Joseph Aslan Cattaui

Pasha Pasha, Pacha or Paşa ( ota, پاشا; tr, paşa; sq, Pashë; ar, باشا), in older works sometimes anglicized as bashaw, was a higher rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, gener ...

(1861–1942) was an Egyptian businessman and politician, who served as President of the Jewish community of Cairo from 1924 until his death in 1942.

Life and professional career

Joseph Aslan Cattaui was born in Cairo in 1861, the fourth of eleven children of Aslan Menasce Cattaui Pasha and Grazia Benroubi. He studied engineering at the

École Centrale Paris École Centrale Paris (ECP; also known as École Centrale or Centrale) was a French grande école in engineering and science. It was also known by its official name ''École Centrale des Arts et Manufactures''. In 2015, École Centrale Paris mer ...

, graduating with a diploma in 1882. On his return to Egypt, he briefly joined the Ministry of Public Works, before departing to

Moravia Moravia ( , also , ; cs, Morava ; german: link=yes, Mähren ; pl, Morawy ; szl, Morawa; la, Moravia) is a historical region in the east of the Czech Republic and one of three historical Czech lands, with Bohemia and Czech Silesia. The me ...

, where he trained in a sugar refinery. Back in Egypt, he became an associate of Suarès Frères & Co., and contributed to work on the construction of the

Helwan Helwan ( ar, حلوان ', , cop, ϩⲁⲗⲟⲩⲁⲛ, Halouan) is a city in Egypt and part of Greater Cairo, on the bank of the Nile, opposite the ruins of Memphis. Originally a southern suburb of Cairo, it served as the capital of the now de ...

railway, the water works at

Tanta Tanta ( ar, طنطا ' , ) is a city in Egypt with the country's fifth largest populated area and 658,798 inhabitants as of 2018. Tanta is located between Cairo and Alexandria: north of Cairo and southeast of Alexandria. The capital of Gharbia ...

, the Société des sucreries. In 1904, he founded the Wadi Kom Ombo Company, a huge agricultural and land holding company, in collaboration with Suarès Frères, and Sir

Ernest Cassel Sir Ernest Joseph Cassel, (3 March 1852 – 21 September 1921) was a British merchant banker and capitalist. Born and raised in Prussia, he moved to England at the age of 17. Life and career Cassel was born in Cologne, in the Rhine Province ...

. In 1920, he co-founded

Banque Misr Banque Misr ( ar, بنك مصر) is an Egyptian bank co-founded by industrialist Joseph Aslan Cattaui Pasha and economist Talaat Harb Pasha in 1920. The government of the United Arab Republic nationalized the bank in 1960. The bank has branch ...

, with

Talaat Harb Talaat Harb Pacha ( ar, طلعت حرب باشا; 25 November 1867 – 13 August 1941) was a leading Egyptian entrepreneur and founder of Banque Misr, and its group of companies, in May 1920. His works The establishment of Banque Misr, the fir ...

Pacha, and Dr. Fuad Sultan Bey, and joined its board of directors.

Political career

Cattaui was raised to the rank of Pasha in 1912. In 1915, he was elected as member of the legislative assembly, and continued in his mandate until the assembly's dissolution in 1922. A year earlier, he had been appointed to the 32-member commission that worked on drafting the Egyptian constitution. In 1924, he was appointed Minister of Finance, and became Minister of Communication in 1925. From 1927 until his withdrawal from politics in 1939, he was member of the Egyptian Senate.

Personal life

Cattaui's daughter died of typhoid fever at the age of 18 at the end of December, 1906.

Companies

Joseph Cattaui Pasha was involved in, or directed the following companies: *Société Wadi Kom Ombo (1904- ) *

(1920- ) *Société Cheikh Fadl *Union Fonciere d'Egypte *Compagnie Frigorifique d'Egypte *Société des Halles Centrales *Société des Suceries *Compagnie des Eaux du Caire *Imperial Chemical Industries (Egypt) *National Insurance of Egypt

Works

*1920: ''Pour mes enfants.'' Paris: L. Carteret. *1926: ''L'Égypte: aperçu historique et géographique ; gouvernement et institutions ; vie économique et sociale.'' Le Caire: Institut Français d'Archéologie Orientale. * 1927: ''Le regime des Capitulations en Egypte.'' Le Caire: Imprimerie de l'Institut francais d'archeologie orientale *1931: ''Coup d'oeil sur la chronologie de la nation égyptienne.'' Paris: Plon. *1935: ''Le Khédive Isma'il et la dette de l'Egypte.'' Le Caire: Misr *1943: ''Les calendriers antiques.'' Le Caire: Éditions de la revue de Caire

Honours

Egyptian national honours

Foreign honors

References

1861 births 1942 deaths Egyptian politicians Egyptian Jews Jewish Egyptian politicians 20th-century Egyptian businesspeople Egyptian bankers Businesspeople from Cairo Jews and Judaism in Cairo École Centrale Paris alumni Members of the Parliament of Egypt Pashas Transport ministers of Egypt Finance Ministers of Egypt {{Egypt-politician-stub