Ahmad Zaki Pasha |
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Colorized photograph of Ahmad Zaki Pasha
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Secretary General of the Egyptian Cabinet | |
In office 1911–1921 |
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Prime Minister |
Muhammad Said Pasha Hussein Rushdi Pasha Muhammad Said Pasha Youssef Wahba Pasha Muhammad Tawfiq Nasim Pasha |
Personal details | |
Born |
Alexandria, Egypt |
26 May 1867
Died | 5 July 1934 Giza, Egypt |
(aged 67)
Resting place | Mosque of Ahmad Zaki Pasha, Giza |
Nationality | Egyptian |
Spouse(s) | Galila Tusun (d. 1939) |
Children | Aleya (1913–2000) |
Residence | Bayt al-'Uruba, Giza |
Alma mater | School of Administration |
Occupation |
Philologist Scholar Translator |
Profession | Civil servant |
Religion | Sunni Islam |
Ahmad Zaki Pasha (Arabic: أحمد زكي باشا) (26 May 1867 – 5 July 1934) was an Egyptian philologist, sometimes called the Dean of Arabism (Arabic: شيخ العروبة), and longtime secretary of the Egyptian Cabinet.
Born in Alexandria to a Kurdish mother and a Moroccan father, Ahmad attended Cairo's Qurabiyya and Tajhiziyya Schools, followed by the School of Administration. While a student there, he won a competition to become a translator for Ismailia's provincial government at a monthly salary of £E 13; in 1888, thanks to his command of French, he moved to the press bureau of the Interior Ministry. He also became an editor and translator for al-Waqa'i`al-Masriya, a translation teacher for the Khedivial School, and an Arabic teacher for the French Archaeological Institute in Cairo, all in 1888. In the following year he won a competition for the post of translator for the Cabinet, for which he became adjunct secretary in 1897 and secretary-general in 1911, serving until he retired in 1921. During World War I he also recodified Egypt's administrative procedures in keeping with its status as a British protectorate.
Because of his wide range of interests and numerous publications, he became a fellow of the Institut d'Égypte, the Royal Geographical Society, and the Royal Asiatic Society in London. He served on the administrative boards of both al-Azhar and the Egyptian University (now named Cairo University), also holding the chair for Islamic civilization in the latter. He took the lead in setting the Arabic-language equivalents of European loanwords, such as sayyara (سيارة) for "automobile," and also alerted the press to the Arabic origins of many Spanish and Portuguese place-names that had been inaccurately transcribed into Arabic. He participated in many conferences of the International Congress of Orientalists and was respected by Europeans for his erudition.