Ali Vâsib was an Ottoman prince. From 1977 to his death in 1983, he was the 41st head of the Imperial House of Osman, an Ottoman royal dynasty. Much of his life was spent in exile. If reigning, he would have been Sultan Ali I.
Vasib was educated at the Galatasaray and Harbiye Colleges in Istanbul. He attained the rank of Lieutenant in the Ottoman army infantry. He achieved the "Collar of the Hanedan-ı-Ali-Osman" and the "Mecidi Nişan", 1st Class.
House arrest
Vasib spent his first year of life at the Çırağan Palace, Ortaköy, Istanbul, Turkey. From 1876, the Ciragan palace served as a place of house arrest for Murad V and his family. In that year, Murad was deposed from the role of Sultan by his brother, Abdülhamid. The restrictions imposed on the former Sultan and his family were not lifted until Murad's death in 1904. Vasib lived in Istanbul until March 1924.
Exile
After the formation of the republic of Turkey in 1923 and the abolition of the Ottoman Sultanate and the Caliphate in the following year, Vasib and other members of his family were forced into exile. They left Istanbul from Sirkeci railway station. Vasib lived in Budapest for a few months, before settling in Nice, France. Other family members moved to the South of France and to Italy, including Vahideddin, who went to San Remo; and Abdulmecid, to Nice, after a short time in Switzerland.
French passports
The travel documents issued by the Turkish Republic to the members of the House of Osman on their exile were valid for only one year. Vasib intervened with the French government to obtain passports for them. Vasib made contact with the French minister, Count Castellane through General Toulouse and his son, Captain Toulouse, who was a friend. The French passports listed the family as having Ottoman nationality and acknowledged their imperial titles.
Vasib was permitted to return to Turkey in 1974. From that time, he visited annually and his wife lived in a humble rented flat in the old part of the city near Sultan Ahmed Square. Vasib's memoirs have been published in Turkish. Vasib's son, Osman Selaheddin, transcribed the work from Ottoman Turkish script to present-day Turkish script.
Succession
On 19 January 1977, following the death of his cousin, Mehmed Abdülaziz, Vasib became head of the House of Osman. Had Vâsib become the reigning sultan, he would have been "Sultan Ali I".
Death
On 9 December 1983, in Alexandria, Vasib died from a stroke. He was 80. He was buried in Alexandria and later his remains were moved to Sultan Reşad Mausoleum, Eyüb. At the time of his death, he was the oldest living Ottoman prince. On his death, the Monarchist League wrote:"Prince Ali Vasib will be remembered as a man of great charm. His ease of manner and his gifts as a raconteur were the hallmarks of one of the last of the grands seigneurs of the Gotha."
