FAROUK I

born Feb. 11, 1920, Cairo, Egypt died March 18, 1965, Rome, Italy also spelled Faruk, Arabic Faruq al-Awwal king of Egypt from 1936 to 1952, whose administration was hampered by internal rivalries and whose alienation of the military led to his own downfall and to the formation of a republic. Farouk, the son and successor of King Fu'ad I, was educated in Egypt and England before ascending the throne in 1936. As king he continued his father's rivalry with the popular-based Wafd party, with which he clashed over many issues, including administrative functions, appointments, and even the form used for his coronation. He was largely able to keep the Wafd out of power. After the outbreak of World War II, Farouk tried to maintain neutrality, despite the presence of British troops in Egypt, but in 1942 the British forced him to name as prime minister the Wafd leader Mustafa an-Nahhas Pasha, who was sympathetic to their interests. In October 1944 an-Nahhas negotiated the Alexandria Protocol, a step toward the creation of a league of Arab states. Farouk wanted to place himself at the head of this movement, and he dismissed an-Nahhas, who had lost the support of the British. Egyptian nationalism suffered from a shattering defeat at the hands of the newly created state of Israel (1948) and from the failure to terminate British military occupation of Egypt. The military defeat especially enraged many Egyptian army officers, who saw Farouk's corruption and incompetence as being largely the cause of it. His activities became intolerable in 1952, and the Free Officers, led by Gamal Abdel Nasser, overthrew his regime in July and forced him to abdicate. He was succeeded by his infant son, Fu'ad II, but less than a year later Egypt became a republic.