Mehmed Ali legally held only governorship clout within the Ottoman hierarchy

Evidence

As much as Mehmed Ali wanted to impress upon his visitor that he was an independent ruler, technically and legally he was only a vali of an Ottoman province, which meant that he had the right to receive consuls (and not ambassadors) of European countries but was denied the right to appoint political representatives to their capitals. Keen on improving his image in Europe, however, and interested in affecting public opinion there, the Pasha was left with few tools to do so. One such tool, though, was the interviews he was in the habit of giving to European visitors some of whom, he was well aware, would proceed to write and publish their accounts of their encounters with him. — Khaled Fahmy, All the Pasha_s Men_ Mehmed Ali, his…, 41