Ali Riza Pasha was one the last grand viziers

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...

 of the Ottoman Empire

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...

, under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, between 14 October 1919 and 2 March 1920.

He was born in 1860 in Istanbul

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 a major. He graduated from the Ottoman Military College in 1886. He held military and administrative posts such as the Governorship of Manastır in 1903, after which he was exiled to Libya

Libya

Libya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....

 upon the pressure exercised by Russia, since the Russian consul of the city had been assassinated during his tenure. In 1905, he was appointed to Yemen

Yemen

The Republic of Yemen , commonly known as Yemen , is a country located in the Middle East, occupying the southwestern to southern end of the Arabian Peninsula. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to the north, the Red Sea to the west, and Oman to the east....

 where he suppressed an uprising. With the beginning of the Second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire

Second Constitutional Era (Ottoman Empire)

The Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire began shortly after Sultan Abdülhamid II restored the constitutional monarchy after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution. The period established many political groups...

 in 1908, he became the Minister of War in grand vizier Kıbrıslı Mehmed Kamil Pasha

Kibrisli Mehmed Kamil Pasha

Kâmil Pasha , also spelled as Kiamil Pasha was an Ottoman statesman of Turkish Cypriot origin in the late 19th century and early 20th century, who became, as aside regional or international posts within the Ottoman state structure, grand vizier of the Empire during four different periods.He was...

's government but had to be distanced due to objections raised by the Committee of Union and Progress

Committee of Union and Progress

The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...

. He was re-appointed to the same ministry in Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha

Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha

Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha was a statesman and twice Grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire in the wake of the Second Constitutional Era and was also Co-founder and Head of the Turkish Red Crescent...

's cabinet in 1909 but gave his demission because of the 31 March Incident

31 March Incident

The 31 March Incident was a 1909 rebellion of reactionaries in İstanbul against the restoration of constitutional monarchy that had taken place in 1908. It took place on 13 April 1909...

. Appointed as supervisor for the European armies of the Ottoman Empire, the Balkan Wars

Balkan Wars

The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans in south-eastern Europe in 1912 and 1913.By the early 20th century, Montenegro, Bulgaria, Greece and Serbia, the countries of the Balkan League, had achieved their independence from the Ottoman Empire, but large parts of their ethnic...

 erupted before he even had the time to assume his duties. Never favored by the Committee of Union and Progress, his career succumbed to silence during the single-party regime of the Ottoman Empire

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...

 during World War I. He was appointed as grand vizier on 2 October 1919, a post he held for five months.

In terms of effective shaping of policies by the remaining Ottoman state structure, his office (as well as his successor 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...

's) are usually considered as mere intervals between the two offices of Damat Ferid Pasha

Damat Ferid Pasha

Damad Ferid Pasha was an Ottoman statesman who held the office of grand vizier during two periods under the reign of the last Ottoman sultan Mehmed VI Vahdeddin, the first time between 4 March 1919 and 2 October 1919 and the second time between 5 April 1920 and 21 October 1920...

, the signatory of 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...

.