbury. The 2001 census records the village as having a population of 11,066...
, Prince Abbas Hilmi pursued his higher studies at Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church, Oxford
Christ Church or house of Christ, and thus sometimes known as The House), is one of the largest constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England...
. He worked for a discount house
Discount store
A discount store is a type of department store, which sells products at prices lower than those asked by traditional retail outlets. Most discount department stores offer a wide assortment of goods; others specialize in such merchandise as jewelry, electronic equipment, or electrical appliances...
, a bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
and an insurance broker
Insurance broker
An insurance broker finds sources for contracts of insurance on behalf of their customers. The three largest insurance brokers in the world, by revenue, are Aon, Marsh & McLennan, and Willis Group Holdings.-Purpose of insurance brokers:...
before joining Grieveson Grant & Co. in 1968. He remained with Grieveson Grant & Co., one of the City
City of London
The City of London is a small area within Greater London, England. It is the historic core of London around which the modern conurbation grew and has held city status since time immemorial. The City’s boundaries have remained almost unchanged since the Middle Ages, and it is now only a tiny part of...
's top stockbrokers, until 1981. In 1970, he made history by becoming the first foreign member of the London Stock Exchange
London Stock Exchange
The London Stock Exchange is a stock exchange located in the City of London within the United Kingdom. , the Exchange had a market capitalisation of US$3.7495 trillion, making it the fourth-largest stock exchange in the world by this measurement...
, his election having been rendered possible by a change of Rule 21, which had previously restricted membership to British citizens. After leaving Grieveson Grant & Co., Prince Abbas Hilmi became a General Manager of Schroder Asseily & Co. (1981–1983), and then Chairman of Hilmi and Associates (1983–1986), where he was mostly engaged in financial management activities and project finance assignments. After spending three years in London as Vice President of Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Kidder, Peabody & Co.
Kidder, Peabody & Co. was a U.S.-based securities firm, established in Massachusetts in 1865. Its operations included investment banking, brokerage, and trading....
(1986–1989), he joined the Concord Group in 1989, only one year after its establishment. He was part of the three-member team that launched the Concord Group's Cairo office in 1994. Since then, Egypt has become the group's main focus area, with more than half of the assets it manages ($2.8 billion out of $3.4 billion) being invested in Egyptian securities
Security (finance)
A security is generally a fungible, negotiable financial instrument representing financial value. Securities are broadly categorized into:* debt securities ,* equity securities, e.g., common stocks; and,...
. Concord is currently among the largest asset management
Investment management
Investment management is the professional management of various securities and assets in order to meet specified investment goals for the benefit of the investors...
firms in Egypt. One of the funds it manages, the Egypt Investment Company Ltd, has been repeatedly ranked by the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
as the top performing fund in the world. Prince Abbas Hilmi still works for Concord, where he holds the position of Senior Managing Director.
Cultural activities
Since his return to Egypt in 1994, Prince Abbas Hilmi has devoted considerable time to the conservation of his family's architectural legacy. He was instrumental in providing the funds necessary for the 2004–2008 renovation of his great-grandfather Tewfik PashaTewfik Pasha
HH Muhammed Tewfik Pasha ' was Khedive of Egypt and Sudan between 1879 and 1892, and the sixth ruler from the Muhammad Ali Dynasty.-Early life:...
's mausoleum, where he has reserved a burial plot for himself. In 2006, he founded the Friends of Manial Palace Museum Association, which seeks to preserve the palace
Manial Palace and Museum
The Manial Palace and Museum, , is a former Ottoman Egyptian dynasty era palace and grounds on Rhoda Island in the Nile, located in the Sharia al-Saray area in the El-Manial district of southern Cairo, Egypt...
of his granduncle Prince Muhammad Ali
Mohammed Ali Tewfik
Prince Mohammed Ali Tewfik was the heir presumptive of Egypt and Sudan from 1892-1899 and 1936-1952.-Regent:...
.
Marriage and children
In 1969, Prince Abbas Hilmi married Mediha Momtaz (born 1945). The religious ceremony was performed in IstanbulIstanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
on 1 June, and the civil marriage took place at the Kensington
Kensington
Kensington is a district of west and central London, England within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. An affluent and densely-populated area, its commercial heart is Kensington High Street, and it contains the well-known museum district of South Kensington.To the north, Kensington is...
Register Office
Register office
A register office is a British term for a civil registry, a government office and depository where births, deaths and marriages are officially recorded and where you can get officially married, without a religious ceremony...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
on 20 June. Mediha is a maternal granddaughter of Ahmad Midhat Abbas Yeghen, a descendant of one of the sisters of Muhammad Ali Pasha
Muhammad Ali of Egypt
Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha was a commander in the Ottoman army, who became Wāli, and self-declared Khedive of Egypt and Sudan...
, the founder of the Egyptian royal family. Prince Abbas Hilmi and his wife Mediha are thus genealogically related, as illustrated by the family tree below. The couple have a daughter, Sabiha Fatma (born 1974), and a son, Daoud Abdel Moneim (born 1979). As of 2005, Prince Abbas Hilmi's only sister Ikbal (born 1944) lived in Istanbul with their mother Neslişah (born 1921).
| Members of the Muhammad Ali Dynasty Muhammad Ali Dynasty The Muhammad Ali Dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan, from the 19th to the mid-20th Century. It is named after its progenitor, Muhammad Ali Pasha, regarded as the founder of modern Egypt. It was also more formally known as the Alawiyya Dynasty... in the male line |
|
| Members of the Yeghen Family in the male line | |
| Members of the Ottoman Dynasty Ottoman Dynasty The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan... in the male line |
|
| Marriage | |
| Descent |
External links
- Egyptian genealogy of Prince Abbas Hilmi at Ancestry.com
- Ottoman genealogy of Prince Abbas Hilmi at Ancestry.com
- Website of the Friends of Manial Palace Museum Association