Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence


The Unilateral Declaration of Egyptian Independence was issued by the government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland on 28 February 1922. Through this declaration, the British government unilaterally ended its protectorate over Egypt and granted it nominal independence with the exception of four "reserved" areas: foreign relations, communications, the military and the Anglo-Egyptian Sudan.

Background

The declaration was preceded by a period of inconclusive negotiations between the Egyptian and British governments. Areas of disagreement included Egypt's position on the issues of the protectorate and of its future role in Sudan. Egyptian prime minister Adli Yakan Pasha and moderate Egyptian nationalists managed to obtain the agreement of British High Commissioner Edmund Allenby to secure the more general issue of Egypt's independence. The Coalition Government of British prime minister Lloyd George wanted to maintain the protectorate over Egypt. However, Allenby threatened to resign. His actions brought the issue of Egyptian independence to public discussion and led to a quick official response: two weeks later the declaration was issued.
Although it met the Egyptian nationalists' immediate demands for an end to the protectorate, the declaration was globally unsatisfactory since it did not grant Egypt full independence. Egyptian sovereignty was greatly restricted by the "reserved points" clause. This led to sustained pressure on the United Kingdom from Egyptian nationalists to renegotiate the relationship between the two countries, which finally occurred with the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty of 1936.

Text

The following text was first published in 1922. As a result, it is currently in the public domain in the United States, as well as in the United Kingdom where its Crown copyright has expired.