Abdullah Mahir Efendi

Born in 1860, Abdullah Mahir Efendi was one of the well-known figures of İlbasan, today Elbasan in Albania.

During the reign of Sultan Abdülhamid II, Abdullah Mahir Efendi was among those who came under surveillance because of his liberal constitutional ideas. While working as a teacher, he was accused of instilling ideas of liberty in his students and was exiled first to Samsun in 1902, then to Diyarbakır. This period of exile forms the main historical background behind the phrase “fighter for liberty” associated with him.

After the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Period in 1908, he returned to Istanbul. In the elections held that same year, he was elected deputy for İlbasan, then attached to the Province of Manastir, and entered the Ottoman Chamber of Deputies.

Abdullah Mahir Efendi died shortly after becoming a deputy, on 17 Ramadan 1327, corresponding to 2 October 1909. He was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.