Soldier,
statesman, governor and Grand Vizier (B. 1832, Nicosia / Cyprus D- November 14,
1913 Nicosia/ Cyprus). He is one of the final period grand viziers of Ottoman
Empire. He is the
son of cannon captain Salih Ağa and Pembe Hanım from Nicosia, Gaziler village. He is the
grand uncle of Cypriot theater artist Zeki Alasya and grandfather of Yusuf
Hikmet Bayur, who was the Minister of National Education between the years 1933
and 1934. His father, captain Salih Ağa has went to the island in order to
reinforce the Garrison on the island as tend to revolt was seen among the Greek
Cypriots during the Greek rebellion in 1821. He went to the island from Anamur.
According to other resources, he is from a Jewish Cypriot family.
Kamil lost
his father when he was ten years old; and he was raised by his two brothers,
Şakir and Sadık, under the protection of Nicosian rich man Nakibul Esraf Zuhtu
Efendi. Kamil Pasa has started with his education in madrasah and Greek schools
in Cairo along with his two brothers and with the help of family friend Mehmed Ali
Pasa. He has received foreign language training in Egypt, and graduated from
Egyptian Military School; becoming a major in Egyptian military. He knew
Persian, Greek, French and English; so he became the interpreter and clerk of
Egyptian Governor Abbas Pasha. He taught languages to Abbas Pasha's son Ibrahim Pasa and went on a
European trip with him during 1851 London World Fair. After
this visit, he had a life-long admiration for British.
He was known with his close relations to Britain during his career within the
Ottoman State.
After staying in Egypt for ten years, he came to
Istanbul and started to serve for the Ottoman State. He worked as the
foundations director and district governor in Cyprus; and he became Jerusalem,
Herzegovina and Beirut, Kosova and Aleppo Governor. Then
he became the Undersecretary of Interior Affairs Ministry; and governor in
Eastern Rumelia, Herzegovinai Kosovo, Izmir and Cyprus. He worked as the
Minister of Foundations in 1879 and 1882 for two times and as the Minister of
National Education in 1880-1881;he became the grand vizier (prime minister) in
1885 after the resignation of Sait Pasha. He did this job four times between
the years 1885 and 1913. His final duty ended with Babıali Raid, and he
resigned as Enver Pasha threatened him with a gun.
After his
duty ended with this event, he remained in Cairo for three months where he was
invited by his close friend Lord Herbert Kitchener. He settled in Cyprus which
was under the governance of England since 1878, waited for the turn of tide in
Ottoman politics; but when Mahmud Şevket Pasha was murdered with an
assassination and when the Union and Progress started to exile the opponents,
he stopped dreaming of politics. He took refuge into British Consulate when he
was exiled. While he was preparing to visit Britain, he died with a heart
attack on November 14, 1913. He was buried around Arab Ahmet Pasha Mosque in
Nicosia.
Kamil Pasha was prime
minister during the reign of Abdulhamid between September 25, 1885 and September
4, 1991; October 2, 1895 and November 7, 1895; and August 5, 1908- and February
14, 1909 and during Mehmed Reşad between October 29, 1912 and January 23, 1913.
He has also worked at several bureaucratic positions within the government. During
his first term as Prime Minister he remained silent
about the policies of Abdulhamid and when he became the prime minister for
second time, he was exiled and sent to Izmir as Governor.
Kamil Pasha was known as a smart, intelligent, cautious, politically
correct statesman with no intentions for bribe; but he was known with his
pro-British stance. Resources say that Mehmed Kamil Pasha was a remarkable İzmir governor,
who invented forest keeping, but he could not make the local warriors stop
fighting. During his İzmir Governorship for eleven
years, he contributed a lot to the city. . He is the
governor who made the İzmir Watch Tower built. He has a book named "Tarihi
Siyasi" about the Ottoman history and the first volume of his memory
book named “Sait Paşa’ya Cevaplar" were
published.
