Victoria College, Alexandria, () is an Egyptian private school, operating under the supervision of
Ministry of Education
An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
, located in the city of
Alexandria
Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...
, Egypt. It was founded in 1902.
The school was founded 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. It was one of England's oldest merchant banks after Berenberg Bank, Barings' close collaborator and German representative. It was founded in 1762 by Francis Baring, a British-born member ...
, 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 madrassas and the ubiquitous
Jesuits
The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), 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 () 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 expulsion of Jesuit tea ...
, members of the upper class of
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'', 12 December 2005. Retrieved on 29 April 2015.
History
During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, 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 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, also known as the Second Arab–Israeli War, the Tripartite Aggression in the Arab world and the Sinai War in Israel, was a British–French–Israeli invasion of Egypt in 1956. Israel invaded on 29 October, having done so w ...
in October. The entire British faculty was fired, including then headmaster Herbert Barritt. 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 Saxe-Coburg-Gotha (, ; born 16 June 1937) is a Bulgarian politician who reigned as the last Tsar of the Kingdom of Bulgaria, Tsardom of Bulgaria as Simeon II from 1943 until 1946. In 1946, the monarchy was abolished by a 1946 Bu ...
attended classes along with schoolmates such as King
Hussein of Jordan
Hussein bin Talal (14 November 1935 – 7 February 1999) was King of Jordan from 1952 until Death and state funeral of King Hussein, his death in 1999. As a member of the Hashemites, Hashemite dynasty, the royal family of Jordan since 1921, Hu ...
Ottoman dynasty
The Ottoman dynasty () consisted of the members of the imperial House of Osman (), also known as the Ottomans (). According to Ottoman tradition, the family originated from the Kayı tribe branch of the Oghuz Turks, under the leadership of Os ...
Osman Osmanoglu, the Kashoggi brothers (whose father was one of Saudi King
Abdulaziz
Abdulaziz (; ; 8 February 18304 June 1876) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 25 June 1861 to 30 May 1876, when he was overthrown in a government coup. He was a son of Sultan Mahmud II and succeeded his brother Abdulmejid I in 1861.
Ab ...
's physicians),
Kamal Adham
Kamal Adham (; 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 bin Abdul Aziz, King Faisal and King Khalid.
Early li ...
(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 academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...
, present-day Saudi businessmen Mohammed Al Attas, Ambassador Mohamed Faqi and Ambassador Fouad Faqi.Shobokshi brothers and Ghassan ShakerGhassan Haker /ref> —Internationally famous director Youssef Chahine, and actor
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 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 1950s. He is bes ...
and many princes from the Libyan royal family and the Jordanian royal family.
Notable alumni
*
Youssef Chahine
Youssef Chahine ( ; 25 January 1926 – 27 July 2008) was an Egyptian film director. He was active in the Egyptian film industry from 1950 until his death. He directed twelve films included in a list of Top 100 Egyptian films published by ...
, the Egyptian Film director legend
* Abd al-Ilah, Crown Prince of
Iraq
Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...
Adnan Khashoggi
Adnan Khashoggi (; 25 July 1935 – 6 June 2017) was a Saudi businessman and arms dealer known for his business dealings, extensive geopolitical influence, and opulent lifestyle, which earned him the moniker "''The Jay Gatsby, Great Gatsby ...
Ahmed Ramzy
Ahmad Ramzy (; 23 March 1930 – 28 September 2012) was an Egyptians, Egyptian actor who played leading roles in many Cinema of Egypt, Egyptian films in 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s.
Early life
Ramzy was born Ramzy Mahoud Bayoumi'' in 1930 to Dr Ma ...
, the Egyptian actor
*
Sadiq al-Mahdi
Sadiq al-Mahdi (; 25 December 1935 – 26 November 2020), also known as Sadiq as-Siddiq, was a Sudanese political and religious figure who was Prime Minister of Sudan from 1966 to 1967 and again from 1986 to 1989. He was head of the National Um ...
Edward Said
Edward Wadie Said (1 November 1935 – 24 September 2003) was a Palestinian-American academic, literary critic, and political activist. As a professor of literature at Columbia University, he was among the founders of Postcolonialism, post-co ...
, public intellectual and author of ''
Orientalism
In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...
George Antonius
George Habib Antonius, Order of the British Empire, CBE (hon.) (; October 19, 1891May 21, 1942) was a Lebanese people, Lebanese author and diplomat who settled in Jerusalem. He was one of the first historians of Arab nationalism. Born in Deir a ...
Jordan
Jordan, officially the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, is a country in the Southern Levant region of West Asia. Jordan is bordered by Syria to the north, Iraq to the east, Saudi Arabia to the south, and Israel and the occupied Palestinian ter ...
*
Jani Christou
Jani Christou (, ''Giánnīs Chrī́stou''; 8 or 9 January 1926 – 8 January 1970) was a Greek composer.
Biography
There is some disagreement about Christou's birth, the date of which is given by some authorities as 8 January; while others stat ...
*
Jassem Al-Kharafi
Jassem Al-Kharafi, (; 1940 – May 21, 2015) was a Kuwaiti oligarch who was the speaker of the Kuwaiti National Assembly from 1999 to 2011.Leka, Crown Prince of Albania
* Michael Francis Atiyah
*
Omar Sharif
Omar Sharif (, ; born Michel Yusef Dimitri Chalhoub ; 10 April 1932 – 10 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 1950s. He is bes ...
Bulgaria
Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...