Ismail Hussein Chirine (; 17 October 1919 – 14 June 1994) was an Egyptian royal diplomat. He served very briefly as Egypt's Minister of War in July 1952. His ancestors had relations to the

Muhammad Ali dynasty The Muhammad Ali dynasty or the Alawiyya dynasty was the ruling dynasty of Egypt and Sudan from the 19th to the mid-20th century. It is named after its progenitor, the Albanians, Albanian Muhammad Ali of Egypt, Muhammad Ali, regarded as the fou ...

Early life and education

Chirine was born in

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

on 17 October 1919 to Hussein Chirine

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 ...

(died 1934) and Princess Amineh Bahrouz Fazil (1886–1947), a member of a

cadet branch A cadet branch consists of the male-line descendants of a monarch's or patriarch's younger sons ( cadets). In the ruling dynasties and noble families of much of Europe and Asia, the family's major assets (realm, titles, fiefs, property and incom ...

of the Egyptian royal family. After their divorce, his mother married Ali Rateb, from Alexandria, and his father married Gulsun Hanem Aflaton. His uncle and guardian was the governor of

Cairo Cairo ( ; , ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Egypt and the Cairo Governorate, being home to more than 10 million people. It is also part of the List of urban agglomerations in Africa, largest urban agglomeration in Africa, L ...

. From the age of 12, Chirine preferred to live with his aunt Zeinab Chirine, wife of Haidar Pasha. He was educated at Victoria College in Alexandria, Great Chesterfield College and

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

, Cambridge.

Career

Chirine assumed different public posts in Egypt. When Chirine returned from the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

he firstly worked for the Bank El Ahly El Masry. Later he became an officer in the army, where his proficiency in the

English language English is a West Germanic language that developed in early medieval England and has since become a English as a lingua franca, global lingua franca. The namesake of the language is the Angles (tribe), Angles, one of the Germanic peoples th ...

was useful during negotiations in the

1948 Arab–Israeli War The 1948 Arab–Israeli War, also known as the First Arab–Israeli War, followed the 1947–1948 civil war in Mandatory Palestine, civil war in Mandatory Palestine as the second and final stage of the 1948 Palestine war. The civil war becam ...

, together with Rahmani Bey who later became ambassador to

Czechoslovakia Czechoslovakia ( ; Czech language, Czech and , ''Česko-Slovensko'') was a landlocked country in Central Europe, created in 1918, when it declared its independence from Austria-Hungary. In 1938, after the Munich Agreement, the Sudetenland beca ...

. Chirine became colonel in the army. He was a member of Egypt's delegation to the

1949 Armistice Agreements The 1949 Armistice Agreements were signed between Israel and Egypt,Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. In 1948, he served as secretary of Egyptian delegation to

the United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and security, to develop friendly relations among ...

. Then he acted as aide-de-champ of

King Farouk Farouk I (; ''Fārūq al-Awwal''; 11 February 1920 – 18 March 1965) was the tenth ruler of Egypt from the Muhammad Ali dynasty and the penultimate King of Egypt and the Sudan, succeeding his father, Fuad I, in 1936 and reigning until his ...

. In 1949 he served as the press officer for the cabinet. He was appointed Defense Minister of during the reign of

, Chirine was the last Defense Minister of

Kingdom of Egypt The Kingdom of Egypt () was the legal form of the Egyptian state during the latter period of the Muhammad Ali dynasty's reign, from the United Kingdom's recognition of Egyptian independence in 1922 until the abolition of the monarchy of Eg ...

. In 1940s Chirine became the first to hold the position of Vice President of

Zamalek SC Zamalek Sporting Club (), commonly referred to as Zamalek, is an List of football clubs in Egypt, Egyptian Club based in Cairo, Egypt. The club is best known for its professional men's Association football, football team, which plays in the Egy ...

Personal life

Chirine married Princess Fawzia, the sister of

, in March 1949, five months after the Princess's divorce from the Shah of Iran. The wedding ceremony was held in Koubba Palace. Following the wedding they lived in an estate owned by the Princess in

Maadi Maadi ( ) is a leafy and once suburban district in the Southern Area of Cairo, Egypt, on the east bank of the Nile about upriver from downtown Cairo. The modern extensions north east and east of Maadi, New Maadi and Zahraa al-Maadi are admini ...

. They also resided in a villa in Smouha. They had two children, Nadia (19 December 1950 – October 2009) and Hussein (born 1955 – died 2016). Their daughter, Nadia, married firstly Egyptian actor Yusuf Shabaan and secondly Mustafa Rashid. He lived the rest of his life in

, tending his property in the South of Egypt and spending summers in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, to allow his wife to meet her eldest daughter, Princess

Shahnaz Pahlavi Shahnaz Pahlavi (, born 27 October 1940) is the first child of the former Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and his first wife, Fawzia of Egypt. Early life and education Shahnaz Pahlavi was born in Tehran on 27 October 1940, a year before t ...

Death

Chirine died at the military hospital in Alexandria on 14 June 1994 at the age of 74. He was buried in Cairo.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chirine, Ismail 1919 births 1994 deaths Egyptian Muslims Victoria College, Alexandria alumni Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge Egyptian people of Circassian descent Defence ministers of Egypt Diplomats for Egypt Egyptian military leaders Egyptian expatriates in the United Kingdom Egyptian expatriates in the United States