Ahmed Izzet Pasha

Ahmed İzzet احمد عزت پاشا Pasha
Ahmed İzzet, 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 İzzet 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 İzzet 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 İzzet adopted the surname Furgaç in 1934. He died on 31 March 1937 in Istanbul.

Ahmed İzzet 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

• Armistice of Mudros

References

1. Atatürk Research Center - Halâs-I Vatan Cemiyeti
2. 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. 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

• Works by or about Ahmed Izzet Pasha in libraries (WorldCat catalog)