Ali Pasha Mubarak

Ali Pasha Mubarak (1823-Nov. 14, 1893 CE) was an Egyptian public works and education minister during the second half of the nineteenth century. He is often considered one of the most influential and talented of Egypt's 19th century reformers. He was born in Birnbal al-Jididah, a Nile Delta village and attended a government prep school before being admitted to the Cairo School of Engineering. During his studies in Cairo he was the top student and as a result was chosen to be a member of a student mission sent by Muhammad Ali to France in 1844. He studied in Paris for two years and directly after that in Metz at a school for artillery officers and military engineers. He returned to his homeland in 1849 and was given an instructors position in the artillery school. After this in 1850, he became the first native Egyptian Muslim to be appointed the director of the entire system of government schools. This marked the beginning of his "rich career of public service that spanned nearly four decades and included appointments as head of the ministries of education, public works, and railways." Ali Mubarak is known for his contribution in the reconstruction of Cairo's landscape and for founding Egypt's modern educational system.

His most famous work is titled al-Khitat al-Tawfiqiyya al-Jadida (Tawfiq's New Plans, referring to Egypt's ruler at the time), which provides a detailed, street-by-street description of Egypt's major cities and villages.

He also contributed to the start of the Egyptian National Library and Archives around 1870 which is one of the largest and oldest government libraries.

'Ali Mubarak was born in Birnbal al-Jididah in the Daqliyah Province in the Nile Delta in 1823. 'Ali Mubarak did not come from a wealthy family, however, he was a part of the Mashayikh family that was known to produce the local Qadi, Imam, and Khatib. The situation of his family would indicate that 'Ali Mubarak would pursue a career as a religious figure for his rural community. During his youth, 'Ali Mubarak studied at many different schools and worked for different government clerics.

After studying under the instruction of his father during his early childhood, 'Ali Mubarak spent two years studying with a Faqih. This schooling experience stayed with him for must of his life. In his later years, 'Ali Mubarak wrote about his fear of beatings by his teacher. He never attended school without a small gift that he could give to his teacher to avoid beatings. After two years of instruction under the Faqih, 'Ali Mubarak refused to return to the school because he did not wish to become a Faqih. He left the school in the hopes of working under the local Katibs.

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