Amin Osman, also known as Amin Osman Pasha, (28 November 1898–5 January 1946) was an Egyptian judge and politician who served as

finance minister A finance minister is an executive or cabinet position in charge of one or more of government finances, economic policy and financial regulation. A finance minister's portfolio has a large variety of names around the world, such as "treasury", ...

in the period 1943–1944. He was assassinated by Hussein Tawfik, who was connected with the Egyptian army officers, on 5 January 1946.

Early life and education

Amin Osman was born in the Muharram Bey neighborhood of

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandr ...

on 28 November 1898. His father was a secretary general in the municipality of Alexandria. Educated at Victoria College and then at

Brasenose College, Oxford Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...

, Amin Osman was a judge by profession. He continued his studies in law in Paris.

Career

Following his graduation Osman joined the

ministry of finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and ...

in Cairo. He was a member of the Egyptian delegation led by the

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is ...

Mustafa El Nahas which signed the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in August 1936. Osman adopted a pro-British political stance and was part of a group created by the British diplomats to control the Egyptian politics. He was the primary liaison between the Prime Ministers Mustafa El Nahas and then Mohammed Mahmoud Pasha and the British Embassy in Cairo. However, next Prime Minister Ali Maher Pasha fired Osman soon after he took over the office in August 1939. Osman was serving as the undersecretary of finance before his dismissal. Osman's next post was the director of the National Bank of Egypt. Following the Waft Party's formation of the government he was named as the head of the audit department of the finance ministry in February 1942. In a cabinet reshuffle dated 2 June 1943 he was appointed minister of finance to the cabinet led by Mustafa El Nahas and replaced Kamel Sidki in the post. It was the fifth cabined headed by Mustafa El Nahas. Osman served in the post until October 1944 when the cabinet was dissolved. Although Osman served in the Wafd cabinet, he was not a member of the party.

Personal life and assassination

Osman married a British woman, Katie. They had a daughter. He was assassinated in front of the Old Victorian Club on Sharia Adly in Cairo on the evening of 5 January 1946. He died shortly after the attack. The assassination was planned by the Egyptian army officers, including

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 ...

who would be the president of the country, and their target was also Prime Minister Mustafa El Nahas. When the assassins led by Hussein Tawfiq did not manage to kill Mustafa El Nahas on 26 December 1945, they targeted and murdered Amin Osman. A funeral ceremony for Amin Osman was held on 6 January in Cairo, and he was buried in the tomb of Imam Al Shafi'i there. Tawfik was arrested soon and based on his confession Anwar Sadat, Mohammed Ibrahim Kamel, and others were also arrested and jailed. Of them Sadat was released from the prison in 1948.

Awards

Osman was the recipient of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...

which was awarded as a result of his contributions in the sign of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1936.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Osman, Amin 1946 murders in Egypt 20th-century Egyptian judges 1898 births 1946 deaths Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford Assassinated Egyptian politicians Deaths by firearm in Egypt Finance Ministers of Egypt Independent politicians in Egypt Members of the Order of the British Empire People murdered in Egypt Politicians from Alexandria Victoria College, Alexandria alumni