Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha

Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha
Principal architect of Tanzimat Edict of Gülhane (The Ottoman Imperial Edict of Reorganization, proclaimed on 3 November 1839)
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
In office 22 October 1857 – 7 January 1858
Monarch	Abdülmecit I
Preceded by	Mustafa Naili Pasha
Succeeded by	Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha
In office 1 November 1856 – 6 August 1857
Monarch	Abdülmecit I
Preceded by	Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha
Succeeded by	Mustafa Naili Pasha
In office 24 November 1854 – 2 May 1855
Monarch	Abdülmecit I
Preceded by	Kıbrıslı Mehmed Emin Pasha
Succeeded by	Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha
In office 5 March 1852 – 5 August 1852
Monarch	Abdülmecit I
Preceded by	Mehmed Emin Rauf Pasha
Succeeded by	Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha
In office 12 August 1848 – 26 January 1852
Monarch	Abdülmecit I
Preceded by	Ibrahim Sarim Pasha
Succeeded by	Mehmed Emin Rauf Pasha
In office 28 September 1846 – 28 April 1848
Monarch	Abdülmecit I
Preceded by	Mehmed Emin Rauf Pasha
Succeeded by	Ibrahim Sarim Pasha
Personal details
Born	(1800-03-13)13 March 1800 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Died	7 January 1858(1858-01-07) (aged 57) Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Nationality	Turkish

Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha (literally Great Mustafa Reşid Pasha; 13 March 1800 – 7 January 1858) was an Ottoman statesman and diplomat, known best as the chief architect behind the Ottoman government reforms known as Tanzimat.

Born in Constantinople in 1800, Mustafa Reşid entered public service at an early age and rose rapidly, becoming ambassador to France (1834) and to the United Kingdom (1836), minister for foreign affairs (1837), and once again ambassador to the United Kingdom (1838) and to France (1841). In the settlement of the Oriental Crisis of 1840, and during the Crimean War and the ensuing peace negotiations, he rendered important diplomatic services to the Ottoman state. He returned a third time as ambassador to France in 1843. Between 1845 and 1857, he held the office of Grand Vizier six times.

One of the greatest and most versatile statesmen of his time, thoroughly acquainted with European politics and well-versed in national and international affairs, he was a convinced partisan for reform and the principal author of the legislative remodeling of the Ottoman administration known as Tanzimat. His efforts to promote reforms within the government led to the advancement of the careers of many other reformers, such as Fuad Pasha and Mehmed Emin Ali Pasha.

Mustafa Reşid was born on 13 March 1800. His father, Mustafa Efendi, worked as a civil servant, but died when Mustafa Reşid was only ten. Mustafa had been attending a madrasa in hopes of becoming a religious leader. However, when his father died, Reşid was forced to end his education in the madrassa in order to live with his uncle, Ispartalı Ali Pasha, who at the time was a court chamberlain under Sultan Mahmud II. Reşid would then study at a scribal institution. When Ali Pasha was promoted to governor of Morea Eyalet in 1816, Reşid traveled with him.