Isma'il Pasha

Isma'il Pasha, known as Ismail the Magnificent (December 31, 1830 – March 2, 1895), wis the Khedive of Egypt and Sudan from 1863 to 1879, when he is removed at the behest of the United Kingdom.

Sharing the ambitious outlook of his grandfather, Muhammad Ali Pasha, he greatly modernizes Egypt and Sudan during his reign, investing heavily in industrial and economic development, urbanization, and the expansion of the country's boundaries in Africa.

His philosophy can be glimpsed at in a statement that he makes in 1879: "My country is no longer in Africa; we are now part of Europe.

It is therefore natural for us to abandon our former ways and to adopt a new system adapted to our social conditions".

He also secures Ottoman and international recognition as Khedive in preference to Wāli.

However, Isma'il's policies place Egypt and Sudan in severe debt, leading to the sale of the country's shares in the Suez Canal Company to the United Kingdom, and his ultimate toppling from power at British hands.

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