Sir Edward Baldwin Malet, 4th Baronet (10 October 1837 – 29 June 1908) was a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

diplomat. Edward Malet came from a family of diplomats; his father was Sir Alexander Malet, British minister to

Württemberg Württemberg ( ; ) is a historical German territory roughly corresponding to the cultural and linguistic region of Swabia. The main town of the region is Stuttgart. Together with Baden and Hohenzollern, two other historical territories, Württ ...

and later to the

German Confederation The German Confederation (german: Deutscher Bund, ) was an association of 39 predominantly German-speaking sovereign states in Central Europe. It was created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 as a replacement of the former Holy Roman Empire, w ...

. After three years at

Eton College Eton College () is a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. It was founded in 1440 by Henry VI under the name ''Kynge's College of Our Ladye of Eton besyde Windesore'',Nevill, p. 3 ff. intended as a sister institution to King's College, ...

, Edward Malet entered the

foreign service Diplomatic service is the body of diplomats and foreign policy officers maintained by the government of a country to communicate with the governments of other countries. Diplomatic personnel obtains diplomatic immunity when they are accredited to o ...

at the age of 17. He served as attaché to his father in

Frankfurt Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...

, then in

Brussels Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

. He was trained in the diplomatic service by

Richard Lyons, 1st Viscount Lyons Richard Bickerton Pemell Lyons, 1st Earl Lyons (26 April 1817 – 5 December 1887) was a British diplomat, who was the favourite diplomat of Queen Victoria, during the four great crises of the second half of the 19th century: Italian unificat ...

, and was a member of the

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. The ...

-sympathetic 'Lyons School' of British diplomacy. He served as Secretary of Legation at

Peking } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

(1871–1873),

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

(1873–1875),

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(1875–1878), and

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya ( Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis ( ...

(1878–1879). Malet formed close ties with Ottoman sultan Abdul Hamid II (" Abdul the Damned") during 1878, the year of the Treaties of San Stefano and

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and List of cities in Germany by population, largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European Union by population within ci ...

. Malet was appointed Agent and Consul-General in

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

on 10 October 1879. He served there until 1883, pressing for administrative and financial reforms. He was at first sympathetic to

Ahmed Orabi Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

's demand for constitutional government. However, historians John Galbraith and Afaf al-Sayyid-Marsot write that after British-French Joint Note was sent to the Egyptian government, Malet gradually began to support the plans of the Gladstone Cabinet to intervene in Egypt, writing on 13 February 1882, "I am prejudiced against the Nationalists."Galbraith, John S. and al-Sayyid-Marsot, Afaf Lutfi. The British Occupation of Egypt: Another View. "International Journal of Middle East Studies." 9, No. 4 He served a crucial role in the decision of Gladstone's Cabinet to invade Alexandria when he sent a telegram to the Cabinet that both exaggerated the instability of the Khedive's rule in Egypt and also advised the British government to conduct a naval demonstration off Alexandria. (see 1882 Anglo-Egyptian War). Galbraith and al-Sayyid-Marsot describe him as having been naive, in that he hoped the British would attempt to militarily intimidate Urabi, though he never expected an actual attack or occupation by British forces He later served as Minister to

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

(1883–1884), and Ambassador to the German Empire (1884–1895). In 1892 he built an immense Beaux-Arts villa " Le Chateau Malet" at Cap D’Ail, France. On 19 March 1885, Edward Malet married Lady Ermyntrude Sackville Russell, daughter of

Francis Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford Francis Charles Hastings Russell, 9th Duke of Bedford KG (16 October 1819 – 14 January 1891) was an English politician and agriculturalist. Life Known as Hastings, the 9th Duke was born in Curzon Street, London, the son of Major-General Lo ...

and Lady Elizabeth Sackville-West. The Malet Memorial Hall, a Tudor Revival-style building which had a church on its upper floor, was founded in his memory by his widow in 1912 in Bexhill-on-Sea. It opened in October 1913.

Malet Street Malet Street is a street in Bloomsbury, in the London Borough of Camden, Central London, England. It runs between Torrington Place and the British Museum, parallel to Gower Street and Tottenham Court Road. History The street is named after ...

, a street in the Bloomsbury district of Central London, has been named in his honour.

Bibliography

* Malet, '' Egypt, 1879-1883'' (London, 1909
online

References

General * * * * * Specific {{DEFAULTSORT:Malet, Edward Baldwin 1837 births 1908 deaths Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Germany Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to Belgium Baronets in the Baronetage of Great Britain British consuls-general in Egypt Knights Grand Cross of the Order of St Michael and St George Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the Bath Members of the Privy Council of the United Kingdom People educated at Eton College People of the 'Urabi revolt