The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Tewfik Pasha, Mohammed

TEWFIK PASHA, , MOHAMMED, khedive of Egypt: b. 15 Nov. 1852; d. 7 Jan. 1892. He was declared heir apparent in 1866, when the sultan granted the right of primogeniture to the Egyptian reigning family, and in 1879 he succeeded to the throne on the abdication of his father, Ismail Pasha.

He was a ruler chiefly in name, the control of the government being virtually in the hands of foreign powers. A national party was formed of which Arabi Pasha, Minister of War, was at the head, and the friction between the khedive, who favored the English, and Arabi resulted in an insurrection in 1882. Through the intervention of England the uprising was quelled and a species of constitutional monarchy was adopted, giving an English financial adviser a place in the council in 1883. During the Mahdi troubles in 1884 Tewfik was forced to give up the Sudan. He was a man of simple tastes, married but one wife and was deeply interested in educational advancement and in the improvement of public works.