Mehemet Ali
See Mehemet Ali (Turkey) for the Turkish foreign minister and regent
Mehemet Ali (or Muhammed Ali etc.) (1769-1849), was a viceroy of Egypt, and is sometimes considered the founder of modern Egypt.
Mehemet Ali, an Albanian born in Kavala, made himself the ruler of Egypt and treacherously massacred the Mamelukes leaders. He introduced sweeping reforms to Egypt. He and built an army from Egyptian peasants thorugh conscription, and used this ofrce to greatly expand Egypt's borders. He built much infrastructure such as canals and roadways and established Egypt as one of the world's largest cotton producers. Ali also greatly reformed Egyptian society creating some of the first modern educational institutions. Almost all of his reforms were directed at strengthening Egypt's armed forces, in which he was very successful.
While throughout his reign he was the nominal vassal of the Ottoman Sultan, he acted independentaly. While he aided the Sultan in fighitng in the Greek War of Indepedence and put down a Wahhabi revolt in Arabia for him, later the two had a falling out. Under his son Ibraihim Pasha Ali's armies seized Palestine and Syria and were in a few days march of Constantinople. European intervention lead to a negotitated solution, however. Ali soon had a falling out with his son and much of the gains were lost.
Ali was succeeded by two of his sons, but both were weak rulers, and, in large part because of Ali's excesses, the country fell under the domination of European financiers.