Ahmed Izzet Pasha

Not to be confused with the 19th-century Ottoman provincial governor, Izzet Ahmed Pasha. For other people with similar names, see Izzet Pasha or Ahmed Pasha.
Ahmed Izzet
احمد عزت پاشا
Pasha

Ahmed Izzet, c. 1913
Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
In office
14 October 1918 – 8 November 1918
Monarch Mehmed VI
Preceded by Talaat Pasha
Succeeded by Ahmet Tevfik Pasha
Minister of Foreign Affairs
In office
13 June 1921 – 4 November 1922[1]
Prime Minister Ahmet Tevfik Pasha
Preceded by Abdüllatif Safa Bey
Succeeded by Office abolished
Minister of War
In office
14 October 1918 – 8 November 1918
Prime Minister Himself
Preceded by Enver Pasha
Succeeded by Kölemen Abdullah Pasha
In office
11 June 1913 – 3 January 1914
Prime Minister Said Halim Pasha
Preceded by Mahmud Şevket Pasha
Succeeded by Enver Pasha
Personal details
Born 1864
Manastır (Bitola), Ottoman Empire
Died 31 March 1937 (aged 72–73)
Istanbul, Turkey
Nationality Ottoman (until 1923)
Turkish (after 1923)
Political party Committee of Union and Progress
Alma mater Ottoman Military Academy (Class of 1884) Cav. 1st
Religion Sunni Islam
Military service
Allegiance  Ottoman Empire
Years of service 1884–1922
Rank Marshal
Commands Second Army
Eastern Army Group
Battles/wars Balkan Wars
World War I

Ahmed Izzet Pasha (1864 – 31 March 1937), known as Ahmet İzzet Furgaç after the Surname Law of 1934, was an Ottoman general in World War I. He was also one of the last grand viziers of the Ottoman Empire (14 October 1918 - 8 November 1918) and its last Minister of Foreign Affairs.

He was born in Manastır into an Albanian family.[2][3] His father was prominent civil servant of the area. From 1887 to 1890 he taught strategy and military geography in the Ottoman War College,[4] while later until 1894 he studied in Germany under Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz.[3] As a result of his participation in the Greco-Turkish War he was promoted to the rank of Miralay (colonel). In 1908 after the Young Turk Revolution he became chief of the Ottoman general staff. During that period he was opposed to the reprisals of the Ottoman army under Mahmud Shevket Pasha against civilians during the Albanian revolts of the era. His strong opposal to Mahmud Pasha's policies led to his dismissal and reappointment in Yemen in February 1911.[3]

He commanded the Third Army in the Caucasus in the early phases of World War I before being relieved of that command. In 1916, he was appointed commander of the Second Army which fought in the Caucasus alongside the Third Army.[2] In 1917, he was appointed to command the Anatolian group of armies, which comprised the Second and Third Armies.[5] The highest rank he held was that of marshal.

After the war, he was called upon to lead the government that signed the armistice of Mudros.[2] Although his period of office was of short duration, he was notable by being the signatory of the Armistice of Mudros on behalf the Ottoman Empire on 30 October 1918, thus putting an end to the First World War for Turkey. He also served concurrently as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during his premiership. He was dismissed on 8 November 1918. Afterwards, he was criticized for allowing all three of the Three Pashas to escape abroad on the night of 2–3 November before they could be put on trial in the Turkish Courts-Martial of 1919–20 for crimes including atrocities against the Armenians of the Empire. Ahmed Izzet Pasha spent much of his 25 days of premiership bedridden after catching the 1918 Spanish flu.

After the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire and the subsequent loss of the title of pasha after the establishment of the Republic of Turkey, Ahmed Izzet adopted the surname Furgaç in 1934. He died on 31 March 1937 in Istanbul.

Ahmed Izzet Pasha's decisions during the Caucasus Campaign have also been criticized and are regarded as one of the factors of its failure, while his subsequent high reputation in Turkey has been attributed to his successful activity during the Turkish War of Independence.[6]

See also

References

  1. ↑ Atatürk Research Center - Halâs-I Vatan Cemiyeti
  2. 1 2 3 W.E.D. Allen and Paul Muratoff, Caucasian Battlefields, A History of Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border, 1828-1921, 376, n 1. ISBN 0-89839-296-9
  3. 1 2 3 Handan, Akmeşe (2005). The Birth of Modern Turkey: The Ottoman Military and the March to WWI. I.B.Tauris. pp. 25–98. ISBN 1-85043-797-1.
  4. ↑ Harp Akademileri Komutanlığı, Harp Akademilerinin 120 Yılı, İstanbul, 1968, p. 19. (Turkish)
  5. ↑ W.E.D. Allen and Paul Muratoff, Caucasian Battlefields, A History of Wars on the Turco-Caucasian Border, 1828-1921, 437. ISBN 0-89839-296-9
  6. ↑ Erickson, Edward (2001). Ordered to die: a history of the Ottoman army in the First World War. Greenwood Publishing Group. p. 220. ISBN 1-85043-797-1.

External links

Political offices
Preceded by
Said Halim Pasha		 Minister of War
11 June 1913 – 3 January 1914 		Succeeded by
Enver Pasha
Preceded by
Talaat Pasha		 Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire
14 October 1918 – 8 November 1918 		Succeeded by
Ahmet Tevfik Pasha
Preceded by
Enver Pasha		 Minister of War
14 October 1918 – 8 November 1918 		Succeeded by
Kölemen Abdullah Pasha
Preceded by
Abdüllatif Safa Bey		 Minister of Foreign Affairs
13 June 1921 – 4 November 1922 		Office abolished
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