Damad Ferid Pasha

Pasha

Pasha or pascha, formerly bashaw, was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire political system, typically granted to governors, generals and dignitaries. As an honorary title, Pasha, in one of its various ranks, is equivalent to the British title of Lord, and was also one of the highest titles in...

(1853–1923) (full name Damad Mehmed Adil Ferid Pasha Efendi) was an Ottoman

Ottoman Empire

The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...

 statesman who held the office of grand vizier

Grand Vizier

Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...

 during two periods under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI

Mehmed VI

Mehmet VI was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922...

 Vahdeddin, the first time between 4 March 1919 and 2 October 1919 and the second time between 5 April 1920 and 21 October 1920. Officially, he has been brought to the office a total of five times, since his cabinets were recurrently dismissed under various pressures and he had to present new ones.

He was born in 1853 in İstanbul

Istanbul

Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...

, son of Seyyid İzzet Efendić, a member of the Ottoman Council of State (Şûrâ-yı Devlet) and Governor of Beirut

Beirut

Beirut is the capital and largest city of Lebanon, with a population ranging from 1 million to more than 2 million . Located on a peninsula at the midpoint of Lebanon's Mediterranean coastline, it serves as the country's largest and main seaport, and also forms the Beirut Metropolitan...

 and Sidon

Sidon

Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

 in 1857, who was born in the village of Potoci near Pljevlja

Pljevlja

Pljevlja is a town and municipality located in the northern part of Montenegro. The city lies at an altitude of...

, in today's Montenegro

Montenegro

Montenegro Montenegrin: Crna Gora Црна Гора , meaning "Black Mountain") is a country located in Southeastern Europe. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea to the south-west and is bordered by Croatia to the west, Bosnia and Herzegovina to the northwest, Serbia to the northeast and Albania to the...

. In 1879, Ferid was enrolled at the Schools of Islamic charities in Sidon

Sidon

Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

. He served several positions in Ottoman administration before he entered the foreign office of the Ottoman Empire and was assigned to different posts at embassies in Paris, Berlin, Saint Petersburg and London. He married a daughter of Abdülmecid I

Abdülmecid I

Sultan Abdülmecid I, Abdul Mejid I, Abd-ul-Mejid I or Abd Al-Majid I Ghazi was the 31st Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and succeeded his father Mahmud II on July 2, 1839. His reign was notable for the rise of nationalist movements within the empire's territories...

, Mediha Sultan, which earned him the title of "Damad" (bridegroom to the Ottoman dynasty). Like his father, he became a member of the Şûrâ-yı Devlet in 1884, and earned the title of vizier

Vizier

A vizier or in Arabic script ; ; sometimes spelled vazir, vizir, vasir, wazir, vesir, or vezir) is a high-ranking political advisor or minister in a Muslim government....

 soon afterwards. Refused the post of ambassador in London by the sultan Abdulhamid II, he resigned from public service and returned only after two decades, in 1908, as a member of the upper chamber of the Ottoman Parliament (Âyân Meclisi).

His first office as grand vizier coincided with the Occupation of Smyrna by the Greek army and the tumultuous ensuing period. He was dismissed on 30 September 1919, but after two short-lived governments under Ali Rıza Pasha

Ali Riza Pasha

Ali Riza Pasha was one the last grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, between 14 October 1919 and 2 March 1920....

 and Hulusi Salih Pasha

Hulusi Salih Pasha

Salih Hulusi Pasha also known as Salih Hulusi Kezrak, was one of the last grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire, under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, between 8 March 1920 and 2 April 1920...

, the sultan had to call him back to form a new government on 5 April 1920 and remained as grand vizier till 17 October 1920, forming two different cabinets in between.

His second office coincided with the closure of the Ottoman Parliament under pressure from the British and French forces of occupation. Along with four other notables, he agreed to sign the Treaty of Sèvres

Treaty of Sèvres

The Treaty of Sèvres was the peace treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Allies at the end of World War I. The Treaty of Versailles was signed with Germany before this treaty to annul the German concessions including the economic rights and enterprises. Also, France, Great Britain and Italy...

, comprising disastrous conditions for Turkey, which caused an uproar of reaction towards his person, that he retorted by becoming increasingly hostile to the new nationalist movement led by Mustafa Kemal Pasha which was centered in Ankara

Ankara

Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....

 and more and more collaborative with the occupation forces.

Even after his dismissal, and the formation of a new Ottoman government under Ahmed Tevfik Pasha

Ahmed Tevfik Pasha

Ahmed Tevfik Pasha was the last Ottoman grand vizier. Ahmed Tevfik Pasha held office four times, from 13 April 1909 to 5 May 1909 under Abdulhamid II, and then under Mehmed V Reşad...

, he remained widely disliked (especially in Anatolia

Anatolia

Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...

) and with the Turkish victory in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922), he fled to Europe. He died in Nice, France, on 6 October 1923 and was buried in the city of Sidon

Sidon

Sidon or Saïda is the third-largest city in Lebanon. It is located in the South Governorate of Lebanon, on the Mediterranean coast, about 40 km north of Tyre and 40 km south of the capital Beirut. In Genesis, Sidon is the son of Canaan the grandson of Noah...

.