Mustafa Reşid Pasha

Who was Mustafa Reşid Pasha?

Koca Mustafa Reşid Pasha was an Ottoman statesman and diplomat, known best as the chief architect behind the Ottoman government reforms known as Tanzimat.

Born in Istanbul in 1800, he entered public service at an early age and rose rapidly, becoming ambassador to France and to the United Kingdom, minister for foreign affairs, and once again ambassador to the United Kingdom and to France. He would 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 brilliant 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.

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.