Ali Pasha Mubarak

Who was Ali Pasha Mubarak?

Ali Pasha Mubarak was an Egyptian public works and education minister during the second half of the nineteenth century. He is often considered one of the most influential and talented of Egypt's 19th century reformers. He was born in Birnbal al-Jididah, a Nile Delta village and attended a government prep school before being admitted to the Cairo School of Engineering. During his studies in Cairo he was the top student and as a result was chosen to be a member of a student mission sent by Muhammad Ali to France in 1844. He studied in Paris for two years and directly after that in Metz at a school for artillery officers and military engineers. He returned to his homeland in 1849 and was given an instructors position in the artillery school. After this in 1850, he became the first native Egyptian Muslim to be appointed the director of the entire system of government schools. This marked the beginning of his "rich career of public service that spanned nearly four decades and included appointments as head of the ministries of education, public works, and railways."