Küçük Mehmet Sait Pasha
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Mehmed Said Pasha (‎; 1838–1914), also known as Küçük Said Pasha (; "Said Pasha the Younger") or Åžapur Çelebi or in his youth as Mabeyn BaÅŸkâtibi Said Bey, was an Ottoman Turkish monarchist, senator, statesman and editor of the Turkish newspaper '' Cerîde-i Havâdis''. He served as grand vizier for nine years in total, seven times during the reign of
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 ...
and twice during the
Second Constitutional Monarchy The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...
. He was known for his opposition to the extension of foreign influence in 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 ...
.A.g.e. II.995-999. He was among the statesmen who were disliked by 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). However, in his last two grand vizierships, Said Pasha was supported by the CUP in 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 ...
, and his last grand vizierate ended in 1912 with a military memorandum against the Unionists.


Early life

Mehmed Said was born in
Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...
. His father was Ali Namık Efendi, a foreign minister. According to his contemporary Petre Kharischirashvili, he was of Georgian descent. His education was in the
madrasa Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...
, which started in Erzurum and continued in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. There he learned French. He joined the Kalemiye in Istanbul, and soon the petty civil service.


Bureaucratic career

He returned to Erzurum for his first civil service assignment in 1853 where he worked in the
eyalet Eyalets (, , ), also known as beylerbeyliks or pashaliks, were the primary administrative divisions of the Ottoman Empire. From 1453 to the beginning of the nineteenth century the Ottoman local government was loosely structured. The empire was a ...
's bureau of commutations (''tahrirat kalemi''). In 1857 he joined the Anatolian army's bureau of communications. Said went back to Istanbul, where he was the deputy clerk of the Supreme Council (''Meclis-i Vâlâ halife kâtip).'' He then became chief of the Archipelago Vilayet municipal council (''Adalar Bölgesi Belediye Dairesi reisi'') and chief clerk of the
Rumeli 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 vassals in Europe. These ...
Inspection Committee (''Rumeli TeftiÅŸ Heyeti baÅŸkatibi'') following which he became the chief clerk of the government printing office (''Matbaa-i Amire baÅŸkatibi''). After a brief stint as chief clerk of the
Court of Cassation A court of cassation is a high-instance court that exists in some judicial systems. Courts of cassation do not re-examine the facts of a case; they only interpret the relevant law. In this, they are appellate courts of the highest instance. In ...
(''Dîvân-ı Ahkâm-ı Adliyye'' ''muhakemat başkatibi'') he became director of communication of the Ministry of Trade (''Ticaret Nezareti mektupçusu'') before taking on the same role in the
Ministry of Education An education ministry is a national or subnational government agency politically responsible for education. Various other names are commonly used to identify such agencies, such as Ministry of Education, Department of Education, and Ministry of Pub ...
.Özcan, Azmi, "Said Paşa (Küçük)" "Hüseyin Paşa (Ağa)",(1999), ''Yaşamları ve Yapıtlarıyla Osmanlılar Ansiklopedisi'', İstanbul:Yapı Kredi Kültür Sanat Yayıncılık A.Ş. Ch.2 p.491-492 ISBN 975-08-0072-9 Mehmed Said contributed to the provincial reform by writing the Regulation on the General Administration of Provinces (''İdare-i Umumiye-i Vilayet Nizamnamesini''). This caught the attention of
Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha Mehmed Emin Âlî Pasha, also spelled as Mehmed Emin Aali (5 March 1815 – 7 September 1871), commonly known as Ali Pasha, was a Turkish people, Turkish–Ottoman Empire, Ottoman statesman during the Tanzimat period, best known as the architec ...
.İbnülemin Mahmut Kemal İnal, ''Son Sadrazamlar,'' sf II.991.


High politics

He became first secretary to Sultan
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 ...
shortly after the sultan's accession, and is said to have contributed to the realizations of his majesty's design of concentrating power in his own hands; later he became a
senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or Legislative chamber, chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the Ancient Rome, ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior ...
,
minister of the interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...
,
minister of finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...
,
royal treasurer Royal may refer to: People * Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name * A member of a royal family or Royalty (disambiguation), royalty Places United States * Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community * Royal, Ill ...
, then governor of
Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...
and then
Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
,
justice minister A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
, finally reaching the high post of
grand vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...
in 1879. It is not known what his role was in the 1876 coups d'état. He was grand vizier seven times under
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 ...
, and twice under his successor,
Mehmed V Mehmed V Reşâd (; or ; 2 November 1844 – 3 July 1918) was the penultimate List of sultans of the Ottoman Empire, sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1909 to 1918. Mehmed V reigned as a Constitutional monarchy, constitutional monarch. He had ...
.


