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Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ottoman Empire)

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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ottoman Turkish: خارجيه نظارتی; Turkish: Hariciye Nezâreti; French: Ministère des Affaires Étrangères[1]) was the department of the Imperial Government responsible for the foreign relations of the Ottoman Empire, from its establishment in 1836 to its abolition in 1922. Before 1836, foreign relations were managed by the Reis ül-Küttab, who was replaced by a Western-style ministry as part of the Tanzimat modernization reforms. The successor of the Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ottoman Turkish: امورِ خارجيه نظارتی
Umur-ı Hariciye Nezâreti
Agency overview
Formed1836
Superseding agency
JurisdictionOttoman Empire Ottoman Empire
HeadquartersSublime Porte, Constantinople
Parent agencyGrand Vezierate

French was officially the working language of the ministry in the period after the Crimean War.[2]

History

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Foreign relations were previously managed by the Reis ül-Küttab, a position within the Imperial Council, and then the Porte.

During the Tanzimat era, the Ottoman Foreign Ministry turned out to have more powers than typical foreign ministries. In addition to its eponymous responsibilities, it had some powers over internal reform legislation, and governed over non-Muslim and foreign subjects. The ministry administered foreign commerce in addition to it's political relations. A large part of the oversized responsibility of this ministry had to do with the prominence of Mustafa Reşid Pasha, who's legacy as long time foreign minister held great inertia.[3]

Many of the "Men of the Tanzimat," statesmen whom defined reorganization and reform efforts during the mid-19th century, had their beginnings in the Translation Office, and would alternate between being Grand Vizier and Foreign Minister: Mustafa Reşit Pasha served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 4 times and as Grand Vizier 6 times. Aali Pasha served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 8 times and as Grand Vizier 5 times, while Fuat Pasha served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 5 times and as Grand Vizier twice.

Non-Muslim Ottoman were also appointed Foreign Minister in four instances. Alexander Karatheodori Pasha and then Yannis Sava Pasha (Greek) conducted the negotiations for the Treaty of Berlin from 1878–1879, Gabriel Noradoungian (Armenian Apostolic) in 1912–1913, and Yusuf Franko Pasha Coussa (Catholic Greek) in 1919.

Ahmed İzzet Pasha, was the last Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ottoman Empire. After the foundation of the Republic, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was moved to Ankara and was renamed twice: from Hariciye Nezareti, it was first Hariciye Vekaleti until taking its modern name Dışişleri Bakanlığı.

The ministry shared the Bâb-ı Âli building with the Grand Vizier.

Organisation

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According to Shaw and Shaw, during the Tanzimat era, the ministry was divided into two departments, a foreign section and a secondary section. The foreign section dealt with foreign affairs, foreign trade, reception of foreign dignitaries, reception ranking and protocols for Ottomans, and foreign press supervision. The second section held old Imperial Council departments handling internal affairs which itself had two departments: the Imperial Council itself: Divan-ı Hümayun Kalemi, which issued and recorded all imperial orders, treaties, letters of the sultan to foreign rulers, officials, and governments, and the sanctioning of travel within and outside the empire; and the Department of non-Muslim Religious Affairs [Mezahib-i Gayr-i Müslüm Dairesi], which was divided by millet and issued orders and communiques from not only the Foreign Ministry but from other ministries in the government. Finally there were the two "lesser" sections: the Translation Office, and the Archives Department, which developed into a general archives of the entire Porte.[4]

According to the Corps de droit Ottoman, it was headed by a minister representing the Réis Effendi and a six-member council with sub-secretary of state (mustéchar) leading it. Other major figures included the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the head of the Drogmanat of the Imperial Divan and the Grand Master of Ceremonies (Techrifati-Hardjié) directed by the Introducer of Ambassadors. Its departments included:[1]

  • Accounting (Direction de Comptabilité)
  • Chamber of Jurists (Bab-i-ali Istikharé Odassi, Chambre des Conseillers légistes)
  • Commercial Affairs (Tidjarié, Direction des Affaires Commerciales)
  • Consulates (Chehpendéri, Direction des Consulats)
  • Foreign Correspondence (Tahrirat-i-Hardjié, Direction de la Correspondance étrangère)
  • Foreign Press (Direction de la presse étrangère)
  • Litigation (Oumori-Houkoukié-i-Muhtélita, Direction du Contentieux)
  • Nationalities (Direction des Nationalités)
  • Personnel (Sigilli Ahwal, Direction du Personnel)
  • Translation (Terdjumé, Direction de Traduction)
  • Turkish Correspondence (Mektoubi-Hardjié, Direction de la Correspondance turque)

List of ministers

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b Young, George (1905). Corps de droit ottoman; recueil des codes, lois, règlements, ordonnances et actes les plus importants du droit intérieur, et d'études sur le droit coutumier de l'Empire ottoman (in French). Vol. 3. Clarendon Press. p. 1.
  2. ^ Turkish Yearbook of International Relations. Ankara Üniversitesi Diş Munasebetler Enstitüsü, 2000. (head book says 2000/2 Special Issue of Turkish-American Relations. Issue 31, p. 13. "Chambre des Conseillers Légistes de la Porte as was their title in French, which had, after the Crimean War become the official working language of the Ottoman Foreign Ministry."
  3. ^ Shaw & Shaw 1977, p. 72.
  4. ^ Shaw & Shaw 1977, p. 72–73.
  5. ^ Wasti, Syed Tanvir (2012). "Ahmed Rüstem Bey and the End of an Era". Middle Eastern Studies. 48 (5): 781–796. doi:10.1080/00263206.2012.703616. S2CID 144132608. - Published online 14 August 2012 - Content from notes section specifies the years he was active.

Sources

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  • Shaw, Stanford; Shaw, Ezel (1977). History of the Ottoman Empire and Modern Turkey. Vol. II. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-29166-6.
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