Keçecizade Mehmet Fuat Pasha
Encyclopedia
Mehmed Fuad Pasha was an Ottoman
statesman known for his leadership during the Crimean War
and in the Tanzimat
reforms within the Ottoman Empire. He was also a noted Freemason
.
and was able to negotiate on the same level as his European counterparts. He became the first secretary of the Ottoman embassy in London
in 1840. During 1848 he was employed on special missions in the principalities and at St. Petersburg; and in 1851, he was sent to Egypt
as a special commissioner. In that year he became minister for foreign affairs, a post to which he was reappointed on four subsequent occasions and which he held at the time of his death.
During the Crimean War he commanded the troops on the Greek frontier and distinguished himself by his bravery. He was the Ottoman delegate at the Treaty of Paris
in 1856; was charged with a mission to Syria
in 1860; served as grand vizier
two times (see succession box below); and minister of war. He accompanied the sultan Abdülaziz
on his journey to Egypt and Europe.
Fuad Pasha ordered the execution of Jamal al-Din Hamdan
and ten other Lebanese Druze
sheikhs for their participation in the atrocities of the Lebanese civil war of 1859-1860 against the Maronite Christians, though this sentence was not carried out.
and Midhat Pasha) was an official that was dedicated to the implementation of all of the reforms that came along with the program. He had hoped that the Tanzimat reforms would, “find salvation for the empire by creating among its peoples the bond of equal citizenship based on Ottoman nationality, the obstacles they faced were too great and the time too late.” He realized the importance of change and saw it as a necessary evolution that the Ottoman Empire needed to make. However, in his efforts to create an image of a modern Ottoman Empire, Fuad Pasha believed that by giving non-Muslim
subjects of the Empire equal rights via the Millet
system would “dull their nationalist and separatist tendencies.” He, along with the other three reformers, believed that in order to save the empire, a sense of “Ottomanism” needed to be created.
Due to his success at executing the changes of the Tanzimat program, Pasha was went to Syria during 1860 to enforce Ottoman law after the outbreak of war
. He arrived in Beirut
on July 17, 1860, armed with extreme power granted to him by the Sultan
. His goal was to protect the Ottoman power over the region as well as keep out the European influence For example, in order to send a message to the anti-Ottoman forces; he had some Damascus
notables hanged for their lack of regard for the Ottoman commitment to a multi-ethnic state
. Pasha saw the events of 1860 in Syria as the converse to the idea of modernism as exhibited by Europe. He chaired the Beirut Commission in 1860 that included Britain
, France
, Russia
, Austria
and Prussia
.
In an attempt to centralize and stabilize authority in Syria, while maintaining British interests, A British representative suggested Fuad Pasha as a the leader for the region of Syria. Fuad Pasha, who was “Europeanized”, seemed to be aligned with Western ideals that the British wanted to preserve in the Middle East. In the area of Mount Lebanon
and Syria, Fuad Pasha saw the necessity for authority and modernity under a central ruling body. He sought to rid the area of old tribal rule and put the area under Ottoman authority. Reforms created a more unified state that was under the control and authority of the Ottoman Sultan. Fuad Pasha’s work of centralizing Ottoman control in Syria was an example of Ottoman nationalism that encouraged patriotism in Ottoman territories but also strengthened the hierarchical relationship of the “father figure” of Sultan and his relationship with the citizens.
He retired due to ill health to Nice, France, where he died in 1869.
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 known for his leadership during the Crimean War
Crimean War
The Crimean War was a conflict fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the French Empire, the British Empire, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The war was part of a long-running contest between the major European powers for influence over territories of the declining...
and in the Tanzimat
Tanzimat
The Tanzimât , meaning reorganization of the Ottoman Empire, was a period of reformation that began in 1839 and ended with the First Constitutional Era in 1876. The Tanzimât reform era was characterized by various attempts to modernize the Ottoman Empire, to secure its territorial integrity against...
reforms within the Ottoman Empire. He was also a noted Freemason
Freemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
.
Career
Fuad Pasha was a “Europeanized” man who was fluent in FrenchFrench language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
and was able to negotiate on the same level as his European counterparts. He became the first secretary of the Ottoman embassy in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1840. During 1848 he was employed on special missions in the principalities and at St. Petersburg; and in 1851, he was sent to Egypt
Egypt Province, Ottoman Empire
Egypt was conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1517, following the Ottoman–Mamluk War and the loss of Syria to the Ottomans in 1516. Egypt was administrated as an eyalet of the Ottoman Empire from 1517 until 1867, with an interruption during the French occupation of 1798 to 1801.Egypt was always a...
as a special commissioner. In that year he became minister for foreign affairs, a post to which he was reappointed on four subsequent occasions and which he held at the time of his death.
During the Crimean War he commanded the troops on the Greek frontier and distinguished himself by his bravery. He was the Ottoman delegate at the Treaty of Paris
Treaty of Paris (1856)
The Treaty of Paris of 1856 settled the Crimean War between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, Second French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The treaty, signed on March 30, 1856 at the Congress of Paris, made the Black Sea neutral territory, closing it to all...
in 1856; was charged with a mission to Syria
Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria is a European reference to the area that during European Renaissance from the late 15th to early 18th century was called the Levant within the early period of the Ottoman Empire, the Orient until the early 19th century, and Greater Syria until 1918...
in 1860; served as 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...
two times (see succession box below); and minister of war. He accompanied the sultan Abdülaziz
Abdülâziz
Abdülaziz I or Abd Al-Aziz, His Imperial Majesty was the 32nd Sultan of the Ottoman Empire and reigned between 25 June 1861 and 30 May 1876...
on his journey to Egypt and Europe.
