Memoranda of Nubar Pasha

Nubar Pasha's work, coming from Armenian origins, held numerous positions in successive Egyptian governments; he served as Minister of Transport, Public Works, Interior, and Foreign Affairs. He was also chosen as the first Prime Minister of Egypt in the Council of Ministers established by Khedive Ismail in 1878, and he held this position three times before passing away in 1899. Nubar Pasha wrote these memoirs when he was sixty-five years old, covering the period from 1842 to 1879, which begins with his arrival in Egypt and ends with Khedive Ismail's dismissal. The memoirs, which are translated here in full for the first time, reveal the other side of Nubar Pasha, who was often accused of favoritism towards foreigners at the expense of Egyptians. He presents here what confirms his frustration with the dominance of foreigners over the general situation in Egypt, and his efforts to establish mixed courts to limit this control. He also discusses his relationship with the English and French members of the first Council of Ministers. This book provides the reader and researcher with Tewfik Pasha's interpretation of the decision that caused a seismic shift in modern Egyptian history, which was the dismissal of 2,500 officers from the army, leading to the famous officer demonstration on February 18, 1879.