Cromer, Evelyn Baring, 1st earl

Cromer, Evelyn Baring, 1st earl of

(born Feb. 26, 1841, Cromer Hall, Norfolk, Eng.—died Jan. 29, 1917, London) British administrator in Egypt. After serving as an army officer (1858–72), he became private secretary to his cousin Lord Northbrook, viceroy of India. In 1877 he went to Egypt to help resolve Egypt's financial problems. Named British agent and consul general in 1883, he instituted a form of government known as the Veiled Protectorate, whereby he ruled the Egyptian khedives. Egypt was made financially solvent by 1887, and Cromer's parsimony and encouragement of agricultural projects increased its prosperity. Until his resignation in 1907, he remained the country's real ruler, profoundly influencing Egypt's development as a modern state.