Mustafa el-Nahhas

Mustafa el-Nahhas Pasha or Mustafa Nahhas (Arabic: مصطفى النحاس باشا‎; June 15, 1879 – August 23, 1965)^[1] was an Egyptian political figure.

Education, activism and exile

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.

Political history

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 from a very prominent family, Zainab Hanem Elwakil, who was more than 30 years younger than he was. 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. Although Makram Ebeid apologized years later for the lies he spread about Nahhas pasha and his wife in his infamous book (The black book), their friendship was never the same. His wife died two years after his death in 1967. His and her cemetery are located in the Elwakil yard in BASATEEN, Cairo.

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 pasha helped to found the Arab Higher Committee to uphold the rights of the Palestinian people. He was one of the signers of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936, 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 Egyptian Revolution of 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.Tens of thousands of people in the funeral procession where chanting "no leader after you Nahhas".

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.