Kibrisli Mehmed Kamil Pasha
Encyclopedia
Kâmil Pasha also spelled as Kiamil Pasha was an Ottoman
statesman of Turkish Cypriot
origin in the late 19th century and early 20th century, who became, as aside regional or international posts within the Ottoman state structure, grand vizier
of the Empire during four different periods.
He was born in Nicosia
in 1833, son of Captain Salih Ağa from the village of Gaziler, in Northern Cyprus
. His first post was in the household of the Khedive
of Egypt
who at that time was only nominally dependent to the central Ottoman power in İstanbul
. In the course of this appointment he visited London
for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in charge of one of the Khedive's sons. Kiamil's sojourn in England
left in him a lifelong admiration for Britain
and during his career within the Ottoman state, he was always known to be an Anglophile.
Having full command of English
, thenceforth to the close of his career he zealously sought the friendship of England for Turkey
.
After remaining in Egypt for ten years, Mehmed Kamil exchanged the service of Abbas I
for that of the Ottoman Government as of 1860 and for the ensuing nineteen years -that is to say until he first entered the Cabinet-, he filled very numerous administrative appointments in every part of the Empire. He governed, or helped to govern provinces such as Eastern Rumelia
, Hercegovina, Kosovo
, and his native Cyprus
.
Between 1885 and 1913 he filled the office of Grand Vizier four times. His periods of office were;
In May 1913, he returned to his native Cyprus which he had not seen since he had ceased to govern it as far back as 1864.
The reason was no happy one. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, Kamil initially had tried to compromise with the new men in power. But soon he decided to oppose the Young Turk Regime and became a figurehead of the so-called "liberal" (merely conservative-traditionalist) opposition. After the overthrow of the Young Turk Regime in summer 1912, he became Grand-Vizier of the then ruling liberals. But he had no time to consolidate power because the Ottoman Empire got involved in the First Balkan War
of 1912/13 and suffered serious military defeat, accompanied by massacres and mass flight of Muslim inhabitants of the contested Balkan provinces. In January 1913, Kamils government decided to accept severe peace conditions including massive territorial losses. The Young Turks in the military forces used that period of ultimate weakness and governmental unpopularity for their second coup d'état.
On 23 January 1913, Enver Pasha, one of the Young Turk military leaders, burst with some of his associates into the Sublime Porte while the Cabinet was actually in session. One of Envers officers, Yakup Cemil, shot the Minister of War Nazım Pasha and the group pressed Kamil Paşa to resign immediately.
Kamil was put under house arrest and surveillance. The ex-Grand Vizier (who probably was in danger of life) was invited by his British friend Lord Kitchener
to stay with him in Cairo
. After three months in Egypt, Mehmed Kamil Pasha decided to wait a favourable turn of fortune in his native Cyprus.
Five weeks after his return to Cyprus the assassination of his Young Turk successor in the Grand Vizierate, Mahmud Şevket Pasha
, occurred in June 1913, possibly to avenge the murder of Nazım Pasha. The Young Turk regime reacted with persecution of well-known opoosition politicians. The prominent Old Turks were either expelled or had to flee from Turkey. Ahmed Djemal
Paşa, then Young Turk prefect of the capital Constantinople, indicated to Kamil's family that he had to leave the Ottoman Empire or he would be arrested. His family joined his excile.
On 14 November 1913, while full of plans for revisiting England in 1914, Mehmed Kamil Paşa suddenly died of syncope
and was buried in the court of Arab Ahmed Pasha Mosque.
Sir Ronald Storrs, British Governor of Cyprus from 1926 to 1932, caused a memorial to be raised over Mehmed Kamil Pasha's grave. He also composed the English inscription, carved on the headstone below a Turkish one in old lettering. It runs as follows:
His Highness Kiamil Pasha
Son of Captain Salih Agha of Pyroi
Born in Nicosia
in 1833
Treasury Clerk
Commissioner of Larnaca
Director of Evqaf
Four times Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
A Great Turk and
A Great Man.
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 of Turkish Cypriot
Turkish Cypriots
Turkish Cypriots are the ethnic Turks and members of the Turkish-speaking ethnolinguistic community of the Eastern Mediterranean island of Cyprus. The term is used to refer explicitly to the indigenous Turkish Cypriots, whose Ottoman Turkish forbears colonised the island in 1571...
origin in the late 19th century and early 20th century, who became, as aside regional or international posts within the Ottoman state structure, 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...
of the Empire during four different periods.
He was born in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
in 1833, son of Captain Salih Ağa from the village of Gaziler, in Northern Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
. His first post was in the household of the Khedive
Khedive
The term Khedive is a title largely equivalent to the English word viceroy. It was first used, without official recognition, by Muhammad Ali Pasha , the Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, and vassal of the Ottoman Empire...
of Egypt
Egypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
who at that time was only nominally dependent to the central Ottoman power in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
. In the course of this appointment he visited 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...
for the Great Exhibition of 1851 in charge of one of the Khedive's sons. Kiamil's sojourn in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
left in him a lifelong admiration for Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
and during his career within the Ottoman state, he was always known to be an Anglophile.
Having full command of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
, thenceforth to the close of his career he zealously sought the friendship of England for Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
After remaining in Egypt for ten years, Mehmed Kamil exchanged the service of Abbas I
Abbas I of Egypt
Abbas I , , also known as Abbas Hilmi I Pasha Wāli of Egypt and Sudan, was a son of Tusun Pasha and grandson of Muhammad Ali, founder of the reigning dynasty of Egypt and Sudan at the time...
for that of the Ottoman Government as of 1860 and for the ensuing nineteen years -that is to say until he first entered the Cabinet-, he filled very numerous administrative appointments in every part of the Empire. He governed, or helped to govern provinces such as Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia
Eastern Rumelia or Eastern Roumelia was an administratively autonomous province in the Ottoman Empire and Principality of Bulgaria from 1878 to 1908. It was under full Bulgarian control from 1885 on, when it willingly united with the tributary Principality of Bulgaria after a bloodless revolution...
