Victoria College, Alexandria, ( ar, كلية فيكتوريا) was founded in 1902 under the impetus of the recently ennobled

Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer Evelyn Baring, 1st Earl of Cromer, (; 26 February 1841 – 29 January 1917) was a British statesman, diplomat and colonial administrator. He served as the British controller-general in Egypt during 1879, part of the international control whic ...

of the

Barings Bank Barings Bank was a British merchant bank based in London, and one of England's List of oldest banks in continuous operation, oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 ...

, that was heavily invested in Egyptian stability. For years the British Consul-General was ''ex officio'' on the board of Victoria College. The new college was to raise the standard of Imperial education and free it from the influences of the

madrassa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , pl. , ) is the Arabic word for any type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whether for elementary instruction or higher learning. The word is variously transliterated '' ...

s and the ubiquitous

Jesuits The Society of Jesus ( la, Societas Iesu; abbreviation: SJ), also known as the Jesuits (; la, Iesuitæ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

, both of whom made the British foreign office uneasy. Among prominent subscribers to the project were members of the prominent internationalized Jewish and Maltese minority in Egypt including members of the Egyptian Royal family. Prior to the 1930s establishment of

Baghdad College Baghdad College ( ar, كلية بغداد) is an elite high school for boys aged 11 to 18 in Baghdad, Iraq. It was initially a Catholic school founded by and operated by American Jesuits from Boston. The 1969 Iraqi government nationalization and ...

, members of the upper class of

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

sent their children to Victoria College. Filkns, Dexter,
Boys of Baghdad College Vie for Prime Minister

. ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'', December 12, 2005. Retrieved on April 29, 2015. During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, many displaced European royals and nobles were added to the student body: :" As the situation worsened north of the Mediterranean, scions of European monarchies expanded the student body further so that Romanovs, Saxe-Coburgs, Hohenzollerns, Zogos and Glucksburgs rubbed shoulders with the Hashemites, Mahdis and al-Sharifs. While most were treated like regular students some stood out because of restrictions imposed upon them. The Albanian royals, the Zogos, for instance, were constantly trailed by massive bodyguards, which is perhaps why they did not last long at Victoria. Years later, many among the Arab elite students would meet again this time as major players in rising

petrodollar Petrodollar recycling is the international spending or investment of a country's revenues from petroleum exports ("petrodollars"). It generally refers to the phenomenon of major petroleum-exporting states, mainly the OPEC members plus Russi ...

economies." (Samir Raafat) The British Imperial-outpost phase of Victoria College ended abruptly in 1956, the year that began with the dissolution of Anglo-Egyptian cooperation and saw the

Suez Crisis The Suez Crisis, or the Second Arab–Israeli war, also called the Tripartite Aggression ( ar, العدوان الثلاثي, Al-ʿUdwān aṯ-Ṯulāṯiyy) in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel,Also known as the Suez War or 1956 Wa ...

in October. The entire British faculty was fired, including then headmaster

Herbert Barritt Herbert William Barritt (12 February 1904 – 26 May 1967) was an English first-class cricketer and educator. Barritt was born in the North Yorkshire village of Cross Hills in February 1904. He was educated nearby at Keighley Grammar School, ...

. The school was renamed later to "Victory College" and continues to operate until this day. At Victoria College on El Iqbal Street, former Bulgarian King and Prime Minister

Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha Simeon Borisov von Saxe-Coburg-Gotha ( bg, Симеон Борисов Сакскобургготски, translit=Simeon Borisov Sakskoburggotski, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last tsar of the Kingdom of Bul ...

attended classes along with schoolmates such as King

Hussein of Jordan Hussein bin Talal ( ar, الحسين بن طلال, ''Al-Ḥusayn ibn Ṭalāl''; 14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 11 August 1952 until his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of ...

, Zaid Al Rifai, the Kashoggi brothers (whose father was one of Saudi King

Abdulaziz Abdulaziz ( ota, عبد العزيز, ʿAbdü'l-ʿAzîz; tr, Abdülaziz; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the 32nd List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was 187 ...

's physicians),

Kamal Adham Kamal Adham ( ar, كمال ابراهيم ادهم; 1929 – 29 October 1999) was a Saudi businessman and the director general of Al Mukhabarat Al A'amah from 1965 to 1979. He served as a royal counsellor to both King Faisal and King Khalid ...

(who ran the Saudi external intelligence directorate under King Faisal), scholar

Edward Said Edward Wadie Said (; , ; 1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American professor of literature at Columbia University, a public intellectual, and a founder of the academic field of postcolonial studies.Robert Young, ''White ...

, present-day Saudi businessmen Mohammed Al Attas, Ambassador Mohamed Faqi and Ambassador Fouad Faqi.Shobokshi brothers and Ghassan Shaker Ghassan Haker
/ref> —Internationally famous director Youssef Chahine, and actor

Omar Sharif Omar Sharif ( ar, عمر الشريف ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub , 10 April 193210 July 2015) was an Egyptian actor, generally regarded as one of his country's greatest male film stars. He began his career in his native country in the ...

and many Princes from the Libyan Royal family and the Jordanian Royal Family.

Notable alumni

André Aciman André Aciman (; born 2 January 1951) is an Italian-American writer. Born and raised in Alexandria, Egypt, he is currently a distinguished professor at the Graduate Center of City University of New York, where he teaches the history of litera ...

* Abd Al-Ilah, Crown Prince of

Adnan Pachachi Adnan al-Pachachi or Adnan Muzahim Ameen al-Pachachi ( ar, عدنان الباجه جي) (14 May 1923 – 17 November 2019) was a veteran Iraqi and Emirati politician and diplomat. Pachachi was Iraq's Permanent Representative to the United Nation ...

