Abdeen Palace Incident of 1942

The Abdeen Palace Incident was a military confrontation that took place on 4 February 1942 at Abdeen Palace in Cairo, and almost resulted in the forced abdication of King Farouk I.

Following a ministerial crisis in Feruary 1942, the British government, through its ambassador in Egypt, Sir Miles Lampson, pressed Farouk to have a Wafd or Wafd-coalition government replace Hussein Sirri Pasha's government. This reversal of long-standing opposition to the Wafd came from the British belief that the Wafd, still the most popular of the Egyptian political parties, would be more effective in gaining public support in Egypt for the British war effort than any of the other parties. It was also hoped that a Wafd government would weaken the influence of the pro-Axis elements around King Farouk. Lampson eventually decided to force this choice on Farouk by insisting that he abdicate unless he agreed to ask the Wafd leader, Mustafa el-Nahhas, to form a government. Lampson sought and finally gained the support of Oliver Littleton in the British cabinet to apply pressure on the Egyptian King.

On the night of 4 February 1942, General Stone surrounded Abdeen Palace in Cairo with troops and tanks, and Lampson presented Farouk with an abdication decree drafted by Sir William Monckton. Farouk capitulated, and Nahhas formed a government shortly thereafter. However, the humiliation meted out to Farouk, and the actions of the Wafd in cooperating with the British and taking power, lost support for both the British and the Wafd among both civilians and, more importantly, the Egyptian military.

ee also

*Military history of Egypt during World War II

References

*cite journal
author = Gabriel Warburg
year = 1975
month = January
title = Lampson's ultimatum to Faruq, 4 February, 1942
journal = Middle Eastern Studies
volume = 11
issue = 1
pages = pp. 24–32
publisher = Cass Taylor & Francis
location = London
issn = 1743-7881
doi = 10.1080/00263207508700285
oclc = 237511833
url = http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a762955619~db=all~order=page
accessdate = 2008-08-24
*cite journal
author = Charles D. Smith
year = 1979
month = November
title = 4 February 1942: Its Causes and Its Influence on Egyptian Politics and on the Future of Anglo-Egyptian Relations, 1937-1945
journal = International Journal of Middle East Studies
volume = 10
issue = 4
pages = pp. 453–479
publisher = Cambridge University Press
issn = 0020-7438
oclc = 1226911
url = http://www.jstor.org/pss/162213
accessdate = 2008-08-24