Prince Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu is a British-born member of the Ottoman imperial family and an insurance professional. Born in High Wycombe, England, in 1979, he descends from Sultan Murad V and Sultan Mehmed V Reşad through his paternal grandparents. His career has centred on insurance broking in London and, more recently, in Muscat, Oman.
Background
Selim Süleyman Osmanoğlu was born on 15 December 1979 in High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, England. He was the youngest son of Prince Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu and Athena Joy, born Christoforides. His birth in England reflected the circumstances of a dynasty that had been forced out of Turkey more than five decades earlier.
His ancestry runs through the Ottoman imperial line on his father's side. His grandfather, Prince Ali Vasıb Efendi, led the Imperial House of Osman as its 41st head from 1977 until his death in 1983. Through him Selim is a great-great-great-grandson of Sultan Murad V, the 33rd sovereign of the House of Osman. His grandmother, Princess Emine Mükbile Sultan, links him to Sultan Mehmed V Reşad Han Gazi, the 35th sovereign, as a great-great-grandson.
The family adopted the surname Osmanoğlu, meaning son of Osman. Its senior members were exiled in 1924, after the establishment of the Turkish Republic and the abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate. Female members of the dynasty were allowed to return after 1951, and male members after 1973.
Interest in the living members of the Ottoman family grew after 2000, both in Turkey and abroad. In 2006 relatives gathered at Dolmabahçe Palace for the presentation of the documentary Osmanoğlu'nun Sürgünü, which followed the descendants of the family exiled in 1924. It was produced by TRT, the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, Turkey's public broadcaster. Extensive coverage of the event and the success of the series raised the profile of the imperial family.
The family's public life was also shaped by deaths and succession. Ertuğrul Osman, head of the family from 1994, died in September 2009, and thousands attended his funeral at the Blue Mosque in Istanbul. Headship then passed to Şehzade Bayezid Osman in 2009, to Şehzade Dündar Ali Osman in 2017 and to Şehzade Harun Osman in 2021. In July 2010 Selim's sister, Princess Ayşe Gülnev Sultan, held a party to celebrate the 70th birthday of their father, attended by relatives including Sultanzade Prince Ali bin Naif of Jordan and Sultanzade Prince Abbas Hilmi.
Education
Selim holds a degree in Business and Economics from Kingston University in London. The institution began in 1899 as Kingston Technical Institute, which offered courses in chemistry, electrical wiring, construction and nursing. In 1917 Gipsy Hill College, a teacher-training college, opened as one of its predecessors.
During the years of his study the institution was known as Kingston Polytechnic, a term for the public higher-education colleges of Britain that offered vocational and professional courses. It gained university status in 1992 and is now a public research university in Kingston upon Thames, in south-west London.
Selim has had a career in the insurance industry in the City of London, the historic financial district of the capital. His professional standing rests on several qualifications: he is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a Chartered Insurance Broker, and a Fellow of the Institute of Risk Management.
The Chartered Insurance Institute traces its origins to the first local insurance institute, founded in Manchester in 1873. It received a royal charter in 1912 and confers the Associateship and Fellowship designations that mark professional achievement in insurance. The Institute of Risk Management was founded in April 1986 as an awarding organisation, responding to demand for a diploma-level qualification in risk management. It is headquartered in London and focuses on enterprise risk management.
Selim is currently employed by Aon, a multinational insurance broker, in Muscat, the capital of Oman. Insurance brokers arrange cover between clients and insurers, and the role connects corporate and personal clients with the insurance market.
Membership
Selim is a Fellow of the Chartered Insurance Institute, a professional body that sets standards for insurance practitioners and works to maintain public trust in the insurance and financial planning profession. He is also a Fellow of the Institute of Risk Management, a London-based body that provides qualifications, training and professional standards for risk managers.
Fellow
Chartered Insurance Institute
,
United Kingdom
Fellow
Institute of Risk Management
,
United Kingdom
Connections
His mother, Athena Joy, was born Christoforides. His father, Prince Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu, was the son of Prince Ali Vasıb Efendi and Princess Emine Mükbile Sultan. His sister, Ayşe Gülnev Sultan, is a daughter of Prince Osman Selaheddin.
Selim is married to Alev Öcal. A 2015 Daily Sabah report described the birth of their daughter, Esma Emira, at the Esma Sultan Palace in Istanbul, noting that she was a grandchild of Osman Selaheddin.
Father:
Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu
Prince and son of Ali Vasıb Efendi; celebrated his 70th birthday in July 2010.
Mother:
Athena Joy Christoforides
Born Christoforides and married to Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu.
Wife:
Alev Öcal
Mother of their daughter Esma Emira.
Daughter:
Esma Emira
Born at the Esma Sultan Palace in Istanbul, according to a 2015 report.
Sister:
Ayşe Gülnev Osmanoğlu
Daughter of Osman Selaheddin Osmanoğlu; hosted a party for her father's 70th birthday in July 2010.
Grandfather:
Ali Vasib Osmanoğlu
Served as the 41st head of the Imperial House of Osman from 1977 to 1983.
grandmother:
Emine Mükbile Osmanoğlu
Wife of Ali Vasib Osmanoğlu and a descendant of Sultan Mehmed V Reşad through her ancestry.
References
Osmanoğlu family
Encyclopedia article on the Osmanoğlu family, the descendants of the House of Osman, with a genealogical listing of its imperial princes that includes the subject.
