Farouk I

King of Egypt (r. 1936-1952)

• Born: February 11, 1920
• Birthplace: Cairo, Egypt
• Died: March 18, 1965
• Place of death: Rome, Italy

King Farouk was loyal to his friends, charming, and a major collector of weapons, coins, stamps, and pornography, but he also was immature, authoritarian, and incompetent as a leader. He played a major role in his own demise and in doing so he laid the groundwork for the Free Officers coup of 1952 and the subsequent creation of the Arab Republic of Egypt.

Early Life

Farouk (fah-REWK) was one of seven children born to King Fu՚ād and Queen Nazli. Spoiled by his mother, he obtained an eccentric education that was later enhanced by a stint with the Royal Military School at Woolwich in England. Farouk, who came to the throne in 1936 at age sixteen, was a popular figure to Egyptians.

Strikingly different from his father, who was a traditional member of the Mehmet Ali (or Muhammad Ali) Dynasty (1805-1952), never learned Arabic, and often referred to his subjects as “those idiots,” Farouk spoke Arabic fluently and is remembered as an excellent communicator. His youth and good looks combined to create a positive image, reinforced by a spectacular 1938 royal marriage to his first wife, Safinaz Zulficar. He went on to lead prayer services in large Cairo mosques, giving support to an Egyptian-based movement to reestablish the caliphate, with Farouk occupying this once significant religious position. By 1939, Farouk’s piousness, family life, and speaking credentials created significant support from Egyptians of all walks of life.

Life’s Work

Farouk inherited considerable political power from his father, who had been adroit at manipulating British authorities, who had dominated Egypt from 1882 to 1946. He also manipulated the Egyptian nationalist party, or Wafd. The Wafd Party had become especially powerful in the mid- to late 1930’s, reaching absolute domination within the Egyptian parliament. This power was insufficient to control the nation, however, as the 1923 constitution reserved specific powers for the monarch. Furthermore, the English ambassador to Egypt, Sir Miles Lampson, backed by an army of occupation, could veto any action deemed harmful to British interests.

Farouk quickly entered the political arena, staking claim to his father’s old powers. Using royal patronage and prestige, palace cronies helped rig the 1938 elections, guaranteeing victory for an anti-Wafd coalition. Two years later World War II came to Egypt when Italian forces invaded from neighboring Libya. This initiated a three-year struggle between the British Empire and its Axis opponents to dominate North Africa. Most of that contest focused on the Egyptian-Libyan frontier, where seesaw battles sometimes took German and Italian forces deep into western Egypt. For the British, defeat in Egypt was unacceptable, primarily because the Suez Canal was at stake. Control of Egypt thus was paramount in all British strategies, with dire consequences if the British failed in their attempts.

Lampson, who had a poor opinion of Farouk from the start, argued that Egypt would be better governed by a Wafd administration. Farouk, who saw the Wafd as hostile to monarchy, was opposed to allowing the party back into power. This debate concluded on February 4, 1942, when the German Afrika Korps was driving into Egypt. That evening, Lampson, backed by soldiers and armored vehicles, crashed the gates of Cairo’s Abdin Palace and barged into Farouk’s study. He delivered an ultimatum: Farouk could accept a Wafd government or he would be arrested, deposed, and sent into exile.

This incursion was a major turning point in Egyptian history, and Farouk agreed to Lampson’s demand. Doing so saved Farouk’s throne, but it affected his relationship with the Egyptian people. From this point on, Farouk’s status sank rapidly. This downward spiral increased as the public learned of Farouk’s massive spending to purchase rare items for his world-class collections of coins, stamps, military insignia, and pornography. He was also gaining weight, reaching, at one point, three hundred pounds.

Although British micromanagement decreased when the Allies chased Axis forces from North Africa in 1943, and Farouk was able to dismiss his Wafd ministers in 1944, the challenge of leadership was just as great for postwar Egypt. These seemed good years for Farouk, who helped create the Arab League and was overjoyed to see his old nemesis, Lampson, recalled by Britain’s new Labour government. Indeed, Farouk could claim to be the first true leader of Egypt since 1882; British forces finally left the nation in 1946.

