The National Party (, ''al-Ḥizb al-Waṭanī'') was a

nationalist Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the State (polity), state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation,Anthony D. Smith, Smith, A ...

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

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 ...

. Founded as an

Egyptian nationalist ''Egyptian'' describes something of, from, or related to Egypt. Egyptian or Egyptians may refer to: Nations and ethnic groups * Egyptians, a national group in North Africa ** Egyptian culture, a complex and stable culture with thousands of years ...

political movement A political movement is a collective attempt by a group of people to change government policy or social values. Political movements are usually in opposition to an element of the status quo, and are often associated with a certain ideology. Some t ...

in 1895, the Watani was led by

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 ...

, a

Francophile A Francophile is a person who has a strong affinity towards any or all of the French language, History of France, French history, Culture of France, French culture and/or French people. That affinity may include France itself or its history, lang ...

journalist from

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 ...

. The National Party platform was composed mainly by the city

bourgeoisie The bourgeoisie ( , ) are a class of business owners, merchants and wealthy people, in general, which emerged in the Late Middle Ages, originally as a "middle class" between the peasantry and aristocracy. They are traditionally contrasted wi ...

, the

monarchy A monarchy is a form of government in which a person, the monarch, reigns as head of state for the rest of their life, or until abdication. The extent of the authority of the monarch may vary from restricted and largely symbolic (constitutio ...

's sympathizers and also by the

Khedive Khedive ( ; ; ) was an honorific title of Classical Persian origin used for the sultans and grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, but most famously for the Khedive of Egypt, viceroy of Egypt from 1805 to 1914.Adam Mestyan"Khedive" ''Encyclopaedi ...

Abbas II, a noted

anglophobe Anti-English sentiment, also known as Anglophobia (from Latin ''Anglus'' "English" and Greek φόβος, ''phobos'', "fear"), refers to opposition, dislike, fear, hatred, oppression, persecution, and discrimination of English people and/or ...

. The party published a newspaper from 1900, '' Al Liwa'' (Arabic: ''The Standard''), with clear

anti-British Anti-British sentiment is the prejudice against, persecution of, discrimination against, fear of, dislike of, or hatred against the British Government, British people, or the culture of the United Kingdom. Argentina Historically, anti- ...

views. In the same year,

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 ...

nominated Mustafa Kamil as

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 ...

for his support to the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. Its anti-British positions intensified after 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 ...

in 1906.

The movement became officially a party on 22 October 1907, after the first Congress of the National Party. During the Congress, Mustafa Kamil supported the

constitutional monarchy Constitutional monarchy, also known as limited monarchy, parliamentary monarchy or democratic monarchy, is a form of monarchy in which the monarch exercises their authority in accordance with a constitution and is not alone in making decisions. ...

. However, Kamil died only two months after the Congress and the National Party was inherited by

Mohammad Farid Mohammad Farid (or Muhammad Farîd; ; January 20, 1868 in Cairo – November 15, 1919 in Berlin) was an influential Egyptian political figure. He was a nationalist leader, writer, and lawyer. Early life Farid was born to an Egyptian Upper class ...

. Under Farid's leadership, the party supported the

, law and order policies and

statism In political science, statism or etatism (from French, ''état'' 'state') is the doctrine that the political authority of the state is legitimate to some degree. This may include economic and social policy, especially in regard to taxation ...

, especially after the

Prime Minister A prime minister 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. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

Boutros Ghali 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 from 1908 to 1910. Early life Boutros Ghali was born on 12 May 1846 t ...

's assassination in 1910. Ironically, Boutros Ghali's assassin was a National Party sympathizer. After the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

ended and the death of Farid in 1919, the party began to decline. Mohammad Hafiz Ramadan Bey led the National Party and started a pro-

Wafd WAFD (100.3 FM, "The Summit") is a hot adult contemporary formatted broadcast radio station licensed to Webster Springs, West Virginia, serving East Central West Virginia. WAFD is owned and operated by Summit Media Broadcasting, LLC. In late 2 ...

policy, so that the Wafd became the leading political party in Egypt. The National Party didn't win many seats in the elections, and after the

Egyptian Revolution of 1952 The Egyptian revolution of 1952, also known as the 1952 coup d'état () and the 23 July Revolution (), was a period of profound political, economic, and societal change in Egypt. On 23 July 1952, the revolution began with the toppling of King ...

, the party was banned.

Ideas and Goals

* The evacuation of the British from Egypt. * Instilling the national spirit in the people. * A constitution that guarantees parliamentary oversight of the government. * Promotion of agriculture, industry, trade and work for the scientific and economic independence of the nation.

Electoral history

House of Representatives elections

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Watani Party Banned political parties in Egypt Defunct political parties in Egypt Egyptian nationalist parties 1895 establishments in Egypt Political parties established in 1895 Political parties disestablished in 1952 1952 disestablishments in Egypt Anti-British sentiment