Ahmet Tevfik Pasha
The Ottoman Empire's final grand vizier, a steady diplomat who navigated the ship of state through its catastrophic and inevitable wreckage.
1845–1936 (age 91)·Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (1909, 1918–1919, 1920–1922)·Birthday: February 11
Biography
Ahmet Tevfik Pasha was the calm, experienced hand at the helm during the Ottoman Empire's violent dissolution. A career diplomat of Crimean Tatar origin, he served as ambassador in several European capitals, earning respect for his measured demeanor. His first brief term as Grand Vizier in 1909 was followed by two more agonizing appointments: from 1918-1919, he led the government that signed the humiliating Armistice of Mudros, and from 1920-1922, he headed the Ottoman administration in Istanbul while the Turkish War of Independence raged under Mustafa Kemal in Anatolia. His tenure was defined by attempting to negotiate favorable terms with the Allied occupiers, a task made impossible by the rising nationalist tide. He ultimately presided over the office's abolition, closing a six-century chapter of history.
#1 When Ahmet Was Born
The biggest hits of 1845
Ahmet's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1845Born
1850Started school
1858Became a teenager
1861Could drive
President: Abraham Lincoln
1863Could vote
President: Abraham Lincoln
1866Turned 21
President: Andrew Johnson
1875Turned 30
President: Ulysses S. Grant
1885Turned 40
Karl Benz builds the first gasoline-powered automobile
President: Grover Cleveland
1895Turned 50
First public film screening by the Lumiere brothers
President: Grover Cleveland
1905Turned 60
Einstein publishes the theory of special relativity
President: Theodore Roosevelt
1915Turned 70
The Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat
President: Woodrow Wilson
1925Turned 80
The Scopes Trial debates evolution in schools
Home: $4,366President: Calvin Coolidge"Sweet Georgia Brown" — Ben Bernie
1936Died at 91
Jesse Owens wins four golds at the Berlin Olympics
Gas: $0.19/galPresident: Franklin D. Roosevelt"The Way You Look Tonight" — Fred AstaireBest Picture: The Great Ziegfeld
Key Achievements
- Served as the last Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire, holding the office three separate times.
- Represented the empire as a diplomat for decades, including lengthy postings as ambassador to Germany and the United Kingdom.
- Led the Ottoman delegation at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919, attempting to mitigate harsh Allied terms.
- Oversaw the formal dissolution of the Grand Vizierate in 1922 after the Sultanate was abolished.
Did You Know?
After the 1934 Surname Law in Turkey, he adopted the surname 'Okday'.
He was the father of Osman Nuri Okday, who later served as a Turkish diplomat.
His final term as Grand Vizier was from Istanbul, while a rival government (the Grand National Assembly) operated in Ankara.
“My only duty is to preserve the state until a final settlement is reached.”
