Viceroy of Egypt (1804-1849) and founder of modern Egypt.

In Arabic Mohammad 'Ali. Its family, of Albanian origin, had been acquired a certain fortune in the trade of the tobacco, but counted also a good amount of soldiers.

In 1799, he was enlisted as officer, within the Albanian militia, in the Turkish army which was sent in Egypt to fight Bonaparte. The battle of Aboukir (July 25th, 1799), gave the opportunity to him to evaluate the effectiveness of the French troops.

After the departure of the French in 1801, it ensured in Egypt the command of the Albanian body, charged to subdue the armies of the beys Mamelukes who claimed to dispute with the Door the effective domination of Egypt. It succeeds in eliminating them, while also demolishing governors sent of Istanbul. It then made alliance with the religious leaders and the large traders of Cairo who proclaimed it wali of Egypt, on on November 2nd, 1895. The Door was seen forced to ratify this choice.

Méhémet-Ali could then get rid definitively of the system Mameluke, while making massacre their chiefs (massacre of the Citadel, March 1st, 1811. It started then vast program of modernization, which started with the reorganization of the army, whose instruction was entrusted to a former French officer passed with the service of Egypt, the colonel of Sèves (Solayman - or Soliman - pasha, 1788-1860). It was this new army which was going to proceed, on behalf of the Door, with the war of Hedjaz against the Wahhabi (1811-1816), then with the conquest of Sudan (1822-1824), finally with the reconquest of Morée, recovery to the Greek insurrectionists (1823-1825). Crete, conquered in way, will remain under Egyptian administration until 1841. The width of these military successes brought inevitable clashes with the Sultan. A not held promise was going to serve as a pretext for the open war.

In 1831, Méhémet-Ali launched his Ibrahim oldest son to the conquest of Syria, with for mission of taking possession of four governments which the Ottoman Empire had promised to grant to his/her father in compensation for the war of Morée. The catch of Acre in 1832, then crushing it victory of the Egyptian armies over the Othoman army with Konya, a few months later, forced the sultan Mahmut II to sign the armistice of Kutahya, by which he recognized with his vassal government of Syria and Adana.

The claims with the independence of Méhémet-Ali gave birth to a new conflict in 1838, which was completed by a new Egyptian victory with Nézib (Nisibe), in 1839. The threat which this revival of the Egyptian power represented had then become enough strong to cause the intervention of the European powers in favor of the Sultan. By the convention of London, on on July 5th, 1840, France, Great Britain and Russia forced Méhémet-Ali to give up Crete, Syria and Hedjaz in return for hereditary sovereignty on Egypt and Sudan, granted by the decree of February 13th, 1841.

The last years of its reign proceeded in peace and were especially devoted to works of administrative reform and economic. It is to Méhémet-Ali that Egypt had its first modern school system (foundation of schools, sending of school missions in Europe), the starter of a vast plan of town and country planning (digging of the Mahmoudiyya channel, stopping of the Delta, registers…), the development of its fleet (creation of an arsenal in Alexandria), the foundation of many factories protected by state monopolies, industrial crop of cotton, etc