Fuad Pasha

Ottoman Grand Vizier, Statesman

Death
12 February, 1869
Education
Mekteb-i Tıbbiye (Faculty of Medicine)
Other Names
Fuad Paşa, Keçecizade Fuad Paşa, Keçecizade Mehmet Fuad

Statesman, grand vizier (B. 1815, İstanbul – D. February 12, 1869, Nice / France). His full name was Keçecizade Mehmet Fuad and he was the Grandson of kazasker (T.N. a military judge in the Ottoman judiciary) Keçecizade Mehmet Salih Efendi and son of the poet Keçecizade İzzet Molla. He served as the Hariciye Nazırı (Foreign Affairs Minister in Ottoman) five times and as the Grand Vizier (Prime Minister in Ottoman) two times. He firstly attended to mosque lessons. He took private lessons and learned Arabic and Persian. He graduated from Mekteb-i Tıbbiye (Faculty of Medicine), teaching in French (1834) and then served as a physician about three years in Tripoli, as a state officer. In 1837, upon the suggestion of Mustafa Reşid Pasha, he entered in the Translation Chamber of Babıâli (T.N. Sublime Porte) and advanced to the head clerkship. Then he took charge in the Foreign Affairs and was appointed as the London Embassy’s Head Clerk in 1840. He was charged as the temporary ambassador of Madrid in 1843 and Lisbon in 1844. After Mustafa Reşid Pasha became the grand vizier in 1846, he was appointed to the private secretariat of Divan-ı Hümayun (the office in the palace where wishes of people are listened).

During that period, Magyar and Polish revolutionists stuck in a difficult situation since the Russians have helped the Austrians and they sought refugee" in the Ottoman State. Russia and Austria notified they would terminate their political relationships unless the refugees were not returned back as soon as possible (1849). Thereupon, the Vükelâ Council Ottoman Council of Ministers decided to send Fuad Efenedi in Bucharest to Russian Tsar with the dignity of extraordinary ambassadorship. He made Nesselrod, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, recognize that the issue of refugees was a special one between two monarchs and so ensured the continuation of negotiations. The government appreciated these services of Fuad Efendi, made him the undersecretary of Sadaret (Prime Ministry) with the degree of “Bâlâ” and awarded him the order of privilege (1850).

Fuad Efendi stayed in Bursa for a while and wrote the draft of bylaw of Şirket-i Hayriye. When he returned to Istanbul, he was made a member to the newly established Encümen-i Dâniş (Academy of Sciences) as the Sadaret Müsteşarı (Undersecretary of Primer Minister). He was sent to Egypt in March 1852 by the Grand Vizier Reşid Pasha. During three and a half months he spent there, he increased the yearly tax of Egypt from 60.000 purses to 80.000. When he returned back, he was made the Hariciye Nazırlığı (Minister of Foreign Affairs). In the meantime, Prince Mençikof, who was sent as the extraordinary ambassador, came to Istanbul and directly visited the Grand Vizier in order to discuss the “Sacred Positions” issue. Fuad Efendi found that attitude an irregular conduct and withdrew from the ministry.

Afterwards, he was charged in suppressing the Greek gang forces advancing towards Ioannina (1854). After he resolved that issue and returned to Istanbul, he was again appointed as the Minister of Foreign Affairs together with the duty of the Head of Meclis-i Âlî-i Tanzimat Başkanlığı (T.N. Supreme Council of the Reforms). In order to prevent him joining the Paris Conference, the British Ambassador Lord Strafford requested from padishah to replace Fuad Pasha with somebody else, and thereupon he resigned from his position (November 1856) and made member to the  Supreme Council of the Reforms. In the August of the following year, he was again appointed as the head of that council and then again as the Minister of Foreign Affairs. In 1860, he was sent as the “Extraordinary Commissioner” to Mount Lebanon in order to resolve the conflict between Marunîs and Dürzîs. He went to Beirut. He suppressed the disturbance in Damascus using violence.

When Fuad Pasha was in Syria, Abdülmecid died and Abdülaziz ascended to throne. The new padishah combined the High Council (Meclis-i Valâ) and the Supreme Council of the Reforms (Meclis-i Âlî-yi Tanzimat) and formed a new institution and commissioned Fuad Pasha as the head of that institution (July 14, 1861). After a short time, he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs for the fourth time and then the Grand Vizier (November 22, 1861). During that duty, in order to remove the economic crisis of the state, he undertook the general management of the treasury and he reported to padishah the measures he found necessary to be taken via a long letter. However, despite all efforts he made, he couldn’t improve the financial situation of the state as he wanted. Showing as cause also the political situation becoming worse due to the spread of nationalism throughout Rumelia, he resigned from the Vizierate (January 6, 1863). After a while, upon the insist of padishah, he accepted the presidency of the Supreme Council for Judicial Ordinances (Meclis-i Valâ-yı Ahkâm-ı Adliye). He accompanied Abdülaziz on his journey to Egypt (April 3 – May 3 1863). He enjoyed the title of “Yaver-i Ekrem” on return. Soon after, he was commissioned as the Grand Vizier for the second time (1 June 1863), without leaving the seraskiership. Thus, he served as the Grand Vizier more than four years in total.

Fuad Pasha has written a political testament addressing Padishah Abdülaziz including the methods that should be followed for the sake of protecting the interests of the Ottoman State against the politics of large states and this testament was published later in the gazette Meşveret issued in Paris. Fuad Pasha, who carried out some administrative studies other than the foreign relationships, financial and military reforms during his political duties, put forward his opinions about establishment of the provincial organizations governed by authorized governors instead of the state organizations, and use of masonry constructions in the cities and endeavored to realize them. However, in the meantime, he was discharged from his position and Ali Pasha was made the Grand Vizier and so he became the Minister of Foreign Affairs (February 1867) for the fifth time. He joined the Europe journey of Abdülaziz in 1867. He returned tired and sick due to a heart problem. He died in Nice where he has gone to spend the winter upon the advice of his doctors. His corpse was brought to Istanbul in a ship allocated by the government of France. He was buried in the tomb he had prepared while he was alive, on the street carrying his name in the vicinity of Sultan Ahmet. It is said that, Fuad Pasha, who was a member of the Mawlavi sect, said the line Ehl-i  îmân ruhuna, geçme oku bir Fatiha” (Do not pass by, read an El-Fatehah for the soul of the one with strong faith) for his death. After his death, many elegiac poetries were written for him.

Fuad Pasha is recognized as one of the builders of Tanzimat together with Mustafa Reşid Pasha and Ali Pasha. He closely observed the political developments in Europe and he belived that the Ottoman State could only survive by utilizing the power balances among the European states. It is accepted that Mustafa Reşid Pasha followed a pro-British attitude and Ali Pasha a pro-French attitude regarding the foreign politics. Fuad Pasha, who dealt with science other than being a statesman, wrote Kavâid-i Osma­niye (Rules of Ottoman Turkish), together with the historian Ahmet Cevdet Pasha, which was one of the first works on the grammar of Ottoman Turkish.

 WORKS:

Kavâid-i Osma­niye (1864), Vasiyetname-i Siyasi (1896), Belgelerle Tanzimat: Osmanlı Sadrazamlarından Âli ve Fuad Paşaların Vasiyyetnâmeleri (1978).  

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