Ahmed Vefik Pasha
Ahmed Vefik Pasha , was an Ottoman statesman, diplomat, scholar, playwright, and translator during the Tanzimat and First Constitutional Era periods. He was commissioned with top-rank governmental duties, including presiding over the first Ottoman Parliament in 1877. He also served as Grand Vizier for two brief periods. Vefik also established the first Ottoman theatre and initiated the first Western style theatre plays in Bursa and translated Molière's major works. His portrait was depicted on a former Turkish postcard stamp.
Biography
Ahmed Vefik Pasha was born of Greek extraction, his ancestors having previously converted to Islam, like many other Greek Muslims particularly from Crete and Southern Macedonia in what is now northwestern Republic of Greece. He started his education in 1831 in Constantinople and later went to Paris with his family, where he graduated from Saint Louis College.
Ahmed Vefik became the Minister of Education of the Ottoman Empire 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 Ottoman ambassador to France. He wrote the first Turkish dictionary and is considered to be the among the first Pan-Turkists.