Fuad Pasha ordered the execution of Jamal al-Din Hamdan
Jamal al-Din Hamdan
Jamal al-Din Hamdan was a Lebanese Druze Sheikh living in the nineteenth century in Mount Lebanon.Following the Lebanese civil war of 1859-1860, Hamdan was sentenced to death by the Ottoman Turkish authorities alongside ten other Druze sheikhs : Sa'id Jumblat, Hussein Talhuq, As'ad Talhuq, Qasim...
and ten other Lebanese Druze
Druze
The Druze are an esoteric, monotheistic religious community, found primarily in Syria, Lebanon, Israel, and Jordan, which emerged during the 11th century from Ismailism. The Druze have an eclectic set of beliefs that incorporate several elements from Abrahamic religions, Gnosticism, Neoplatonism...
sheikhs for their participation in the atrocities of the Lebanese civil war of 1859-1860 against the Maronite Christians, though this sentence was not carried out.
Tanzimat Period
Fuad Pasha was an important reformer during the Tanzimat period. The goal of the program was to, “promote reform, fend off the powers and forestall rebellion” . He (along with officials such as Ali Pasha, Mustafa Reshid PashaKoca Mustafa Resid Pasha
Mustafa Reshid Pasha was an Ottoman statesman and diplomat.Born in Istanbul, he entered the public service at an early age and rose rapidly, becoming ambassador in Paris and in London , minister for foreign affairs , again ambassador in London , and in Paris . Appointed governor of Adrianople in...
and Midhat Pasha) was an official that was dedicated to the implementation of all of the reforms that came along with the program. He had hoped that the Tanzimat reforms would, “find salvation for the empire by creating among its peoples the bond of equal citizenship based on Ottoman nationality, the obstacles they faced were too great and the time too late.” He realized the importance of change and saw it as a necessary evolution that the Ottoman Empire needed to make. However, in his efforts to create an image of a modern Ottoman Empire, Fuad Pasha believed that by giving non-Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
subjects of the Empire equal rights via the Millet
Millet (Ottoman Empire)
Millet is a term for the confessional communities in the Ottoman Empire. It refers to the separate legal courts pertaining to "personal law" under which communities were allowed to rule themselves under their own system...
system would “dull their nationalist and separatist tendencies.” He, along with the other three reformers, believed that in order to save the empire, a sense of “Ottomanism” needed to be created.
Due to his success at executing the changes of the Tanzimat program, Pasha was went to Syria during 1860 to enforce Ottoman law after the outbreak of war
1860 Lebanon conflict
The 1860 Lebanon conflict was the culmination of a peasant uprising which began in the north of Lebanon as a rebellion of Maronite peasants against their Druze overlords. It soon spread to the south of the country where the rebellion changed its character, with Druze turning against the Maronite...
. He arrived in 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...
on July 17, 1860, armed with extreme power granted to him by the Sultan
Ottoman Dynasty
The Ottoman Dynasty ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1299 to 1922, beginning with Osman I , though the dynasty was not proclaimed until Orhan Bey declared himself sultan...
. His goal was to protect the Ottoman power over the region as well as keep out the European influence For example, in order to send a message to the anti-Ottoman forces; he had some Damascus
Damascus
Damascus , commonly known in Syria as Al Sham , and as the City of Jasmine , is the capital and the second largest city of Syria after Aleppo, both are part of the country's 14 governorates. In addition to being one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world, Damascus is a major...
notables hanged for their lack of regard for the Ottoman commitment to a multi-ethnic state
Multiethnic society
A multiethnic society is one with members belonging to more than one ethnic group, in contrast to societies which are ethnically homogenous. In practice, virtually all contemporary national societies are multiethnic...
. Pasha saw the events of 1860 in Syria as the converse to the idea of modernism as exhibited by Europe. He chaired the Beirut Commission in 1860 that included Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, Russia
Russian Empire
The Russian Empire was a state that existed from 1721 until the Russian Revolution of 1917. It was the successor to the Tsardom of Russia and the predecessor of the Soviet Union...
, Austria
Austrian Empire
The Austrian Empire was a modern era successor empire, which was centered on what is today's Austria and which officially lasted from 1804 to 1867. It was followed by the Empire of Austria-Hungary, whose proclamation was a diplomatic move that elevated Hungary's status within the Austrian Empire...
and Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
.
In an attempt to centralize and stabilize authority in Syria, while maintaining British interests, A British representative suggested Fuad Pasha as a the leader for the region of Syria. Fuad Pasha, who was “Europeanized”, seemed to be aligned with Western ideals that the British wanted to preserve in the Middle East. In the area of Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon
Mount Lebanon , as a geographic designation, is a Lebanese mountain range, averaging above 2,200 meters in height and receiving a substantial amount of precipitation, including snow, which averages around four meters deep. It extends across the whole country along about , parallel to the...
and Syria, Fuad Pasha saw the necessity for authority and modernity under a central ruling body. He sought to rid the area of old tribal rule and put the area under Ottoman authority. Reforms created a more unified state that was under the control and authority of the Ottoman Sultan. Fuad Pasha’s work of centralizing Ottoman control in Syria was an example of Ottoman nationalism that encouraged patriotism in Ottoman territories but also strengthened the hierarchical relationship of the “father figure” of Sultan and his relationship with the citizens.
He retired due to ill health to Nice, France, where he died in 1869.