, Hercegovina, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
, and his native Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
.
Between 1885 and 1913 he filled the office of Grand Vizier four times. His periods of office were;
- from 25 September 1885 to 4 September 1891, under Abdülhamid II's reign,
- from 2 October 1895 to 7 November 1895, under Abdülhamid II's reign,
- from 5 August 1908 to 14 February 1909, under Abdülhamid II's reign and during the Second Constitutional Era in the Ottoman Empire,
- and from 29 October 1912 to 23 January 1913, under Mehmed VMehmed VMehmed V Reshad was the 35th Ottoman Sultan. He was the son of Sultan Abdülmecid I. He was succeeded by his half-brother Mehmed VI.-Birth:...
Reşad's reign and during the Second Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire.
In May 1913, he returned to his native Cyprus which he had not seen since he had ceased to govern it as far back as 1864.
The reason was no happy one. After the Young Turk Revolution of 1908, Kamil initially had tried to compromise with the new men in power. But soon he decided to oppose the Young Turk Regime and became a figurehead of the so-called "liberal" (merely conservative-traditionalist) opposition. After the overthrow of the Young Turk Regime in summer 1912, he became Grand-Vizier of the then ruling liberals. But he had no time to consolidate power because the Ottoman Empire got involved in the First Balkan War
First Balkan War
The First Balkan War, which lasted from October 1912 to May 1913, pitted the Balkan League against the Ottoman Empire. The combined armies of the Balkan states overcame the numerically inferior and strategically disadvantaged Ottoman armies and achieved rapid success...
of 1912/13 and suffered serious military defeat, accompanied by massacres and mass flight of Muslim inhabitants of the contested Balkan provinces. In January 1913, Kamils government decided to accept severe peace conditions including massive territorial losses. The Young Turks in the military forces used that period of ultimate weakness and governmental unpopularity for their second coup d'état.
On 23 January 1913, Enver Pasha, one of the Young Turk military leaders, burst with some of his associates into the Sublime Porte while the Cabinet was actually in session. One of Envers officers, Yakup Cemil, shot the Minister of War Nazım Pasha and the group pressed Kamil Paşa to resign immediately.
Kamil was put under house arrest and surveillance. The ex-Grand Vizier (who probably was in danger of life) was invited by his British friend Lord Kitchener
Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener
Field Marshal Horatio Herbert Kitchener, 1st Earl Kitchener KG, KP, GCB, OM, GCSI, GCMG, GCIE, ADC, PC , was an Irish-born British Field Marshal and proconsul who won fame for his imperial campaigns and later played a central role in the early part of the First World War, although he died halfway...
to stay with him in Cairo
Cairo
Cairo , is the capital of Egypt and the largest city in the Arab world and Africa, and the 16th largest metropolitan area in the world. Nicknamed "The City of a Thousand Minarets" for its preponderance of Islamic architecture, Cairo has long been a centre of the region's political and cultural life...
. After three months in Egypt, Mehmed Kamil Pasha decided to wait a favourable turn of fortune in his native Cyprus.
Five weeks after his return to Cyprus the assassination of his Young Turk successor in the Grand Vizierate, Mahmud Şevket Pasha
Mahmud Sevket Pasha
Mahmud Shevket Pasha was an Ottoman general and statesman of Arab and Georgian descent. Some sources also note Chechen or Circassian ancestry. He was born in Baghdad where he finished his primary education before going on to the Military Academy in Constantinople. He joined the army in 1882 as...
, occurred in June 1913, possibly to avenge the murder of Nazım Pasha. The Young Turk regime reacted with persecution of well-known opoosition politicians. The prominent Old Turks were either expelled or had to flee from Turkey. Ahmed Djemal
Ahmed Djemal
Djemal Pasha or Ahmed Djemal , was a Young Turk and member of the Three Pashas. Ahmed Djemal was also Mayor of Istanbul.- Biography :...
Paşa, then Young Turk prefect of the capital Constantinople, indicated to Kamil's family that he had to leave the Ottoman Empire or he would be arrested. His family joined his excile.
On 14 November 1913, while full of plans for revisiting England in 1914, Mehmed Kamil Paşa suddenly died of syncope
Syncope (medicine)
Syncope , the medical term for fainting, is precisely defined as a transient loss of consciousness and postural tone characterized by rapid onset, short duration, and spontaneous recovery due to global cerebral hypoperfusion that most often results from hypotension.Many forms of syncope are...
and was buried in the court of Arab Ahmed Pasha Mosque.
Sir Ronald Storrs, British Governor of Cyprus from 1926 to 1932, caused a memorial to be raised over Mehmed Kamil Pasha's grave. He also composed the English inscription, carved on the headstone below a Turkish one in old lettering. It runs as follows:
His Highness Kiamil Pasha
Son of Captain Salih Agha of Pyroi
Born in Nicosia
Nicosia
Nicosia from , known locally as Lefkosia , is the capital and largest city in Cyprus, as well as its main business center. Nicosia is the only divided capital in the world, with the southern and the northern portions divided by a Green Line...
in 1833
Treasury Clerk
Commissioner of Larnaca
Larnaca
Larnaca, is the third largest city on the southern coast of Cyprus after Nicosia and Limassol. It has a population of 72,000 and is the island's second largest commercial port and an important tourist resort...
Director of Evqaf
Four times Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
A Great Turk and
A Great Man.