Boutros Ghali (12 May 1846 – 21 February 1910; , ; styled Boutros Ghali Bey later Boutros Ghali Pasha) was an Egyptian politician, who served as the

Prime Minister of Egypt A prime number (or a prime) is a natural number greater than 1 that is not a product of two smaller natural numbers. A natural number greater than 1 that is not prime is called a composite number. For example, 5 is prime because the only ways ...

from 1908 to 1910.

Early life

Boutros Ghali was born on 12 May 1846 to a Coptic

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

family in Kiman-al-'Arus, a village of

Beni Suef Beni Suef ( the capital city of the Beni Suef Governorate in Egypt. The city is the location of Beni Suef University. An important agricultural trade centre on the west bank of the Nile River, the city is located 110 km (70 miles) south of ...

, Egypt, in 1846. His father was Ghali Nayruz, the steward of Prince Mustafa Fadil. Boutros Ghali studied

Arabic Arabic (, , or , ) is a Central Semitic languages, Central Semitic language of the Afroasiatic languages, Afroasiatic language family spoken primarily in the Arab world. The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) assigns lang ...

Ottoman Turkish Ottoman Turkish (, ; ) was the standardized register of the Turkish language in the Ottoman Empire (14th to 20th centuries CE). It borrowed extensively, in all aspects, from Arabic and Persian. It was written in the Ottoman Turkish alphabet. ...

, Persian, English, and French.

Career

After graduation, Ghali became a teacher at the patriarchal school. Ghali's public career began in 1875 with his appointment to the post of clerk in the newly constituted Mixed Court by Sharif Pasha. Next he became the representative of the Egyptian government on the Commission of the Public Debt. Ghali began to work in the justice ministry in 1879 and was appointed secretary general of the ministry with the title of

Bey Bey, also spelled as Baig, Bayg, Beigh, Beig, Bek, Baeg, Begh, or Beg, is a Turkic title for a chieftain, and a royal, aristocratic title traditionally applied to people with special lineages to the leaders or rulers of variously sized areas in ...

. His following post was as first secretary of the council of ministers to which he was appointed in September 1881. 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 Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

, being the first Coptic recipient of such an honour in Egypt. 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. Ghali's first ministerial portfolio was the minister of finance in 1893. Then he was made foreign minister in 1894. 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 Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

. The same year Ghali joined the freemason lodge of Egypt. He was appointed prime minister on 8 November 1908, replacing Mustafa Fahmi Pasha in the post. He also retained the post of foreign minister during his premiership. Ghali remained in office until 21 February 1910 and was replaced by Muhammad Said Pasha.

Death

Ghali was accused of favouring the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

in the

Denshawai incident The Denshawai incident is the name given to a dispute which occurred in 1906 between British Army officers and Egyptian villagers in Denshawai, Egypt, which would later become of great significance in the nationalist and anti-colonial consciou ...

. On 20 February 1910, Ghali was shot by Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a twenty-three-year-old

pharmacology Pharmacology is the science of drugs and medications, including a substance's origin, composition, pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, therapeutic use, and toxicology. More specifically, it is the study of the interactions that occur betwee ...

graduate, who had just returned from

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. Ghali was leaving the ministry of foreign affairs when Wardani fired five shots, three of which lodged in the premier's body. Ghali died a day later, on 21 February. The assassin, who confessed to the killing of Ghali, had been educated in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

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, and

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and was a member of

Mustafa Kamil Pasha Mustafa Kamil Pasha (, ) (August 14, 1874 ⁠– February 10, 1908) was an Egyptian lawyer, journalist, and nationalist activist. Early life and education Kamil was born in Cairo in 1874. His father was an engineer who first worked for the Eg ...

's Watani Party. His father was a

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

and his uncle was a

. Wardani was executed on 28 June 1910. The assassination of Ghali was the first of a series of assassinations that continued until 1915. It was also the first public assassination of a senior statesman in Egypt in more than a century.

Family

Ghali had "many sons", the most notable being: * Yusuf Boutros-Ghali ** Father of

Boutros Boutros-Ghali Boutros Boutros-Ghali (14 November 1922 – 16 February 2016) was an Egyptian politician and diplomat who served as the sixth Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1992 to 1996. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Boutros-Gha ...

, who was named after his grandfather and served as deputy prime minister of Egypt and as

United Nations Secretary-General The secretary-general of the United Nations (UNSG or UNSECGEN) is the chief administrative officer of the United Nations and head of the United Nations Secretariat, one of the United Nations System#Six principal organs, six principal organs of ...

. ** grandfather of internet entrepreneur Teymour Boutros-Ghali ** grandfather of Youssef Boutros Ghali, Minister of Finance from 2004 to 2011 * Wasif Boutrus Pasha Ghali or Wasif Boutrus Ghali Pasha (1878–1958), legislator and diplomat, foreign minister. * Najib Boutros-Ghali, agriculture minister in 1921. * Mirrit Boutros-Ghali, writer, businessman, and lawyerGoldschmidt 1993, p. 188 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.Goldschmidt 1993, p. 187

Honors

Egyptian national honors

Foreign honors

References

Sources

Citations

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ghali, Boutros 1846 births 1910 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Egypt Coptic politicians Egyptian pashas Ministers of foreign affairs of Egypt Ministers of finance of Egypt Assassinated Egyptian politicians Assassinated prime ministers Deaths by firearm in Egypt People murdered in Egypt Boutros Ghali family People murdered in 1910 Egyptian Freemasons 19th-century Egyptian diplomats 20th-century Egyptian diplomats Politicians assassinated in the 1910s Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Immaculate Conception of Vila Viçosa Recipients of the Order of Muhammad Ali Recipients of the Order of Ismail Recipients of the Order of the Crown (Italy) Honorary Knights Commander of the Order of St Michael and St George Honorary Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order