Medhat Pasha

Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
In office 19 December 1876 – 5 February 1877
Monarch	Abdul Hamid II
Preceded by	Mehmed Rushdi Pasha
Succeeded by	Ibrahim Edhem Pasha
In office 31 July 1872 – 19 October 1872
Monarch	Abdülaziz Murad V
Preceded by	Mahmud Nedim Pasha
Succeeded by	Mehmed Rushdi Pasha
Personal details
Born	18 October 1822 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died	26 April 1883 (aged 60) Ta'if, Ottoman Hejaz
Parliament	Parliament of the Ottoman Empire

Ahmed Şefik Midhat Pasha (18 October 1822 – 26 April 1883), was one of the leading Ottoman statesmen during the late Tanzimat period. He is most famous for leading the Ottoman constitutional movement of 1876 and introducing the First Constitutional Era, but was also a leading figure of reform in the educational and provincial administrations. He was part of a governing elite which recognized the crisis the Empire was in and considered reform to be a dire need. Midhat Pasha is described as a person with a liberal attitude and is often considered as one of the founders of the Ottoman Parliament.

He was described by Caroline Finkel as "a true representative of Tanzimat optimism, who believed that separatist tendencies could be best countered by demonstrating the benefits of good government." For the British, his reforming zeal was an aberration, based on individual strength of personality. They believed Midhat Pasha could not succeed, citing the inefficient and corrupt nature of the Ottoman state, and the fractured nature of its society.

The Midhat Pasha Souq in Damascus still bears his name.

Midhat Pasha was born in Istanbul in the Islamic month of Safar, 1238 AH (which began on 18 October 1822), into a well-established family of Muslim scholars. Born into an ilmiyye family, he received a private and medrese education. His father was Hadjdji 'Air Efendi-Zade Hadjdji Hafiz Mehemmed Eshref Efendi, a native of Ruse. The family seem to have been professed Bektashis.

He spent his youth in his parents' home in Vidin, Lovech and later Istanbul, where his father held judicial office. In 1836 he worked in the secretariat of the grand vizier, and in 1854 the Grand Vizier Kıbrıslı Mehmed Pasha gave him the task of pacifying the province of Adrianople, and he succeeded in putting down banditry in the Balkans in 1854-1856. In 1858 he spent six months traveling in western Europe for studies, including in Vienna, Paris, Brussels and London.

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