Halil Menteşe (1874–1948) was a Turkish government minister and politician, who was a well known official of the

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

(CUP). He was the

Minister of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

and the President of the Chamber of Deputies in the last years of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

, and also served as an independent deputy from

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

in the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. He was one of the people most directly responsible for the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

Biography

Halil was born in

Milas Milas is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Muğla Province, Turkey. Its area is 2,067 km2, and its population is 147,416 (2022). The city commands a region with an active economy and is very rich in history and ancient rema ...

in 1874 to Salih Efendi and Şefika Hanım but was orphaned at a young age. With his brother Galip, he went to

where he completed his education. Halid Ziya Uşaklıgil was his mentor in the İzmir Lycée, and from there he studied in

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

's Faculty of Law. Fearing arrest by Hamidian authorities in 1894 he escaped to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

. There he graduated from

Faculty of Law of Paris The Faculty of Law of Paris (), called from the late 1950s to 1970 the Faculty of Law and Economics of Paris, is the second-oldest faculty of law in the world and one of the four and eventually five faculties of the University of Paris ("the S ...

and joined the Young Turks, establishing contact with important members of the

(CUP) such as Ahmet Rıza, Mizancı Murat, and Dr. Nazım. With the death of his benefactor, he returned to Turkey in 1898, continuing an uneventful life in Milas until the 1908 revolution. Halil was elected a CUP MP from Menteşe in the general election for the parliament held after the revolution. He was part of a commission to liquidate

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

's assets after his deposition. Halil took Talaat Bey's place when he stepped down from the

interior ministry An interior ministry or ministry of the interior (also called ministry of home affairs or ministry of internal affairs) is a government department that is responsible for domestic policy, public security and law enforcement. In some states, the ...

on 19 February 1911. He accompanied the Ottoman sultan Mehmed V on his visit to the

Rumelia Rumelia (; ; ) was a historical region in Southeastern Europe that was administered by the Ottoman Empire, roughly corresponding to the Balkans. In its wider sense, it was used to refer to all Ottoman possessions and Vassal state, vassals in E ...

n provinces. Halil stepped down from the interior ministry in December, and was elected President of the Chamber of Deputies on 15 May 1912. After the 1912 general election which the committee rigged in favor of itself, the opposition organized a group in the military known as the Savior Officers to shutter parliament. In a session of parliament on 25 July, Halil read to the

Chamber of Deputies The chamber of deputies is the lower house in many bicameral legislatures and the sole house in some unicameral legislatures. Description Historically, French Chamber of Deputies was the lower house of the French Parliament during the Bourb ...

a death threat from the group, announcing that he was going to continue his position in government. The grand vizier Mehmed Said Pasha acquiesced to the Savior officers, resulting in parliament dissolving on 5 August. With the CUP being persecuted he once again escaped to Paris, but returned to the Ottoman Empire after the 1913 coup. He was appointed as President of Council of State in Said Halim Pasha's cabinet, and accompanied Talaat to Bulgaria to negotiate a peace treaty to end the Second Balkan War. With a new election held in 1914, Halil resigned his cabinet position to return to the parliamentary presidency. With Enver, Talaat, and Said Halim, Halil was a key player in reaching an alliance with Germany, and with Talaat he traveled to

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

to ensure they would stay neutral or pro-German in the coming war. Halil became

foreign minister In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

in 1915, and also acting justice minister in 1916 before being appointed justice minister in Talaat Pasha's cabinet once he became grand vizier. Talaat reappointed him President of Council of State in his cabinet reshuffle after Mehmed VI's ascension. Halil lost his ministries with the end of World War I and the fall of Talaat Pasha's cabinet. A special parliamentary committee organized to investigate the causes of the Ottoman Empire joining WWI summoned Halil to questioning several times but nothing could be definitively proved. He was finally arrested on 10 March 1919, and appeared before the Special Military Tribunal that was punishing CUP members and war profiteers. With 78 other politicians and generals he was detained in Malta, being released on 30 April 1921 in a deal made between

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

and the British to exchange British POWs for the release of the Malta exiles. Halil supported the Progressive Republican Party, which was founded in 1924 and banned in 1925. In 1926 he and many ex-Unionists were accused of conspiring to assassinate Mustafa Kemal, though Halil was not charged of any crimes in the end. He received the surname "Menteşe" in 1934. Between 1931–

1946 1946 (Roman numerals, MCMXLVI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1946th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 946th year of the 2nd millennium, the 46th year of the 20th centur ...

Halil represented İzmir as an independent MP. He retired to his estate in

in 1946, and died on 1 April 1948.

Legacy

Academic Ismail Arar calls Halil a quadrimvir of the Three Pashas clique.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mentese, Halil 1874 births 1948 deaths Malta exiles People from Milas Committee of Union and Progress politicians Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Armenian genocide perpetrators