Mustafa Reşid Pasha

Mustafa Reşid Pasha was an Ottoman statesman and diplomat, born in Constantinople, known best as the chief architect of the Tanzimat reforms. He served as ambassador to France and the United Kingdom, became minister for foreign affairs in 1837 and played a leading role in the authorship of the Edict of Gülhane of 1839, which opened the Tanzimat era. Between 1845 and 1857 he held the office of Grand Vizier six times, setting up commercial courts and codes on French models, a committee of education meant to reduce the influence of the ulema, and an Academy of Sciences in 1852. He died of a heart attack in 1858, and his protégés Fuad Pasha and Mehmed Emin Âli Pasha carried the reforms on.