
Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, 4th Baronet (10 October 1837 – 29 June 1908) was a
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 ...
diplomat.
Edward Malet came from a family of diplomats; his father was
Sir Alexander Malet, British minister to
Württemberg
Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart.
Together with Baden and Province of Hohenzollern, Hohenzollern, two other histo ...
and later to the
German Confederation
The German Confederation ( ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, which had been dissolved ...
. After three years at
Eton College
Eton College ( ) is a Public school (United Kingdom), public school providing boarding school, boarding education for boys aged 13–18, in the small town of Eton, Berkshire, Eton, in Berkshire, in the United Kingdom. It has educated Prime Mini ...
, Edward Malet entered the
foreign service Foreign Service may refer to:
* Diplomatic service, the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country
* United States Foreign Service, the diplomatic service of the United States government
**Foreign Service ...
at the age of 17.
He served as attaché to his father in
Frankfurt
Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...
, then in
Brussels
Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...
.
He was trained in the diplomatic service by
Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons, and was a member of the
Tory
A Tory () is an individual who supports a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalist conservatism which upholds the established social order as it has evolved through the history of Great Britain. The To ...
-sympathetic 'Lyons School' of British diplomacy.
He served as Secretary of Legation at
Peking
Beijing, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's most populous national capital city as well as China's second largest city by urban area after Shanghai. It is l ...
(1871–1873),
Athens
Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...
(1873–1875),
Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
(1875–1878), and
Constantinople
Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...
(1878–1879). Malet formed close ties with Ottoman sultan
Abdul Hamid II
Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...
("
Abdul the Damned") during 1878, the year of the Treaties of
San Stefano and
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
.
Malet was appointed Agent and Consul-General in
Egypt
Egypt ( , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a country spanning the Northeast Africa, northeast corner of Africa and Western Asia, southwest corner of Asia via the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to northe ...
on 10 October 1879. He served there until 1883, pressing for administrative and financial reforms. He was at first sympathetic to
Ahmed Orabi's demand for constitutional government. However, historians
John Galbraith and
Afaf al-Sayyid-Marsot write that after British-French Joint Note was sent to the Egyptian government, Malet gradually began to support the plans of the Gladstone Cabinet to intervene in Egypt, writing on 13 February 1882, "I am prejudiced against the Nationalists."
[Galbraith, John S. and al-Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi. The British Occupation of Egypt: Another View. "International Journal of Middle East Studies." 9, No. 4] He served a crucial role in the decision of Gladstone's Cabinet to invade Alexandria when he sent a telegram to the Cabinet that both exaggerated the instability of the Khedive's rule in Egypt and also advised the British government to conduct a naval demonstration off Alexandria.
(see
1882 Anglo-Egyptian War). Galbraith and al-Sayyid-Marsot describe him as having been naive, in that he hoped the British would attempt to militarily intimidate Urabi, though he never expected an actual attack or occupation by British forces
He left Egypt on the 23rd of June 1882, due to a sudden illness that left him "prostrate".
Later on, he came to believe his illness was part of a plot to poison and kill him.
He later served as Minister to
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
(1883–1884), and Ambassador to the
German Empire
The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...
(1884–1895).
In 1892 he built an immense Beaux-Arts villa "
Le Chateau Malet" at Cap D’Ail, France.
On 19 March 1885, Edward Malet married Lady Ermyntrude Sackville Russell, daughter of
Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford and
Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West.
The Malet Memorial Hall, a
Tudor Revival-style building which had a church on its upper floor, was founded in his memory by his widow in 1912 in
Bexhill-on-Sea
Bexhill-on-Sea (often shortened to Bexhill) is a seaside town and civil parish in the Rother District in the county of East Sussex in South East England. It is located along the Sussex Coast and between the towns of Hastings, England, Hastings ...
. It opened in October 1913.
Malet Street, a street in the
Bloomsbury
Bloomsbury is a district in the West End of London, part of the London Borough of Camden in England. It is considered a fashionable residential area, and is the location of numerous cultural institution, cultural, intellectual, and educational ...
district of
Central London
Central London is the innermost part of London, in England, spanning the City of London and several boroughs. Over time, a number of definitions have been used to define the scope of Central London for statistics, urban planning and local gove ...
, has been named in his honour.
Bibliography
* Malet,'' Egypt, 1879-1883'' (London, 1909
online
References
General
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Specific
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malet, Edward Baldwin
1837 births
1908 deaths
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany
Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium
Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain
Consuls-general for Great Britain in Egypt
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George
Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath
Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom
People educated at Eton College
People of the Urabi revolt