The 1921 Cairo Conference and The Crowning of King Faisal
Among the points Cox considered salient coming into the 1921 Cairo Conference were the reduction of British spending in Iraq and the selection of a ruler for the country. To satisfy the first item, Cox proposed a plan to immediately cut expenditure and withdraw troops from Mesopotamia. On the question of who should rule Iraq, Cox considered the best option to be one of the sons of the Sherif of Mecca, with whom the British had a special relationship during the war due to promises made during the McMahon–Hussein Correspondence. At the conference, the Sherif’s son Faisal emerged as the preferred choice, with Cox noting that Faisal’s military experience in the First World War as well as his vast political skills made him the most qualified to raise an army and rule Iraq effectively. Cox would later write that the decision in favor of Faisal was “easiest to arrive at . . . by the process of elimination,” reasoning that local candidates for the throne would split the support of the major parties in Iraq while Faisal, as a result of his experience and his respected family name, would enjoy the “general if not the universal support of inhabitants.” After arranging an election of sorts of Faisal's asking, Cox would go on to proclaim Faisal as King of Iraq on 23 August 1921 in Baghdad, upon which event the provisional cabinet formed by Cox resigned. For his remaining years as the High Commissioner of Iraq, Cox continued to greatly influence Iraqi government and events in the country, using his power behind the throne to advise and pressure Faisal when necessary.
Read more about this topic: Percy Cox
Famous quotes containing the words cairo, conference, crowning and/or king:
“St Louis, that city of outward-bound caravans for the West, and which is to the prairies, what Cairo is to the Desert.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“Politics is still the man’s game. The women are allowed to do the chores, the dirty work, and now and then—but only occasionally—one is present at some secret conference or other. But it’s not the rule. They can go out and get the vote, if they can and will; they can collect money, they can be grateful for being permitted to work. But that is all.”
—Mary Roberts Rinehart (1876–1958)
“The professional celebrity, male and female, is the crowning result of the star system of a society that makes a fetish of competition. In America, this system is carried to the point where a man who can knock a small white ball into a series of holes in the ground with more efficiency than anyone else thereby gains social access to the President of the United States.”
—C. Wright Mills (1916–1962)
“There is something behind the throne greater than the King himself.”
—William, Earl Of Pitt (1708–1778)