El Sayed Muhammad Sherif Pasha Al-Kabir (died February 13, 1865) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

-Egyptian statesman during the time of

Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali (4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849) was the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Albanians, Albanian viceroy and governor who became the ''de facto'' ruler of History of Egypt under the Muhammad Ali dynasty, Egypt from 1805 to 1848, widely consi ...

Early life

Muhammad's father was an army officer who was killed in battle when the boy was only four months old. He was a brilliant student who caught the eye of his uncle,

Muhammad Ali Pasha Mehmed Ali Pasha may refer to: * Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1769–1849), considered the founder of modern Egypt * Çerkes Mehmed Pasha (died 1625), Ottoman statesman and grand vizier * Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha (1815–1871), Ottoman statesman and gra ...

, the future Governor-General of Egypt, who also emerged as an Ottoman commander in

Kavala Kavala (, ''Kavála'' ) is a city in northern Greece, the principal seaport of eastern Macedonia and the capital of Kavala regional unit. It is situated on the Bay of Kavala, across from the island of Thasos and on the A2 motorway, a one-and ...

. Muhammad Ali adopted El Sayed Muhammad Sherif, and when the latter was 12 years old Muhammad Ali took him to Egypt and had him educated with his own sons in an elite boarding school known as the Princes' School, which was located at El-Khanka, a city 12 miles northeast 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 ...

Administrative service

Muhammad Sherif went on to become an important administrator in Muhammad Ali's regime, serving as Wali of Damascus during the Egyptian occupation from November 1832 to 1840. He also served as Finance Minister of Egypt in 1844. On his death, Muhammad left a large fortune to his sons Khalil,

Ali Ali ibn Abi Talib (; ) was the fourth Rashidun caliph who ruled from until his assassination in 661, as well as the first Shia Imam. He was the cousin and son-in-law of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. Born to Abu Talib ibn Abd al-Muttalib an ...

, and Osman. El Sayed Muhammad Sherif Pasha El-Kebir is referred to in most accounts under the abbreviated form of his name, which was Muhammad

Sherif Sherif, also spelled Sharif (and, in countries where Francophone Romanization is the norm, Cherif or Charif), is a proper name derived from the Arabic word (, 'noble', 'highborn', 'honorable'), originally a title designating a person descended f ...

Pasha. However, he is not to be confused with

Muhammad Sharif Pasha Mohamed Sherif Pasha GCSI (February 1826 – 20 April 1887) () was an Egyptian statesman. He served as Prime Minister of Egypt three times during his career. His first term was between 7 April 1879 and 18 August 1879. His second term was served ...

(1826-1887), a native of Kavala, who served 3 times as Prime Minister of Egypt in the 1870s and 1880s.

References

{{Reflist Egyptian pashas 1865 deaths Muhammad Ali dynasty Ministers of finance of Egypt