Midhat Pasha, Ahmet

Born Oct. 18, 1822, in Istanbul; died Apr. 10, 1883 (in some versions, May 7 or 8, 1884), in at-Taif. Turkish statesman.

Midhat Pasha held numerous important administrative and government posts, serving as governor-general of the vilayets of the Danube (1864–68) and Baghdad (1869–72) and as grand vizier (1872, 1876–77). He sought to carry out reforms aimed at overcoming the economic, political, and cultural backwardness of the Ottoman Empire while preserving Turkish rule over the subjugated peoples. After joining the New Ottomans movement, Midhat Pasha obtained the proclamation of the first Turkish constitution on Dec. 23, 1876. However, in February 1877, on the command of Sultan Abdul Hamid II, he was banished to Europe. In 1881 he was arrested and condemned on the false charge of having murdered Sultan Abdul Aziz in 1876, and was exiled to at-Taif in Arabia. There he was killed by assassins sent by Abdul Hamid II.