Koca Ragıp Pasha, or more formally Koca Mehmet Ragıp Pasha (1698 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...

, also known as Constantinople - 1763 İstanbul) was an Ottoman (Turkish)

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...

 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...

. He is also known as a good poet.

Early years

His father was Şevki Mustafa, a bureaucrat of the Ottoman Empire. After completing his education, he worked in various parts of the empire as a civil servant. He worked as the chief treasurer in Bagdat, Iraq

Iraq

Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....

  (then a part of the Ottoman Empire), as the secretary of the grand vizier, as the chief secretary of the porte ( a post equivalent to modern foreign minister) in 1740 and as the governor 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...

 (then a part of the Ottoman Empire) in 1743.

As a grand vizier

He was appointed as a grand vizier in 12 January 1757 by the sultan Osman III

Osman III

Osman III or Othman IIIText not available was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1754 to 1757.-Biography:...

. Ten months later, Osman III died and he continued under the new sultan Mustafa III

Mustafa III

Mustafa III was the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1757 to 1774. He was a son of Sultan Ahmed III and was succeeded by his brother Abdul Hamid I . He was born in Edirne...

 with whom he had very good relations. He married to Saliha, the sultan’s sister and gained the title damat. ( bridegroom).

Ragıp’s term was a part of Ottoman decline

Decline of the Ottoman Empire

The Decline of the Ottoman Empire is the period that followed after the Stagnation of the Ottoman Empire in which the empire experienced several economic and political setbacks. Directly affecting the Empire at this time was Russian imperialism...

. But he did his best to reform Ottoman administration and treasury. He was an adherent of peace policy and Ottoman Empire lived its last peaceful days during his term. His term in the office almost coincides with the Seven Years' War

Seven Years' War

The Seven Years' War was a global military war between 1756 and 1763, involving most of the great powers of the time and affecting Europe, North America, Central America, the West African coast, India, and the Philippines...

 in Europe

Europe

Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...

. But he was able to keep the Ottoman Empire out of war . Upon his death Mustafa III wrote an elegy expressing his sorrow.