Born in Egypt, Ali Pasha Sherif was a son of El Sayed Muhammad Sherif Pasha El-Kebir (d. 1865), who was a native of Kavala, Macedonia. Muhammad was a brilliant student who caught the eye of his uncle, Muhammad Ali Pasha, the future Wāli, or Governor-General of Egypt, who was also a native of Kavala. Muhammad Ali adopted Muhammad Sherif, and when the latter was 12 years old Muhammad Ali took him to Egypt and had him educated with his own sons in an elite boarding school known as the Princes' School, which was located at El-Khanka, a city 12 miles northeast of Cairo. Muhammad Sherif married one of Muhammad Ali's daughters, making him both an adopted son and a son-in-law. Muhammad Sherif went on to become an important administrator in Muhammed Ali's regime, eventually becoming Wali of "El Sha