Ahmed Izzet Pasha

Ahmed Izzet Pasha (1864 – 31 March 1937), known as Ahmet İzzet Furgaç after the Turkish Surname Law of 1934, was an Ottoman general during 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.

Early life and career


Ahmed Izzet was born in Nasliç, Manastir Vilayet, into an Albanian family. His father was a prominent civil servant of the area. From 1887 to 1890 he was educated in strategy and military geography in the Ottoman Military College, while later until 1894 he studied in Germany under Colmar Freiherr von der Goltz. 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 Izzet became chief of the Ottoman general staff.

He was opposed to the military actions of the Ottoman army under Mahmud Shevket Pasha against Albanian nationalists during the Albanian revolts of 1910. His strong opposition to Shevket Pasha's policies led to his dismissal and reappointment in Yemen in February 1911. He returned from Yemen on 17 November, 1912, whereupon he was approached by Mehmed Talaat and Hacı Adil to be Grand Vizier after a Unionist putsch. Izzet turned down the offer, and the CUP went ahead with their putsch on 23 January, 1913. Shevket was instead elevated to the premiership but was subsequently assassinated 6 months later.

In 1916, he was appointed commander of the Second Army which fought in the Caucasus alongside the Third Army. In 1917, he was appointed to command the Anatolian Army Group, which comprised the Second and Third Armies. The highest rank he held was that of marshal.

Grand Vizierate
After the war, and with the support from Mustafa Kemal Pasha, he was called upon to lead the government that signed the Armistice of Mudros on behalf of the Ottoman Empire, thus putting an end to the First World War for the Ottomans. He also served concurrently as the Minister of Foreign Affairs during his premiership. His government consisted mainly of the anti-war faction of the CUP, which dissolved itself during his short premiership. It did not have any minorities represented, though he recalled offering some ministries to two well respected Greek and Armenian bureaucrats.

İzzet Pasha issued a proclamation allowing deportees the right to return to their homes. Before his resignation he endorsed plans to form dozens of commissions that would return or compensate the losses of homes and businesses to Ottoman Greek and Armenian deportees. However these commissions often resulted in a returned property being inaccurately appraised, already looted, or occupied by resettled muhacirs. Local officials also complicated the process of return by refusing service. By 1920, 335,000 Ottoman Greek and Armenians returned to their homes, according to Ottoman press. İzzet spent much of his 25 day premiership bedridden after catching the Spanish flu.

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. Izzet Pasha gave a lukewarm promise of safety to Talat:

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

Legacy
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.