Mustafa el-Nahhas

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Mustafa el-Nahhas Pasha or Mustafa Nahhas (1879 - 1965) (Arabic: مصطفى النحاس باشا) was an Egyptian political figure. He was born in Samanud (Gharbiyya), where his father was a lumber merchant. He graduated from el-Nassereyya Elementary School in Cairo in 1891 and the Khedivial Secondary School in 1896. After earning his license from the Khedivial Law School in 1900, he worked in Mohammad Farid's law office before opening his own practice in Mansoura. In 1904 he became a judge in the Tanta National Court. He was dismissed from the bench in 1919 when he joined the Wafd as a representative of the Egyptian National Party. Exiled with Saad Zaghlul to the Seychelles in 1921-1923, Nahhas was chosen upon his repatriation to represent Samanud in the first Chamber of Deputies elected under the 1923 Constitution.

He became minister for communications in 1924. Reelected in 1926 as a deputy from Sir Abu Nanna (Gharbiyya) and barred by the British from taking another cabinet post, he was elected one of the Chamber's two vice presidents and, in 1927, its president. Upon Sa'd Zaghlul's death in August 1927, he defeated Sa'd's nephew in the contest to lead the Wafd Party. He served as Prime Minister of Egypt in 1928, 1930, between 1936 and 1937, from 1942 until 1944, and finally between 1950 and 1952. Nahhas married a much younger wife, Zeinab el-Wekil, who was more than 30 years younger than him. His wife was said to have great influence on him, and is alleged to have played a big role in spoiling the friendship between Mustafa el-Nahhas and Makram Ebeid. He also helped found the Arab League in 1944. He was prime minister for only a few months in 1928 after clashing with the king over his desire to strictly limit royal power. When the Great Palestinian Revolt of 1936-1939 started el-Nahhas helped to found the Arab Higher Committee to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people. He was one of the signers of the 1936 Anglo-Egyptian Treaty, but in 1951 he denounced it. This led to anti-British riots, which led to his dismissal as Prime Minister in January, 1952. After the military coup of July, 1952, the Wafd party was dissolved. Both he and his wife were imprisoned from 1953 to 1954. He then retired to private life. His death on 23 August 1965 led to a mass demonstration at his funeral, one that was allowed but not welcomed by Gamal Abdel Nasser's government.

[edit] References

• Arthur Goldschmidt, Biographical Dictionary of Modern Egypt Boulder: Lynne Rienner, 2000.
• Saniyya Qurra'a. Nimr al-siyasa al-misriyya Cairo, 1952.
• Bernard Reich, ed., Political Leaders of the Contemporary Middle East and North Africa: A Biographical Dictionary New York, 1990.

Preceded by Abdel Khaliq Sarwat Pasha	Prime Minister of Egypt 1928	Succeeded by Muhammad Mahmoud Pasha
Preceded by Adli Yakan Pasha	Prime Minister of Egypt 1930	Succeeded by Ismail Sidqi Pasha
Preceded by Ali Mahir Pasha	Prime Minister of Egypt 1936–1937	Succeeded by Muhammad Mahmoud Pasha
Preceded by Hussein Sirri Pasha	Prime Minister of Egypt 1942–1944	Succeeded by Ahmad Mahir Pasha
Preceded by Hussein Sirri Pasha	Prime Minister of Egypt 1950–1952	Succeeded by Ali Mahir Pasha