Ali Sabri ( ar, على صبرى, ) (30 August 1920 – 3 August 1991) was an Egyptian politician of Turkish origin.

Family background

His parents, Dewlet Shamsi (mother) and Abbas-Baligh Sabri (father) were of Turkish- Circassian descent and belonged to the privileged class. Ali Sabri was a grandson of nationalist Amin Shamsi Pasha (1833-1913) a member of the General Assembly and Provincial Council who in 1881-82 was a principal financial backer of Ahmed Urabi Pasha. Following the failure of what historian term the " Urabi Rebellion" of 1882,

Khedive Tewfik Mohamed Tewfik Pasha ( ar, محمد توفيق باشا ''Muḥammad Tawfīq Bāshā''; April 30 or 15 November 1852 – 7 January 1892), also known as Tawfiq of Egypt, was khedive of Egypt and the Sudan between 1879 and 1892 and the sixth rule ...

imprisoned Shamsi Pasha later releasing him on a hefty bail. He resumed his seat at the General Assembly until his death. Sabri was also a nephew of Ali Shamsi Pasha (1885-1962) co-founder of the

Wafd Party The Wafd Party (; ar, حزب الوفد, ''Ḥizb al-Wafd'') was a nationalist liberal political party in Egypt. It was said to be Egypt's most popular and influential political party for a period from the end of World War I through the 1930 ...

and a several-time minister during the reign of

Fuad I of Egypt Fuad I ( ar, فؤاد الأول ''Fu’ād al-Awwal''; tr, I. Fuad or ; 26 March 1868 – 28 April 1936) was the Sultan and later King of Egypt and the Sudan. The ninth ruler of Egypt and Sudan from the Muhammad Ali dynasty, he became Sulta ...

later to become the first Egyptian to head of the National Bank of Egypt which acted as the country's Central Bank. One of Ali Sabri's paternal grand-uncles was Mohammed Faizi Pasha (1840-1911), a director-general of the Awqaf Department during the reign of

Khedive Khedive (, ota, خدیو, hıdiv; ar, خديوي, khudaywī) was an honorific title of Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"K ...

Abbas Hilmi II Abbas II Helmy Bey (also known as ''ʿAbbās Ḥilmī Pāshā'', ar, عباس حلمي باشا) (14 July 1874 – 19 December 1944) was the last Khedive ( Ottoman viceroy) of Egypt and Sudan, ruling from 8January 1892 to 19 December 191 ...

. The trilingual Ali Sabri, along with his three brothers and one sister, was raised in the then-predominantly aristocratic and European Cairo suburb of

Maadi Maadi ( ar, المعادي / transliterated: ) is a leafy suburban district south of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The Nile at Maadi is parallelled by the Corniche, a waterfront promenade a ...

and was an active member of its Sporting Club's tennis and swimming teams.

Egyptian revolution and premiership

Sabri was one of the second row of 1952 revolution officers, he was the head of

Egyptian General Intelligence Directorate The General Intelligence Service ( ar, جهاز المخابرات العامة ; GIS), often referred to as the Mukhabarat ( ar, المخابرات ) is an Egyptian intelligence agency responsible for providing national security intelligence, b ...

from 1956 to 1957. He was the

32nd 3 (three) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 2 and preceding 4, and is the smallest odd prime number and the only prime preceding a square number. It has religious or cultural significance in many societie ...

Prime Minister of Egypt The prime minister of Egypt () is the head of the Egyptian government. A direct translation of the Arabic-language title is "Minister-President of Egypt" and "President of the Government". The Arabic title can also be translated as "President of ...

from September 1962 to October 1965. When

Gamal Abdel Nasser Gamal Abdel Nasser Hussein, . (15 January 1918 – 28 September 1970) was an Egyptian politician who served as the second president of Egypt from 1954 until his death in 1970. Nasser led the Egyptian revolution of 1952 and introduced far-r ...

died in 1970,

Anwar Sadat Muhammad Anwar el-Sadat, (25 December 1918 – 6 October 1981) was an Egyptian politician and military officer who served as the third president of Egypt, from 15 October 1970 until his assassination by fundamentalist army officers on 6 ...

was regarded as Nasser's most likely successor, but Sabri was regarded as the next most likely. Both Sadat and Sabri had

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which ma ...

s which they survived at Nasser's funeral. Sabri was the vice-president and regarded as the no. 2 figure in Sadat's government. However shortly after Sadat came to power he was the most notable casualty of Sadat's " Corrective Revolution", and was imprisoned. Regarded as a diehard socialist, he was often criticized for his upper-class background. Ali Sabri died in

Cairo Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metr ...

on 3 August 1991, aged 70.

Honour

Foreign honour

* Malaysia: ** Honorary Grand Commander of the

Order of the Defender of the Realm The Most Esteemed Order of the Defender of the Realm ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Pangkuan Negara) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country. The Order Motto are 'Dipeliharakan Allah-Pangkuan Negara' (By the Grace ...

(SMN (K)) - Tun (1965)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sabri, Ali 1920 births 1991 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Egypt Prime Ministers of Egypt Egyptian people of Turkish descent Vice-presidents of Egypt Arab Socialist Union (Egypt) politicians Free Officers Movement (Egypt) Honorary Grand Commanders of the Order of the Defender of the Realm Directors of the General Intelligence Directorate (Egypt)