Boutros Ghali

Early life

Boutros Ghali was born to a Coptic Christian family in Kiman-al-‘Arus, a village of Beni Suef, Egypt, in 1846. His father was Ghali Nayruz, the steward of Prince Mustafa Fadil. Boutros Ghali studied Arabic, Turkish, Persian, English and French.

Career

After graduation, Ghali became a teacher at the patriarchal school. Ghali's public career began in 1875 with this appointment to the post of clerk in the newly constituted Mixed Court by Sharif Pasha. Next he became the representative of the Egyptian government on the Commission of the Public Debt. Ghali began to work in the justice ministry in 1879 and was appointed secretary general of the ministry with the title of Bey. His following post was as first secretary of the council of ministers to which he was appointed in September 1881. However, in October 1881 he again began to work in the justice ministry. Upon the request of Mahmoud Sami al-Barudi, Ghali was awarded the rank of Pasha, being the first Coptic recipient of such an honour in Egypt. In 1886, he was appointed head of a commission for the selection of Sharia court judges, which was an unusual appointment due to his religious background, leading to protests by Muslims.

Ghali's first ministerial portfolio was the minister of finance in 1893. Then he was made foreign minister in 1894. He was appointed prime minister on 8 November 1908, replacing Mustafa Fahmi Pasha. He also retained the post of foreign minister during his premiership. Ghali remained in office until 21 February 1910 and was replaced by Muhammad Said Pasha.

Death

Ghali was accused of favouring the British in the Denshawai incident. On 20 February 1910, Ghali was shot by Ibrahim Nassif al-Wardani, a twenty-three-year-old pharmacology graduate, who had just returned from Britain. Ghali was leaving the ministry of foreign affairs when Wardani fired five shots, three of which lodged the premier's body. Ghali died a day later, on 21 February.

The assassin, who confessed to the killing of Ghali, had been educated in Lausanne, Paris and London and was a member of Mustafa Kamil Pasha's Watani Party. His father was a governor and his uncle was a pasha. Wardani was executed on 28 June 1910.

The assassination of Ghali was the first of a series of assassinations that continued until 1915. It was also the first public assassination of a senior statesman in Egypt in more than a century.

Family

Ghali had "many sons", the most notable being:

Boutros Ghali's brother Amin Ghali (1865–1933) was a public prosecutor; Amin's son Ibrahim Amin Ghali was a diplomat who worked to rehabilitate his uncle's reputation.