Abbas Hilmi II and the British Agent

02Abbas Hilmi II and the British Agent

• Abbas Hilmi II acceded in January 1892 after his father's death, and looked to exercising his powers fully, away from the British Agent's control — which landed him in crisis after crisis with the British authorities.
• The most prominent crisis was the dismissal of Mustafa Fahmi from the premiership — he was known for complete subservience to the English — and the appointment of Husain Fakhri without consulting the British Agent (January 1893).
• Cromer objected and telegraphed London, so the Khedive was forced to conciliate: the solution was to prompt Husain Fakhri to resign and entrust the premiership to Riad Pasha.
• The Khedive learned the lesson and did not contemplate a confrontation with Cromer again until Cromer left the country (1907).
• After Cromer's departure and Gorst's appointment, Abbas retreated from his hard positions towards accord with the English — at the expense of the national movement.