Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha

Mahmoud El Nokrashy Pasha
محمود فهمى النقراشى باشا
27th Prime Minister of Egypt
In office
9 December 1946 – 28 December 1948
MonarchKing Farouk
Preceded byIsmail Sedki Pasha
Succeeded byIbrahim Abdel Hadi Pasha
In office
26 February 1945 – 17 February 1946
MonarchKing Farouk
Preceded byAhmad Mahir Pasha
Succeeded byIsmail Sedki Pasha
Personal details
Born26 April 1888
Egypt
Died28 December 1948 (aged 60)
Cairo, Egypt

Mahmoud Fahmy El Nokrashy Pasha (April 26, 1888 – December 28, 1948) (Arabic: محمود فهمى النقراشى باشا, IPA: [mæħˈmuːd ˈfæhmi (e)nnoʔˈrɑːʃi ˈbæːʃæ]) was an Egyptian political figure. He was the twenty-seventh prime minister of the Kingdom of Egypt.[1]

Early life and education

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Nokrashy was born in Alexandria on 26 April 1888 to a middle-class family. His father was an Egyptian accountant, and his mother, Hanifa was of Turkish origin.[2] Nokrashy was a graduate of the Ras Al Tin high school.[3]

Career

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Nokrashy Pasha was a member of the Saadist Institutional Party (SIP) which supported a liberal monarchist programme.[4][5] He was also a member of the secret apparatus of the Wafd Party, Egypt's then main nationalist party.[6]

Nokrashy Pasha and King Farouk in an official visit, 1947

Nokrashy Pasha served as the prime minister of Egypt twice. His first term was from 1945 to 1946 (he initially came to power after the murder of Ahmad Mahir Pasha) and the second from 1946 to 1948.[1] His second cabinet was a coalition government comprising members of the Saadist Institutional Party and the Liberal Constitutional Party.[7]

In 1948, Nokrashy Pasha became very concerned with the assertiveness and popularity of the Muslim Brotherhood.[8] Rumours of a Brotherhood coup against the monarchy and government had appeared, and the Brotherhood had already been implicated in the killing of Nokrashy Pasha's predecessor.[8] Shortly after these rumours first gained currency, the prime minister formally outlawed the Brotherhood in December 1948, and this led directly to his own assassination.[8][9] In addition to the Brotherhood being officially declared an illegal organization, the assets of the Brotherhood were seized by the government and many Brotherhood members went to prison.

Assassination

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Less than three weeks after these activities against the Brotherhood, Nokrashy Pasha was gunned down by Abdel Meguid Ahmed Hassan, who was a veterinary student at the University of King Fouad I and another member of the Brotherhood. The slaying occurred on 28 December 1948 at 10:00 am.[8][10][11][12] Nokrashy Pasha was killed in the main building of the Ministry of Interior by Hassan, who was wearing the uniform of a lieutenant.[12] Hassan shot him twice.[12] This crime in turn led to the assassination (by the political police) of Muslim Brotherhood leader Hasan Al Banna on 12 February 1949: despite the fact that Banna had condemned the murder of the prime minister, and had publicly called it a terrorist act incompatible with Islam.[8]

Hassan was arrested after the murder, and confessed that he was a member of the Brotherhood.[12] He reported that it was the prime minister's decision to crack down upon the Brotherhood that had motivated him to carry out the shooting. [12] Found guilty at his trial, he was soon afterwards hanged; three men who had knowingly helped him plan the assassination were sentenced to penal servitude for life.[12]

References

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  1. ^ a b "Political leaders: Egypt". Terra. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  2. ^ Akyeampong, Emmanuel; Gates, Henry Louis, eds. (2012), "Nuqrashi, Mahmud Fahmi al", Dictionary of African Biography, Oxford University Press, p. 508, ISBN 0195382072, Nuqrashi, Mahmud Fahmi al- (1888–1948), Egyptian politician and educator, was born in Alexandria on 26 April 1888 to a middle-class family. His father was an Egyptian accountant for the Khedivial mail, and his mother, Hanifa, was of Turkish origin.
  3. ^ Donald M. Reid (October 1983). "Turn-of-the-Century Egyptian School Days". Comparative Education Review. 27 (3): 375. doi:10.1086/446382.
  4. ^ Spencer C. Tucker; Priscilla Roberts (12 May 2008). The Encyclopedia of the Arab-Israeli Conflict: A Political, Social, and Military History. ABC-CLIO. p. 723. ISBN 978-1-85109-842-2. Retrieved 27 September 2014.
  5. ^ "The Suez Crisis". About.com. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  6. ^ Reid, Donald M. (1982). "Political Assassination in Egypt, 1910-1954". The International Journal of African Historical Studies. 15 (4): 625–651. doi:10.2307/217848. JSTOR 217848.
  7. ^ William M. Steen (April 1947). "Developments of the Quarter: Comment and Chronology December 1, 1946-February 28, 1947". Middle East Journal. 1 (2): 192–195. JSTOR 4321861.
  8. ^ a b c d e Hussain, Ghaffar (2010). "A short history of Islamism" (Concept Series). Quilliam. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  9. ^ Gordon, Joel (May 1989). "The False Hopes of 1950: The Wafd's Last Hurrah and the Demise of Egypt's Old Order". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 21 (2): 193–214. doi:10.1017/s0020743800032281. JSTOR 163074.
  10. ^ Abed-Kotob, Sana (August 1995). "The Accommodationists Speak: Goals and Strategies of the Muslim Brotherhood of Egypt". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 27 (3): 321–339. doi:10.1017/s0020743800062115. JSTOR 176254.
  11. ^ "Profile: Egypt's Muslim Brotherhood". Al Jazeera. 6 February 2011. Retrieved 10 December 2012.
  12. ^ a b c d e f Jabr, Karam (1999). "Two Swords.. with the Qur'an in between!". Arab West Reports. Archived from the original on 18 February 2013. Retrieved 24 December 2012.
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Political offices
Preceded by Prime Minister of Egypt
1945–1946
Succeeded by
Preceded by Prime Minister of Egypt
1946–1948
Succeeded by