Hussein Refki Pasha

Hussein Refki ibn Ahmed Hafez ibn Mohammed Hafez was born in Cairo, Egypt, to an aristocratic Turco-Egyptian family of statesmen and military officers.^[1] Refki's father and brother also both served as career officers in the Egyptian Army.^[1]

Refki was commissioned as an Egyptian infantry officer after graduating from the Royal Military School. He spent the first part of his military career in Sudan, including staff officer postings in Kordofan, Khartoum, and Port Sudan. He participated in the later part of the Mahdist War, seeing action in several battles, including the Battle of Hafir in 1896 and the Battle of Omdurman in 1898. He remained stationed in Anglo-Egyptian Sudan through World War I and up until the mid-1920s, steadily rising through the infantry ranks until his transfer to the King's military household. ^{[2] [3] [4]}

Refki transferred to the Egyptian Royal Guard and ultimately became its commander in the late-1920s. ^[5] He was later promoted to Chief Aide-de-Camp (Arabic: كبير الياوران; Kebeer-al-Yawaran) to both Kings Fuad and Farouk, in which capacity he commanded the King's Military Household (predecessor to the Republican Guard of Egypt), which included the royal guard, palace police, and other elite military units directly responsible for protecting the monarchy.^[1]

Refki was appointed Egypt's Minister of War and Marine in December 1937, during the early reign of King Farouk of Egypt.^[6] King Farouk appointed Refki to the Egyptian Senate (Arabic: مجلس الشيوخ; Majlis-al-Shuyukh), the upper-house of the Egyptian Parliament, in 1939.^[7]

A street is named for Refki in the Sarayat El-Quba neighbourhood of Heliopolis, Cairo.^[8]

Refki's only child, Chancellor Hafez Refky, was Vice-President of Egypt's Court of Cassation (Arabic: محكمة النقض; Mahkamat-al-Naqd), Egypt's highest appellate court, and a member of Egypt's Supreme Judicial Council (Arabic: مجلس القضاء الاعلى; Majlis al-Qada' al-A'la). Refki's nephew, Chancellor Fouad Hafez, was President of the Egyptian Court of Appeals in Cairo (Arabic: محكمة استئناف القاهرة; Mahkamat Isti'naf al-Qahirah).

Hussein Refki Pasha is related to the Muhammad Ali dynasty of Egypt through his mother, who is directly descended from the dynasty's founder, Muhammad Ali of Egypt. Since the 1930s Refki and his patrilineal descendants have used the surname "Refky" or "Refki."

• Grand Cordon Order of Ismail^[7]
• Grand Cordon Order of the Nile^[7]
• Knight Grand Cross Order of the Crown of Italy^[7]
• Knight Grand Cross Order of the Star of Ethiopia
• Honour Medal of Syrian Merit, First Class ^[7]
• Honour Medal of Lebanese Merit, First Class ^[7]
• Grand Officer Order of Leopold II
• Order of the Medjidie
• British War Medal
• Victory Medal (United Kingdom)
• 1914-1915 Star
• Queen's Sudan Medal
• Khedive's Sudan Medal (1897)
• Chief ADC to King Fuad I of Egypt ^[7]
• Chief ADC to King Farouk of Egypt ^[7]