On 25 June, the Egyptian state commemorated the bicentenary of the establishment of its first institutional body entrusted with managing the country’s foreign affairs.
To mark the occasion, Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty inaugurated a museum dedicated to the history of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at its headquarters in the New Administrative Capital. The celebration was attended by Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly, while President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi paid tribute to the ministry, its role, and its personnel in a message posted on social media.
The significance of this milestone lies in the fact that, like in any sovereign state, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs stands as the embodiment of national independence, a symbol of sovereignty, and the institution responsible for managing relations with the outside world.
The occasion commemorates the decision taken by Egypt’s ruler Mohamed Ali Pasha in 1826 to establish the Diwan of Trade and European Affairs (Diwan al-Tijara wa al-Umour al-Ifranjiyya). The move came in response to the rapid expansion of Egypt’s foreign trade, the growing volume of imports from other countries, and the increasing number of European consuls accredited to the country.
Mohamed Ali entrusted the administration of the Diwan to Boghos Bey Youssufian, an Armenian who was fluent in Turkish, Armenian, Greek, Italian, and French and who had served as Mohamed Ali’s interpreter during meetings with foreign envoys. Following his death in 1844, he was succeeded by Artin Bey Shoukry and later by Estefan Bey Rasmi, both of whom were also Armenian.
As Egypt experienced a period of renaissance and the functions of government expanded, the country’s external relations likewise broadened, prompting the transformation of the Diwan into a nizara (ministry). In the decree appointing Nubar Pasha, an Egyptian-Armenian and the nephew of Boghos Bey, as minister of foreign affairs in January 1866, Khedive Ismail observed that “the government’s dealings with foreigners are among its most delicate and important responsibilities.”
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs must occupy one of the highest positions within the government,” he said. Nubar Pasha remained in office for nine years.
With the issuing of the Khedival decree establishing Egypt’s first council of ministers under the Khedive Ismail in August 1878, headed by Nubar Pasha, the prime minister assumed responsibility for foreign affairs in addition to justice. He was succeeded as minister of foreign affairs by Ali Pasha Zulfiqar, who served for less than a month, followed by Mohamed Sherif Pasha, who would later become one of the leading figures of the constitutional movement and the Urabi Revolution.
Until the declaration of the British protectorate, ten ministers succeeded one another in the post, the last being Adly Yakan. In general, those who occupied the office belonged to the Ottomanised Egyptian elite, including Turks, Armenians, Circassians, and Albanians, with only two exceptions – Boutros Ghali and Youssef Wahba. All belonged to the class of notables and large landowners.
The ministry’s powers were significantly curtailed following the British occupation in 1882. Although its administrative structure remained intact, its activities were placed under the direction of the British high commissioner in Egypt. With the declaration of the British protectorate in 1914, the ministry was abolished altogether, and its functions were transferred to the British commissioner.
This situation persisted until the outbreak of the 1919 Revolution and the rise of the national movement demanding an end to the protectorate. The Unilateral Declaration of 28 February 1922 formally terminated the protectorate and recognised Egypt’s independence, subject to the well-known four reserved points in the declaration. Egypt was transformed from a sultanate into a kingdom, and its ruler’s title changed from sultan to king.
Less than a month later, on 15 March 1922, the British foreign office circulated a memorandum to all British diplomatic missions abroad, informing them of Egypt’s new legal status and affirming that the Egyptian government was now free to conduct its foreign relations through its own ministry of foreign affairs. For this reason, 15 March was later designated as Egyptian Diplomacy Day.
The following day, a royal decree appointed Abdel-Khalek Tharwat Pasha as minister of foreign affairs, and foreign diplomatic representatives in Egypt were notified that all official dealings would henceforth be conducted through him. The minister initially carried out his duties with only a small number of staff from his office at the Al-Bustan Palace in the heart of Khedival Cairo. The palace, one of the royal family’s residences, had previously been occupied for a period by Prince Fouad, later King Fouad, and occupied the site of today’s Al-Bustan Mall and adjacent parking complex.
In 1923, the minister issued a decree reorganising the ministry by dividing it into specialised departments. Subsequent laws and regulations continued to modify the number and responsibilities of these while establishing the legal framework governing Egypt’s diplomatic and consular service.
The majority of those who joined the diplomatic corps during this period were graduates of the Faculty of Law in Cairo. At the time, the ministry’s official correspondence was drafted in French, while the Royal Court exercised direct oversight of the ministry’s activities on the grounds that diplomats abroad were regarded as “representatives of His Majesty”.
This principle was enshrined in Article 49 of the 1923 constitution, which stipulated that the king appointed diplomatic representatives upon the recommendation of the minister of foreign affairs. Gradually, Egypt’s diplomatic representation abroad expanded from just four missions in 1923 to 57 by 1936. None of their heads bore the title of ambassador, however, owing to British objections, a situation that changed only after the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936.
During the 30 years between 1922 and 1952, the ministry relocated its headquarters from the Al-Bustan Palace to the Palace of Princess Nemat Allah, daughter of Khedive Tawfik, near Ismailia Square, today’s Tahrir Square. Over this period, 26 individuals served as ministers of foreign affairs, occupying the office on 41 separate occasions, as several held the portfolio more than once.
Wassef Boutros Ghali served as foreign minister four times, Ali Maher three times, while Mahmoud Fahmy Al-Nokrashy, Abdel-Fattah Yehia, Hafez Afifi, and Sami Soliman each held the office twice.
The list of Egypt’s foreign ministers also included distinguished figures in the fields of scholarship and culture, among them the eminent intellectual Ahmed Lutfi Al-Sayed and the renowned jurist Abdel-Hamid Badawi. Several ministers simultaneously held the offices of prime minister and foreign minister, while one of them, Mohamed Abdel-Khalek Hassouna, went on to become secretary general of the Arab League in 1952, a position he retained for the following 20 years.
The writer is a professor of political science at Cairo University.
* A version of this article appears in print in the 9 July, 2026 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly
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