| |
| 1936–52 |
| |
| KING FARUQ. Upon the death of King Fu’ad (April 28, 1936), his young son, Faruq, ascended the throne, but he was not invested with full royal powers until the end of the regency period in July 1937. Early in his reign, Faruq was an extremely popular figure among the Egyptian public. One of his biggest supporters was the religious establishment, which received generous patronage from the palace and looked to Faruq as its champion against the secularist politicians. Like his father, Faruq was constantly at odds with the politicians and tirelessly schemed to undermine the constitutional system of government in order to acquire supreme power. His authority and prestige were briefly eclipsed after a humiliating confrontation with the British ambassador (Feb. 1942), but by the end of World War II he had returned to the political scene with the same ambitions and penchant for intrigue. | 1 |
| |
| 1936, May 2 |
| |
| A great victory for the Wafd in national elections. Mustafa al-Nahhas again became prime minister. | 2 |
| |
| Aug. 26 |
| |
| Signing of the ANGLO-EGYPTIAN TREATY, which arranged for the abolition of the Capitulations and removed direct British interference in foreign affairs and defense. The British garrison of 10,000 men in the Canal Zone was allowed to stay another 20 years, and the British kept the right to use Egyptian facilities in the event of war. No agreement was reached on the status of the Sudan, but Egyptian troops were allowed to return there. Egypt was furthermore to be admitted to the League of Nations. | 3 |
| Among the Egyptian public, the treaty failed to generate enthusiasm. Essentially a compromise, it was a disappointment even for moderate members of the Wafd and seemed like a betrayal for hard-liners. The government had hoped that by finally signing an independence treaty with Britain it could move on to more pressing domestic issues. Instead, the new treaty merely inflamed the politicians' preoccupation with Anglo-Egyptian relations. | 4 |
| |
| |