First premiership

October 1879 can be accepted as the date when the political uncertainties of the beginning of Abdul Hamid's reign ended and the power without question passed to the palace. During Said Pasha's first grand viziership, he mostly dealt with financial and economic measures and tried to reduce government expenditures. He was dismissed from the position of grand vizier in June 1880.


Second premiership

He began his second term as Grand Vizier on September 12, 1880. The most important events of the premiership were the trial of Mithat Pasha in
Yıldız Palace Yıldız Palace (, ) is a vast complex of former imperial Ottoman Empire, Ottoman pavilions and villas in Beşiktaş, Istanbul, Turkey, built in the 19th and early 20th centuries. It was used as a residence by the List of sultans of the Ottoman ...
. Ottoman debts were then collected through the establishment of
Ottoman Public Debt Administration The Ottoman Public Debt Administration (OPDA) (, or simply ''Düyun-u Umumiye'' as it was popularly known, , ), was a European-controlled organization that was established in 1881 to collect the payments which the Ottoman Empire owed to European ...
with the Muharrem Decree. In 1881, France declared Tunisia a
French colony The French colonial empire () comprised the overseas Colony, colonies, protectorates, and League of Nations mandate, mandate territories that came under French rule from the 16th century onward. A distinction is generally made between the "Firs ...
a brief
military campaign A military campaign is large-scale long-duration significant military strategy plan incorporating a series of interrelated military operations or battles forming a distinct part of a larger conflict often called a war. The term derives from th ...
while in Egypt
Urabi Pasha Ahmed Urabi (; Arabic: ; 31 March 1841 – 21 September 1911), also known as Ahmed Ourabi or Orabi Pasha, was an Egyptian military officer. He was the first political and military leader in Egypt to rise from the ''fellahin'' (peasantry). Urabi p ...
lost his nationalist struggle against the Europeans. Due to these events, Mehmed Said Pasha did not succeed in measures to reduce state debts and provide stability. He was dismissed as grand vizier on May 2, 1882, due to the direct intervention of the British in the Egypt issue.


Third premiership

However, two months later, the new grand vizier Abdurrahman Nureddin Pasha was dismissed as Grand Vizier since Abdul Hamid did not share his concern on the European attempts to invade Egypt, which started with the bombing of Alexandria in July. Mehmed Said Pasha was appointed grand vizier for the third time on 12 July 1882. This period began when Egypt came under British control. He was dismissed two months later on 30 November 1882 due to clashes between himself and the sultan. He was arrested three days later.


Fourth premiership

He was brought back to the grand viziership for the forth time on 3 December 1882. This time his ministry lasted for two years and two months. In this period, there was civil service reform. Recruitment, appointment, promotion and retirement of civil servants were reformed and reorganized. He also brought about educational reforms. First of all, importance was given to the opening of a large number of new schools in the country. However, he wanted to suppress the Bulgarian nationalist revolt that broke out in
Eastern Rumelia Eastern Rumelia (; ; ) was an autonomous province (''oblast'' in Bulgarian, ''vilayet'' in Turkish) of the Ottoman Empire with a total area of , which was created in 1878 by virtue of the Treaty of Berlin (1878), Treaty of Berlin and ''de facto'' ...
, but Sultan Abdul Hamid thought that these troops could use them against him, so he vetoed the operation. On September 18, 1885, Eastern Rumelia was annexed by Bulgaria. He was dismissed from office a week later. For ten years he was without a job.


Fifth premiership

During the height of the
Hamidian massacres The Hamidian massacres also called the Armenian massacres, were massacres of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire in the mid-1890s. Estimated casualties ranged from 100,000 to 300,000, Akçam, Taner (2006) '' A Shameful Act: The Armenian Genocide a ...
, Western states demanded reforms. In order to implement these reforms, Said Pasha was brought to the grand viziership for the fifth time on 8 June 1895. This time, he was at odds with the Sultan because of the Armenians demonstrating in Istanbul. Said Pasha claimed that the War Mınıster Nazım Pasha was negligent in his duties of quelling unrest and demanded that he be removed from office. However, Abdul Hamid did not agree to this and dismissed Said Pasha after less than three months. Two months later the took refuge at the British embassy in Constantinople, and, though then assured of his personal liberty and safety, remained practically under
house arrest House arrest (also called home confinement, or nowadays electronic monitoring) is a legal measure where a person is required to remain at their residence under supervision, typically as an alternative to imprisonment. The person is confined b ...
with his son for six years.


