Mehmed Tahir Münif Pasha (1828-1910) was an Ottoman writer and statesman. A veteran official, he served thrice as Minister of Education (1877; 1878–1880 and 1885–1891) and twice as ambassador to

Qajar Iran The Guarded Domains of Iran, alternatively the Sublime State of Iran and commonly called Qajar Iran, Qajar Persia or the Qajar Empire, was the Iranian state under the rule of the Qajar dynasty, which was of Turkic peoples, Turkic origin,Cyrus G ...

(1872–1877, and 1896–1897). During his first ambassadorship to Iran, he was awarded the

Order of the Lion and the Sun The Imperial Order of the Lion and the Sun (Persian language, Persian: نشان سلطنتی شیر و خورشید) was instituted by Fat′h Ali Shah Qajar, Fat’h Ali Shah of the Qajar dynasty in 1808 to honour foreign officials (later extend ...

medal. He also served as a trusted advisor 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 ...

, until he fell out of grace. He was responsible for establishing the ''Cemiyet-i İlmiye-i Osmaniye'' ("The Ottoman Scientific Society") and ''Mecmūa-i Fünūn'' ("Science Journal"). Münif Pasha was a

Persophile Persophilia (, pârsi dusti) is the feeling or expression of interest in, respect for, and appreciation of Persians on the part of a non-Persian. More specifically, a Persophile is someone who has a strongly positive predisposition or sympathy towa ...

and had long-standing involvement interacting with Iranian statesmen. Unlike most of his fellow Ottoman statesmen at the time, Münif strongly advocated for upholding closer relations with the Ottoman Empire's eastern neighbors, including Iran. However, although Münif Pasha admired Iranian culture and history and was interested in these subjects, during his first ambassadorship in the 1870s he also experienced what he described as "unparalleled backwardness" in Qajar Iran, referring to the misrule and poverty he saw.

References

{{commonscategory, Mehmed Tahir Münif Pasha Ambassadors of the Ottoman Empire to Iran Government ministers of the Ottoman Empire Writers from the Ottoman Empire 19th-century people from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 1828 births 1910 deaths