The British also left Palestine a year later, creating a power vacuum that resulted in the First Arab-Israeli War. Despite strong advice to the contrary, Farouk managed to send a significant portion of the Egyptian army into that conflict. The result was a disaster, with poorly trained Egyptian soldiers being defeated in nearly every battle. Even worse, survivors came home with tales of defective weapons and bad ammunition. Investigators then determined that Farouk’s palace cronies had knowingly purchased the arms and munitions, accepting bribes in exchange for their silence on the matter.

Disgruntled soldiers came back from the Palestine campaign feeling betrayed by their king. The Egyptian public saw him as a misanthrope whose excessive collecting interests cost millions, at a time when many poor Egyptians worried about the cost of bread. Next, Farouk divorced his wife to marry the sixteen-year-old Nariman Sadik in 1951. The petite and very thin Nariman, who had been forced to diet and lose weight before the royal wedding, did give birth to a male heir, but neither this second royal marriage nor the couple’s son, Fu՚ād (b. 1952), could improve relations between Farouk and Egypt.

Finally, as riots burned down parts of Cairo and political assassinations became endemic, royal Egypt fell apart. On July 23, 1952, troops led by the Free Officers Movement took over in a near-bloodless coup. Movement leaders came to be called the Revolutionary Command Council. Farouk was allowed to abdicate and leave Egypt with considerable wealth. He lived in Italy and Monaco for the rest of his life, a caricature of all that was bad in autocratic rule.

Significance

Farouk’s place in history would be assured simply by his life of excess. To this day he is remembered by collectors around the world for his fabulous accumulation of coins. Egyptians are more likely to recall his massive admiral’s uniform at Cairo’s war museum, a uniform so large it looks more like a tent.

More significant, however, was Farouk’s negative impact on Egyptian politics. He came to the throne just as Egypt was being released from constricting ties to the British Empire. A more reality-centered leader could have aided the Egyptian transition to full independence and charted a better course through the difficult questions of post-World War II Palestine. Perhaps this was not possible, and the time for monarchy already over. As Farouk himself quipped, “Soon there will only be five kings in the world, the four in a pack of playing cards, and the King of England.”

Bibliography

Goldschmidt, Arthur, Amy Johnson, and Barak Salmoni, eds. Modern Egypt: The Formation of a Nation-State. Boulder, Colo.: Westview Press, 1988. Noted historians of modern Egypt place Farouk in the context of his times.

‗‗‗‗‗‗‗. Re-envisioning Egypt, 1919-1952. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2005. Excellent collection of articles that stress the positive side of the reigns of Farouk and his father.

Hassan, Hassan. In the House of Muhammad Ali: A Family Album, 1805-1952. Cairo: American University in Cairo Press, 2000. Hassan, a cousin of Farouk, provides a friendly view of the king, valuable for personal anecdotes.

Killearn, Lord. The Killearn Diaries, 1934-1946. London: Sidgwick and Jackson, 1972. The views of Farouk’s běte noire, Miles Lampson, cover the critical World War II years. A recommended, important work.

Mayer, Thomas. “Egypt’s 1948 Invasion of Palestine.” Middle East Studies 22 (1986): 20-36. Examines Farouk’s role in pushing a poorly prepared Egyptian army into this disastrous campaign.

Sabit, Adel. A King Betrayed. London: Quartet, 1989. Part of the pre-1952 elite, Sabit provides a sympathetic account of the end of the Farouk monarchy.

Skelton, Barbara. Tears Before Bedtime. London: Hamish Hamilton, 1989. Autobiography of the famous British writer, who recounts an affair she had with young King Farouk.

Stadiem, William. Too Rich: The High Life and Tragic Death of King Farouk. New York: Carroll & Graf, 1991. Best English biography of Farouk. Should be consulted before all other works on Farouk.

Warburg, Gabriel. Egypt and the Sudan: Studies in History and Politics. London: Frank Cass, 1985. The chapter “The ’Three-Legged Stool’: Lampson, Faruq, and Nahhas, 1936-1944” is a first-rate account of Egypt torn between loyalties to the palace, the Wafd Party, and England during World War II.