Mehmed Said Halim Pasha ( ota, سعيد حليم پاشا ; tr, Sait Halim Paşa; 18 or 28 January 1865 or 19 February 1864 – 6 December 1921) was an Ottoman statesman of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

originDanişmend (1971), p. 102 who served as Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1913 to 1917. He was one of the perpetrators of the

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

and later assassinated by

Arshavir Shirakian Arshavir Shirakian (also Shiragian, hy, Արշաւիր Շիրակեան; January 1, 1902 or 1900 – April 12, 1973) was an Armenians, Armenian killer who was noted for his assassination of Said Halim Pasha and Cemal Azmi as an act of vengeance ...

as part of

Operation Nemesis Operation Nemesis () was a program to assassinate both Ottoman perpetrators of the Armenian genocide and officials of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic responsible for the massacre of Armenians during the September Days of 1918 in Baku. Maste ...

, a retribution campaign to kill perpetrators of the Armenian genocide.

Biography

Born at the palace of Shubra in

Cairo, Egypt Cairo ( ; ar, القاهرة, al-Qāhirah, ) is the capital of Egypt and its largest city, home to 10 million people. It is also part of the largest urban agglomeration in Africa, the Arab world and the Middle East: The Greater Cairo metro ...

, he was the grandson of

Muhammad Ali of Egypt Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

, often considered the founder of modern Egypt. He was educated by private teachers and later in Switzerland. In 1890 or 1895, he married Emine İnci Tosun, daughter of Mehmed Tosun Pasha. In the late 1890s the

Palace of Said Halim Pasha A palace is a grand residence, especially a royal residence, or the home of a head of state or some other high-ranking dignitary, such as a bishop or archbishop. The word is derived from the Latin name palātium, for Palatine Hill in Rome whic ...

Downtown Cairo Downtown Cairo ( arz, وسط البلد '' "middle of town")'', has been the urban center of Cairo, Egypt, since the late 19th century, when the district was designed and built. History Downtown Cairo was designed by prestigious French archit ...

was built for him by the Italian architect Antonio Lasciac. When Britain annexed Egypt in 1914, he claimed the throne of the Egyptian monarchy based on a firman which changed Egyptian succession law half a century ago. He succeeded Mahmud Shevket Pasha following his assassination, and was both Grand Vizier and

Foreign Minister A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between cou ...

. He was a compromise candidate for the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

(CUP); Said Halim was loosely affiliated with the committee, and more conservative and Islamist than the central committee would have wanted, however the prestige of his ancestry and his lack of agency made him an acceptable Grand Vizier to the CUP. He was one of the signers in Ottoman–German Alliance. Yet, he resigned after the incident of the pursuit of the ''Goeben'' and the ''Breslau'', an event which served to bring the Ottoman Empire into the Great War. It is claimed that

Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd ( ota, محمد خامس, Meḥmed-i ḫâmis; tr, V. Mehmed or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) reigned as the 35th and penultimate Ottoman Sultan (). He was the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I. He succeeded his half-brother ...

wanted a person in whom he trusted as Grand Vizier, and that he asked Said Halim to stay in his post as long as possible. During the

, Said Halim signed the deportation orders for the Armenian population. The Armenian Patriarch Zaven I Der Yeghiayan appealed to him to cease the terror being committed against Armenians, which Said Halim replied to by claiming reports of arrests and deportations were being greatly exaggerated. Der Yeghiayan himself was later deported. He lost his Foreign Ministry in 1915. Said Halim's premiership lasted until 1917, cut short because of continuous clashes between him and the CUP. The Interior Minister Mehmed Talaat Pasha succeeded him. Said Halim was accused of treason during the court martial trials after World War I in the Ottoman Empire, as he had his signature under Ottoman–German Alliance. He was exiled on 29 May 1919 to a prison on

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. He was acquitted from the accusations and set free in 1921, and he moved to Sicily. He wanted to return to

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

, the capital of the Ottoman Empire, but this request was rejected. He was

assassinated Assassination is the murder of a prominent or important person, such as a head of state, head of government, politician, world leader, member of a royal family or CEO. The murder of a celebrity, activist, or artist, though they may not have a ...

soon after in Rome by

, an agent of the

Armenian Revolutionary Federation The Armenian Revolutionary Federation ( hy, Հայ Յեղափոխական Դաշնակցութիւն, ՀՅԴ ( classical spelling), abbr. ARF or ARF-D) also known as Dashnaktsutyun (collectively referred to as Dashnaks for short), is an Armenian ...

, for his role in the Armenian genocide.

Footnotes

Literature

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External links

* 1865 births 1921 deaths Armenian genocide perpetrators Exiles from the Ottoman Empire Malta exiles People from the Ottoman Empire murdered abroad Muhammad Ali dynasty People murdered in Italy Deaths by firearm in Italy Assassinated people from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire People acquitted of treason Albanian Grand Viziers of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman people of the Balkan Wars Ottoman people of World War I Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the Ottoman Empire Recipients of the Order of the Star of Romania Members of the Senate of the Ottoman Empire People assassinated by Operation Nemesis 1921 murders in Italy {{Ottoman-bio-stub

Biography

See also

Footnotes

Literature

External links