Sixth premiership

In November 1901, he was appointed grand vizier again after he wrote to the Sultan that he would serve as a Grand Vizier like a bailiff.A.g.e. III.1046. However this new interpretation of his role in government was too much for him and he complained that the premiership was reduced to being like a scarecrow.A.g.e. II.1047. After two years in this post, he had a disagreement with the War Minister Mehmed Rıza Pasha about the problems in the Rumelian army. He gave an ultimatum to the Sultan that if he did not arrest Rıza, he would resign. Said was instead dismissed one month after this resignation threat.


Seventh premiership

He came into temporary prominence again during the revolution of 1908. On 22 July he succeeded Mehmed Ferid Pasha as grand vizier, and mediated the declaration of the
Second Constitutional Monarchy The Second Constitutional Era (; ) was the period of restored parliamentary rule in the Ottoman Empire between the 1908 Young Turk Revolution and the 1920 retraction of the constitution, after the dissolution of the Chamber of Deputies, during the ...
. However, in the first two weeks, disagreements arose within the government delegation over who would be the minister of war and who would be the minister of the navy. Said Pasha was uneasy about the sultan's intervention in the establishment of this government. For this reason, he resigned on 6 August 1908, after two weeks of vizierate, citing the Sultan's interference in the cabinet list, and he was replaced by the more liberal
Kâmil Pasha Mehmed Kâmil Pasha (; , "Mehmed Kâmil Pasha the Cypriot"), also spelled as Kâmil Pasha (1833 – 14 November 1913), was an Ottoman Anglophile statesman and liberal politician of Turkish Cypriot origin in the late-19th-century and early-20th ...
, at the insistence of the
Young Turks The Young Turks (, also ''Genç Türkler'') formed as a constitutionalist broad opposition-movement in the late Ottoman Empire against the absolutist régime of Sultan Abdul Hamid II (). The most powerful organization of the movement, ...
. Also during 1908, Mehmed Said Pasha bought the famed Istanbul arcade in the
BeyoÄŸlu BeyoÄŸlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...
district, today known as
Çiçek Pasajı Çiçek Pasajı ( Turkish: ''Flower Passage''), originally called the Cité de Péra, is a famous historic passage ( galleria or arcade) on İstiklal Avenue in the Beyoğlu district of Istanbul, Turkey. A covered arcade with rows of historic c ...
("Flower Passage"). The modern name became common in the 1940s; during Mehmed Said Pasha's ownership in the 1900s and 1910s, the arcade was known as ''Sait Paşa Pasajı'' ("Said Pasha Passage").Çiçek Pasajı: History


Eighth and ninth premiership

Following the resignation of Ibrahim Hakkı Pasha in the wake of Italy's declaration of war on the Ottoman Empire in 1911, he was again called to the premiership. He attempted to resign on New Year's Eve 1911 on disagreements with his cabinet on whether to dissolve parliament, but he was reappointed the same day. His time as Grand Vizier was under the de facto rule 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) and the War Minister Mahmut Åževket Pasha. In the "election of clubs" held in February 1912, he allowed the CUP to seize the
parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
through egregious voter fraud and intimidation. However, with Mahmut Åževket Pasha's departure from government and another Albanian revolt, a military clique known as the
Savior Officers Savior or saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or li ...
who backed the defeated
Freedom and Accord Party The Freedom and Accord Party (, French: ''Entente Libérale'') was a liberal Ottoman political party active between 1911–1913 and 1918–1919, during the Second Constitutional Era. It was the most significant opposition to Committee of Union a ...
forced him to resign from the grand viziership for the last time.The Decline of the Ottoman Empire in the Middle East and the 'Arab Awakening' before 1914
Following his departure Said Pasha became head of the
Council of State A council of state is a governmental body in a country, or a subdivision of a country, with a function that varies by jurisdiction. It may be the formal name for the cabinet or it may refer to a non-executive advisory body associated with a head ...
and then as the head of the Ottoman Senate.


Death

Just before the start of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, he developed
bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...
and died on 1 March 1914 in
Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...
. He was buried at the entrance of
Eyüp Sultan Mosque The Eyüp Sultan Mosque () is a mosque in Eyüp district of Istanbul, Turkey. The mosque complex includes a mausoleum marking the spot where Abu Ayyub al-Ansari, Ebu Eyüp el-Ansari (Abu Ayyub al-Ansari), the standard-bearer and companion of the ...
.


References


External links


Bibliography of Küçük Mehmed Said Pasha
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mehmed Said Pasha Pashas 1838 births 1914 deaths 19th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire 20th-century grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire Ottoman people of the Italo-Turkish War Members of the Senate of the Ottoman Empire Burials at Eyüp Cemetery Mabeyn-i hümayun katipleri Georgians from the Ottoman Empire