Eldon Gorst

Sir John Eldon Gorst (25 June 1861 – 12 July 1911) was Consul-General in Egypt from 1907 to 1911. Career Gorst was the son of Sir John Eldon Gorst, Solicitor General for England and Wales and Vice-President of the Committee of the Council on Education. Born in New Zealand but raised in London, Gorst attended Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge. In 1885 he became both a barrister and a member of the British diplomatic corps, going to Egypt the following year as controller of direct taxes, becoming undersecretary for finance in 1892, adviser to the Egyptian Interior Ministry in 1894, and Financial adviser to the Egyptian government in 1898. He was promoted to a Knight Commander of the Order of the Bath (KCB) in the 1902 Coronation Honours list published on 26 June 1902, and received the order and knighthood on 22 September 1902, during a visit to King Edward VII at Balmoral Castle. He was back in Egypt in time to receive Lord Kitchener during a short visit in late October 1902, when Kitchener was en route to take up the appointment as Commander-in-Chief, India. In 1904 Gorst returned to London where, as undersecretary of state, he effectively represented Lord Cromer in the Foreign Office. After the Liberal Party came to power, the British government sent Gorst to replace Cromer with instructions to give Egyptians greater responsibility to manage their internal affairs. As British Agent and Consul General in Egypt, Gorst quickly improved the Agency's relationship with Khedive Abbas Hilmi II, brought more Egyptians into responsible government positions, and weakened the Egyptian National Party. However, his efforts to rein in the burgeoning corps of Anglo-Egyptian officials offended many old Egypt hands. The appointment of Boutros Ghali as prime minister, popularly ascribed to Gorst, angered the Nationalists and many other Egyptians, leading to press attacks and eventually to Boutros Ghali's assassination. The revival of the Press Law in 1909 alienated Europeans as well as Egyptians and proved unenforceable.