The life of Mehmet Şakir Pasha (1856 – 1919)

The study provides a biography of a military commander and statesman who witnessed the final decades of the Ottoman State, Mehmet Sakir Pasha. The goal is to determine where Mehmet Sakir Pasha stands in history. In this context, archived documents and newspaper articles providing information about Mehmet Sakir Pasha, as well as the memoirs of leading personalities of the era, and existing literature were studied. Born in Livane district in Batumi in 1856, Mehmet Sakir Pasha graduated from the Military College in 1879 with the rank of captain. The same year, he was appointed as an instructor at the Military Academy. In 1883, he was sent to Berlin, to receive education. In 1887, upon his return from Berlin, he was appointed to the Imperial College of Military Sciences. In 1901, he was appointed as the Governor and Military Commander of Shkoder, followed by his appointment as the Governor of Kosovo in 1903. In 1905, he was appointed to Yemen. Prior to the 2nd Constitutional Era of the Ottoman Empire, he was a member of the cabinet as the Chief of General Staff. In 1908, he served as the Chief Aide-de-Camp to Abdulhamid II. Upon the deposition of Abdulhamid II, he was exiled. Then he received a pardon and was appointed to serve in Yemen in 1913. However before he took up the position he was once again exiled. His exile finally ended after the First World War, and he took up the Ministers of Navy and Army in the 1st Damat Ferit government in 1919. During his service as the Minister of Navy, he contributed to the appointment of Mustafa Kemal Pasha to Samsun. On 18 June, 1919, he passed away in Istanbul.