Jean-Baptiste Pastré
Jean-Baptiste Pastré | |
|---|---|
| Born | Error: Invalid birth date for calculating age Marseille, France |
| Died | August 19, 1877 (aged 72) Marseille, France |
| Occupation(s) | Financier, arms supplier, merchant banker, city councillor |
| Known for | Founder of Anglo-Egyptian Bank; Chairman of Société Marseillaise de Crédit; Marseille City Council member |
Jean-Baptiste Pastré (10 October 1804 – 19 August 1877) was a prominent French financier and arms supplier based in Marseille. Active as a merchant banker in Egypt, he established the Anglo-Egyptian Bank in 1862 and held a position on the Marseille City Council.
Early life
Pastré was born in Marseille on 10 October 1804, the son of banker Jean-François Pastré (1758-1821) and Marie-Eugénie Gauthier (1776-1862). He had one sister named Amélie and three brothers: Jean Joseph, Eugène Pastré, and Jules Pastré, Prince d'Edde.
Career
Emerging as a significant figure in Marseille’s business and banking sectors, Pastré also engaged in arms trading, providing weaponry to the French military during the Crimean War (1853–1856). During the 1850s, he held board memberships at Arnaud Touache et Cie (which later became Compagnie de navigation mixte) and Messageries Maritimes, both involved in merchant shipping.
At the age of nineteen, Pastré capitalized on his mother’s relationship with Muhammad Ali of Egypt to initiate commercial ventures in Egypt, where he had founded a financial institution by 1825. Between the 1840s and 1860s, he was among the principal French merchant bankers investing in Egypt alongside Delort de Gléon and Edouard Dervieu. His founding of the Anglo-Egyptian Bank took place in 1862.
In Marseille, Pastré was appointed as the inaugural Chairman of the Société Marseillaise de Crédit and co-established the Compagnie des Docks et Entrepôts de Marseille, where he served as first Vice President. He actively participated in the Chamber of Commerce of Marseille, occupying various roles from 1836 to 1866, including chairman. He regarded Marseille as a vital Mediterranean link between Western and Eastern markets. Furthermore, he held office as a city councillor for Marseille.
Personal life
On 15 February 1841, Pastré wed Marie-Thérèse Poncet (1821–1879). The couple had three daughters:
- Marie Jeanne Faustine Pastré (1841–1919)
- Eugénie Pastré (1843–date unknown)
- Rose Pastré (1847–1892)
Their residence was located at 57 Rue Saint-Ferréol in Marseille.
Death
Jean-Baptiste Pastré passed away on 19 August 1877 in Marseille.