Ahmed Ramzy Ahmad Ramzy ( ar, أحمد رمزي; 23 March 1930 – 28 September 2012) was an Egyptian actor who played the leading roles in many Egyptian films in the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Early life Ramzy was born Ramzi Mahmud Bayyumi in 1930 to Dr ...

, the Egyptian actor * Charles Issawi *

, public intellectual and author of ''

Orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

'' *

Edward Atiyah Edward Selim Atiyah (Arabic: ادوار سليم عطية‎; 1903 – 22 October 1964) was an Anglo-Lebanese author and political activist. He is best known for his 1946 autobiography ''An Arab Tells His Story'', and his 1955 book ''The Arabs'' ...

* Evangelos Christou *

George Antonius George Habib Antonius, CBE (hon.) ( ar, جورج حبيب أنطونيوس; October 9, 1891May 21, 1942) was a Lebanese author and diplomat who settled in Jerusalem. He was one of the first historians of Arab nationalism. Born in Deir al Qamar ...

* Gilbert de Botton * Hussein I of

Jordan Jordan ( ar, الأردن; tr. ' ), officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan,; tr. ' is a country in Western Asia. It is situated at the crossroads of Asia, Africa, and Europe, within the Levant region, on the East Bank of the Jordan Rive ...

Jani Christou Jani Christou ( el, Γιάννης Χρήστου, Giánnīs Chrī́stou; 8 or 9 January 1926 – 8 January 1970) was a Greek composer. There is some disagreement about Christou's birth, the date of which is given by some authorities as 8 Januar ...

Jassem Al-Kharafi Jassem Al-Kharafi, ( ar, جاسم محمد عبدالمحسن الخرافي, 1940 – May 21, 2015) was a Kuwaiti oligarch who was the speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from 1999 to 2011. In his capacity as Speaker in 2006, Al-Kharafi pl ...

Abdullah Al-Nafisi Abdallah Al- Nafisi (in Arabic عبد_الله_النفيسي- born 1945 in Kuwait ) is a Kuwaiti politician and academic. He graduated from The University of Cambridge in 1972. He was a member of National Assembly of Kuwait in 1985. Education ...

* Adnan Kashoggi *

Leka, Crown Prince of Albania Leka, Crown Prince of Albania (also known as ''King Leka I''; 5 April 193930 November 2011), was the only son of King Zog I and Queen Geraldine of Albania. He was called Crown Prince Skander at birth. Leka was the pretender to the Kingdom of Alban ...

Michael Francis Atiyah Sir Michael Francis Atiyah (; 22 April 1929 – 11 January 2019) was a British-Lebanese mathematician specialising in geometry. His contributions include the Atiyah–Singer index theorem and co-founding topological K-theory. He was awarded the ...

, the Egyptian actor *

Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu Osman is the Persian transliteration and derived from the Arabic masculine given name Uthman ( ar, عُثْمان, , link=no ''‘uthmān'') or an English surname. It may refer to: People * Osman (name), people with the name * Osman I (1258–13 ...

Patrick Atiyah Patrick Selim Atiyah, (5 March 1931 – 30 March 2018) was an English lawyer and academic. He was best known for his work as a common lawyer, particularly in the law of contract and for advocating reformation or abolition of the law of tort. He ...

Ra'ad bin Zeid Ra'ad bin Zeid ( ar, رعد بن زيد; born 18 February 1936) is the son of Prince Zeid of the Hashemite House and Princess Fahrelnissa Zeid (''Fakhr un-nisa'' or ''Fahr-El-Nissa''), a Turkish noblewoman. Upon the death of his father on 18 O ...

Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy (born February 4, 1954) is a retired Egyptian diplomat and former Senior United Nations official . Biography Ambassador Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy’s diplomatic career spans over 43 years in which he served in the United Nations, ...

* Sammy Sheik *

Samir Sabri Samir (variantly spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in the Middle East, Central Asia and Europe. In Arabic, Samir () means holy, jovial, loyal or charming. In Albanian, it translates literally as “so good” but the connotation is clo ...

* AlSadiq AlMahdi, twice-elected prime minister of Sudan * Simeon II of

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

* Wafik S. El-Deiry (Physician-Scientist) *

Youssef Chahine Youssef Chahine ( ar, يوسف شاهين, Yūsuf Shāhīn ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptians, Egyptian film director. He was active in the Cinema of Egypt, Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twel ...

Zaid Al-Rifai Zaid al-Rifai ( ar, زيد الرفاعي) (born 27 November 1936 in Amman, Jordan) is a Jordanian politician that served as the 22nd Prime Minister of Jordan from April 1984 to April 1989. Biography He served as Prime Minister of Jordan and ...

Zaid Ibn Shaker Zeid Ibn Shaker, GBE, CVO (4 September 1934 – 30 August 2002) ( ar, الامير زيد بن شاكر) served as commander-in-chief of the Jordanian military for more than twelve years and the 27th Prime Minister of Jordan three times. King ...

* Foulath Hadid * Hazem Khattab

References

External links

Old Victorians Association Egypt

The Victorian.net

«Victoria College: educating the elite, 1902 − 1956»
by Samir Raafat (detailed illustrated history)
VC letters
{{DEFAULTSORT:Victoria College 1902 establishments in Egypt Educational institutions established in 1902 Private schools in Alexandria British international schools in Egypt International schools in Alexandria Victoria College, Alexandria alumni