Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Egypt) 4.1

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Arab Republic of Egypt is the Egyptian government ministry which oversees the foreign relations of Egypt. On 17 July 2014 Sameh Shoukry was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs.HistoryEarly historyIn the 19th century, the Ministry was one of the divans established by Muhammad Ali Pasha, known as the 'founder of modern Egypt'. The aim of the Ministry was to organize Egypt's internal, and external affairs, and was concerned with trade, and commerce. Later, it became the Divan of Foreign Affairs, and was concerned with trade, and citizen's affairs. It continued to function after the Muhammad Ali’s reign, and it was one of the fundamental divans of the state. It was concerned with abolishing slavery, and following up international treaties. During the era of Sa'id Pasha, and Isma'il Pasha, there were some modifications in the Ministry, due to the increasing presence of the Europeans in Egypt.Due to the change of rule in Egypt in 1878, the absolute jurisdictions given to rulers were diminished, and the divans were replaced by portfolios. During this period, the foreign portfolio was headed by prominent figures such as Boutros Ghali, who spent the longest period in office from 1894 - 1910.The foreign portfolio was put to an end after the declaration of the British Protectorate over Egypt in 1914.ReestablishmentAfter Egyptian independence was officially recognised by the United Kingdom on 22 February 1922, the Ministry of Foreign affairs was re-established on 15 March 1922. Ahmed Heshmat Pasha, who became the first Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1923, laid the cornerstone of the organizational structure of the Ministry and took Al Bustan Palace in Bab El Louk, a palace owned by King Fuad, to be the first official headquarters to his Ministry. He divided the Ministry into four main departments, the Minister's divan, the department of political and commercial affairs, the department of consular affairs, and the department of administrative affairs.