Ahmed Vefik Pasha

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Ahmet Vefik Paşa (Istanbul, July 3, 1823-April 2, 1891), was a famous Turkish statesman, diplomat, playwright and translator of the Tanzimat period. He was commissioned with top-rank governmental duties, including presiding over the first Ottoman parliament. He also became a grand vizier for two brief periods. Vefik also initiated the first Western style theatre plays in Bursa and translated Molière's major works.

He started his education in 1831 in Istanbul and later went to Paris with his family where he graduated from Saint Louis College. When he became the ambassador to Tehran, he learned the Persian language. In Tehran, he was the first person to raise his country's flag in an embassy. He declared the embassy soil a Turkish land and started this custom.^{[citation needed]} He was a pioneer of the Pan-Turkism movement. He became the Minister of Education and grand vizier two times. He built a theatre in Bursa when he was made the governor of the city. In 1860, he became the ambassador to France. He wrote the first Turkish Dictionary. He is considered to be the first Turkist of the Ottoman Turks.