Home > Said Pasha of Egypt

The death of his nephew Abbas led to his being promoted to Viceroy, under the firman of 1841, which decreed that the viceroyalty of Egypt should be inherited by the family of Mehemet Ali by primogeniture.

He made considerable efforts to continue the civilian projects set in motion by his father and interrupted by his predecessor. To this end, he made several journeys in Egypt, travelling as far as the Sudan. Due to his personal initiatives, the domains of administration, justice, system of land ownership and finance were the object of considerable improvements. He abolished monopolies, handed out non-cultivated land to the heads of families, reduced the taxes levied on the fellahs and undertook or continued several projects in the public interest, such as the damming of the Nile, begun under Mehemet Ali.

However, Said Pasha's principal claim to fame is the patronage he bestowed on the opening of the Suez Canal, a huge project which he encouraged with all the means at his disposal, despite the passive resistance of the Sultan.

Said Pasha died in Cairo, in 1863, and was succeeded by his nephew Ismail Pasha.