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The current British ambassador to Egypt is Dominic Asquith, who arrived to take up his new appointment on 16 December 2007.

To Do

 * Useful resources
 * War of the Consuls (Muhammad Ali era)
 * George Baldwin
 * Samuel Briggs
 * Alexandro Buccianti
 * Garnet Wolseley (invaded Egypt)
 * Sir Augustus Paget (acting consul general)


 * Links to add
 * the residence
 * bayt al lurd (cairo times)


 * Write footnotes


 * Create stubs

Consuls of the Levant Company (1583–1825)

 * Third attempt

For fifty years after Fleetwood's appointment it is possible to trace in the company's books an unbroken line of English consuls in Cairo, and there is evidence that a certain amount of trade was being done. However, the political instability in Egypt during the 18th century as well as the exactions against the English merchants led to a decline in commerce. In 1754, the Levant Company resolved to abolish the Cairo consulate "by reason of the uncertainty of success and the certainty of a great and growing annual charge attending it." The books were ordered to be transferred to Cyprus. Richard Harris, the consul in Egypt, placed English affairs under the protection of his Dutch colleague and withdrew early in 1757.

Consuls-General (1825–1846)
On 19 May 1825 the Company Secretary sent a letter to the Foreign Office stating: "The Levant Company has, this day, executed a deed for the surrender of its Charter into the hands of His Majesty." At this point, the Company had only 11 consulates left in the region (including the one in Alexandria), down from 32 in 1592. At the time of the British government's takeover of the consular officials of the Levant Company in 1825, the consul-general in Egypt was Henry Salt, who continued to serve until his death on 30 October 1827. Following Salt's death, the consul at Alexandria, John Barker, acted as consul-general in Egypt but was not formally appointed till 1829. Barker's three immediate successors, who served in Egypt from 1833 until 1846, were all colonels with a military background. Charles John Barnett was raised to the rank of consul-general and agent in 1844, following a request made by Egypt's viceroy, who had already persuaded France to bestow this rank upon its consul-general.

Agents and Consuls-General (1846–1914)
Throughout the British Empire there is no place in which the occupant enjoys greater freedom of action than that of British agent and consul-general in Egypt.

 Between 1858 and 1876 the agency reverted to consular status. In 1876, Hussey Crespigny Vivian, from the Foreign Office, succeeded the last of the colonels, Edward Stanton.


 * General reference

Who was who in Egyptology: A biographical index of Egyptologists; of ...‎ by Warren Royal Dawson - Egyptology - 1951 - 172 pages Page 37 COLQUHOUN, (Sir) Robert Gilmour (d. 1870) British Consul-General in Egypt, appointed 13 Dec. 1858 ; resigned 1865 ; KCB ; succeeded by Sir Edward Stanton
 * Robert Gilmour Colquhoun

General Stanton (1865-1876)

High Commissioners (1914–1936)
Milne Cheetham

Compensation
George Baldwin's annual salary of £1,450 was paid for by the government: £500 by the Secret Service, and £950 by the Treasury (Starkey, p. 30). His salary was suspended yet he was mysteriously able to survive.

Henry Salt had 12 months in arrear and was barely able to survive on his salary.

In the mid-19th century, the British consul-general in Egypt was the highest-paid British consul in the world, with an annual salary of £1,800.

Living former ambassadors
As of February 2010, seven former British ambassadors to Egypt were alive. All of them are retired, with the exception of John Sawers, who is currently serving as chief of the Secret Intelligence Service (MI6). The most recent death of a former ambassador was that of Sir Richard Beaumont (1969–1973), who died on 23 January 2009 aged 96.