11 Facts About Nubar Pasha

Nubar Pasha GCSI was an Egyptian-Armenian politician and the first Prime Minister of Egypt.

Nubar Pasha served as Prime Minister three times during his career.

Ismail, himself a more capable man than his immediate predecessors, at once recognized the ability of Nubar Pasha, and charged him with a mission to Constantinople, not only to notify his accession, but to smooth the way for the many ambitious projects he already entertained, notably the completion of the Suez Canal, the change in title to that of khedive and the change in the order of succession.

Half the work was yet to be done, and Nubar Pasha was sent to Paris to complete the arrangements, and to settle the differences between Egypt and the Canal Company.

Nubar Pasha now had a harder task to undertake than ever before.

Nubar Pasha, finding himself supported by both Great Britain and France, tried to reduce Ismail to the position of a constitutional monarch, and Ismail, with an astuteness worthy of a better cause, took advantage of a somewhat injudicious disbandment of certain regiments to incite a military rising against the ministry.

The governments of Great Britain and France, instead of supporting the ministry against the khedive, weakly consented to Nubar Pasha's dismissal; but when this was shortly followed by that of Rivers Wilson and de Blignieres they realized that the situation was a critical one, and they succeeded in obtaining from the sultan the deposition of Ismail and the substitution of his son Tawfiq as khedive.

The British government, under the advice of Baring, insisted on the evacuation of the Sudan, and Muhammad Sharif Pasha having resigned office, the more pliant Nubar was induced to become prime minister, and to carry out a policy of which he openly disapproved, but which he considered Egypt was forced to accept under British dictation.

Riyad Pasha, who succeeded him, was, with one interval of eight months, prime minister until April 1894, when Nubar returned to office.

In November 1895 Nubar Pasha completed his fifty years of service, and, accepting a pension, retired from office.

Nubar Pasha lived little more than three years longer, spending his time between Cairo and Paris, where he died in January 1899.