Ahmed Vefik Pasha

Ahmed Vefik Pasha (احمد وفیق پاشا) (3 July 1823 – 2 April 1891) 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. He 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 the Turkish postcard stamp dated 1966.

Biography
Ahmed Vefik Pasha was born of Greek extraction,     his ancestors having previously converted to Islam, like many other Greek Muslims particularly from Crete (Cretan Turks) and Southern Macedonia in what is now northwestern Republic of Greece (see Vallahades). He started his education in 1831 in Constantinople and later went to Paris with his family, where he graduated from Saint Louis College.

In 1844 Ahmed Vefik was appointed to review claims of special exemptions from the jizya tax. Under some agreements, European officials had started to extend their extraterritorial privileges to "proteges" - Ottoman Christians of Maltese and Ionian origins. Concerned with the massive revenue loss from unpaid jizya taxes in İzmir Province, where around two thirds of the tax had become uncollectable, Ahmed Vefik was chosen to assess over 1,500 claims of British protection.

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 among the first Pan-Turkists.