Mehmed Orhan

Mehmed Orhan (Ottoman Turkishمحمد اورخان 1) July 1909 – 5/12 March 1994) was the 42nd head of the Ottoman dynasty from 1983 to 1994. He succeeded as head of the Ottoman dynasty on 9 December 1983, following the death of Ali Vâsib. If reigning, he would have been styled as Sultan Orhan II.

Life

He was born at Serencebey Palace or at Kızıltoprak, Asia Minor, the son of Prince Mehmed Abdul Kadir, Captain of the Ottoman Army, by his second wife Mihriban Hanımefendi whose marriage not recognized by the Imperial House, and grandson of Abdul Hamid II by his fourth wife Bidar Kadınefendi.

Mehmed Orhan worked as a shipbuilder in Brazil, a taxi driver in Beirut and Damascus, a cemetery attendant and an aide to King Zog of Albania. He died in Nice and was buried there.

In a 1990 feature in Life magazine, he said his legacy is "both sacred and laughable," and said, "To be Ottoman is to know how to breathe with time."^[1]

Marriages and issue

Mehmed Orhan first married Nafiye Yeghen (Cairo, 1913 – ?) in January 1933 and later married Margaretha Irma Fournier in Paris in 1943. He had one daughter by first wife and one stepson by second wife:

• Fatma Necla Sultan (born Cairo, 14 September 1933)
• Mehmed Selim Orhan (born Paris, 3 October 1943)

References

• The History Files: The Ottoman Empire
• Oldest Ottoman to come home at last

Claimants to the Ottoman throne and Head of the House of Osman (since 1944)     1944–1954 Ahmed Nihad 1954–1973 Osman Fuad 1973–1977 Mehmed Abdulaziz 1977–1983 Ali Vâsib 1983–1994 Mehmed Orhan 1994–2009 Ertuğrul Osman 2009–present Bayezid Osman Current heir Dündar Aliosman See also Ottoman Dynasty