Mehmed Said Pasha

Mehmet Sait Pasha

Mehmed Said Pasha (* 1838 in Erzurum ; † March 1, 1914 Istanbul ) was an Ottoman statesman and politician. He held the office of Grand Vizier for a total of nine years , seven times under Abdülhamid II and twice during the second phase of the constitutional monarchy . Because of his short stature, he was sometimes called Küçük Said Paşa (The Little Said Pasha). He was known for his strong political intelligence, his suspicion and his stinginess. He is also linked to a number of intrigues.

A grand vizier of the same name Yirmisekizzade Mehmed Said Pascha ruled in 1755 at the time of Sultan Osman III.

Rise to power

His family originally came from Ankara , but since the father was often transferred as a civil servant, Mehmed Said was born in Erzurum. He went to Istanbul to study Islamic theology , but became a clerk and thus a civil servant. He learned French at the age of 26. During his work in the civil service, he wrote a work on the administration of the Ottoman provinces in 1869, thereby gaining the respect of Ali Pasha . He thus became an employee in the Ministry of Culture.

The appointment as First Secretary of the Sultan after Abdülhamid II's accession to the throne on September 1, 1876 was the turning point in his career. Since he did not previously hold any high office, this appointment, which corresponds to the current Secretary General of the President, had various consequences. Mehmed Said's role in the deposition of Murat V and the successor to Abdülhamid has never been fully clarified.

At the beginning of his tenure, Mehmed Said was often criticized. At the urging of Ahmed Vefik Pasha , he was dismissed from office on February 4, 1878 and at the same time appointed Chairman of the Senate. After a failed attempt by a group led by Ali Suavi to reinstate the former Sultan Murat V, every person was suspected by Abdülhamid II of wanting to overthrow him. Mehmed Said Pasha was transferred to the governor's seat in Ankara on the orders of the sultan. After a short time he was called back and appointed Grand Vizier on October 18, 1879. However, his official title was not Sadrazam as before , but Başvekil . The date marks the end of political uncertainties and the beginning of the shift in power to the Sultan's Palace.

Grand Vizier in the period of Abdulhamid

The following events shaped the first reign of Mehmed Said

• the death sentence against Mithat Pasha , who was then sent into exile,
• the consolidation of the national debt with the Muharram decree and the establishment of the Administration de la Dette Publique Ottomane in 1881,
• the subordination of Egypt to British administration in 1882 and
• the occupation of eastern Rumelia by Bulgaria in 1885.

The last event resulted in Mehmed Said's prolonged suspension.

After the Armenian Question emerged on June 8, 1895 , he was brought back to office at the urging of Western states that wanted to see reforms. However, when an Armenian demonstration led to bloody incidents in Istanbul on September 30, he was released. Two months later he was called to the palace, but sought asylum at the British embassy because he feared for his life. After a written guarantee, he left the embassy. He led a difficult life under police protection for six years.

In 1901 he was again Grand Vizier. According to his own statement, this time he saw his service as a grand vizier as that of an enforcement officer. He complained that his position as grand vizier had been reduced to the level of a scarecrow.

After the escalation of violence in Rumelia in the wake of the constitutional revolution against the Sultan's palace led by the Young Turks , he was appointed Grand Vizier for the last time on July 22, 1908. Two days later, at Abdülhamid's request, he re-declared the constitutional monarchy. Two weeks later he took his leave on the grounds that the Sultan had interfered in the composition of the cabinet.

Grand Vizier during the Constitutional Monarchy

With the proclamation of the second Ottoman constitutional period , the Senate was reassembled and Mehmed Said was its chairman. After the incident of March 31, 1909 (unsuccessful counter-coup by Islamic-conservative circles against the western-minded Young Turks), he played the main role in the dismissal of Abdülhamid, with whom he had a loyal but hateful relationship for 30 years. Abdülhamid was sent into exile in Saloniki . To prevent his eternal adversary Kamil Pascha from gaining power, Mehmed Said approached the Committee for Unity and Progress . With the conquest of Tripoli by Italy in the Italo-Turkish War in 1911 , a government crisis developed. Through this and with the help of the committee, Mehmed Said once again became Grand Vizier. The constitutional monarchy raised hopes in the country, but these soon dissipated. At a time when the empire was heading for a major crisis, Mehmed Said ruled the empire for nine and a half months under the de facto rule of the committee. When the committee won the February 1912 election through violence and deception and thus controlled parliament, Mehmed Said did not intervene.

According to a memorandum on July 16, 1912 by the Halaskar Zabitan , which was a group from the ranks of the army and worked against the committee, Mehmed Said Pasha had to resign for the last time. He died a year and a half later. He is buried at the entrance to the Eyup Sultan Mosque in Istanbul.

source

The work Son Sadrazamlar (The Last Grand Viziers) by his personal secretary İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal (see also Mehmed Memduh ).

Web links

• Newspaper article about Mehmed Said Pascha in the 20th century press kit of the ZBW - Leibniz Information Center for Economics .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, Son Sadrazamlar, p. II.991
2. ↑ İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, Son Sadrazamlar II, 995-999
3. ↑ İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, Son Sadrazamlar II.1001
4. ↑ İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, Son Sadrazamlar II.1027-1044
5. ↑ İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, Son Sadrazamlar III.1046
6. ↑ İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, Son Sadrazamlar II.1047
7. ↑ Bu olay hakkında ayrıntılı bilgi için Ali Birinci, Hürriyet ve İtilaf Fırkası, Dergâh Yay. 1990, pp. 164-177

predecessor	Office	successor
Ahmed Arifi Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire October 18, 1879–9. June 1880	Cenanizade Mehmed Kadri Pasha
Cenanizade Mehmed Kadri Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire September 12, 1880–2. May 1882	Abdurrahman Nureddin Pasha
Abdurrahman Nureddin Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire July 12, 1882–30. November 1882	Ahmed Vefik Pasha
Ahmed Vefik Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire December 3, 1882–24. September 1885	Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha
Kabaağaçlızade Ahmed Cevat Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire June 9, 1895–3. October 1895	Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha
Halil Rıfat Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire November 13, 1901–15. January 1903	Avlonyalı Mehmed Ferid Pasha
Avlonyalı Mehmed Ferid Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire July 22, 1908–6. August 1908	Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha
İbrahim Hakkı Pasha	Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire October 4, 1911–17. July 1912	Gazi Ahmed Muhtar Pasha