Background
Mustafa Reşid Pasha was born on March 13, 1800 in Constantinople.
Mustafa Reşid Pasha was born on March 13, 1800 in Constantinople.
Mustafa Reshid served five times as prime minister under Sultan Abdul-Medjid I (r. 1839 - 1861) and did more than any other individual to set the Ottoman Empire on the road to modernization and revival. He served as ambassador to France (1834 - 1836) and to England (1836 - 1837) and rose to be foreign minister (1837 - 1838).
It was under his direct influence that the newly crowned Sultan Abdul-Medjid proclaimed the famous Hatt-i HümayunHumayun (Imperial Rescript) of Gülhane, Gulhane, which inaugurated the Tanzimat reforms. In later years, Mustafa Reshid served as prime minister, foreign minister, and ambassador to various European capitals as well as president of numerous Tanzimat reform councils.
