Ahmed Nazif Paşa
Profile summary
Highlights
Born in Istanbul in 1841, Ahmed Nazif Paşa received his ijazah from mosque lessons, then privately learned French and entered the field of finance.
Ahmed Nazif Paşa spent his entire professional life in the finance administration and served three times as Minister of Finance. He remained in this office for seven and a half years, becoming the longest-serving finance minister in the period extending from the Tanzimat to the Republic.
A member of the Vânîzâde family, Ahmed Nazif Paşa’s name also appears in the story of how Dîvânü Lugâti’t-Türk reached the modern scholarly world. According to the account, this precious manuscript, which was for a time in Ahmed Nazif Paşa’s possession, was later taken to a bookseller by a woman from his family and purchased by Ali Emîrî Efendi, who brought it to the attention of the scholarly world.
Ahmed Nazif Paşa died on 11 Dhu al-Qa‘da 1323 (7 January 1906), while serving for the third time as Minister of Finance, and was buried in the Fatih Mosque Cemetery.
Epitaph
"All that is upon the earth shall perish." (Rahman 26) A Fatiha for the soul of Ahmed Nazif Paşa, one of the Ottoman ministers, who passed away while serving for the third time as Minister of Finance, having attained the mercy and forgiveness of Allah. 7 January 1906. Written by the calligrapher Hulusi Efendi.
He is the Eternal. As a model to all through virtue and honor, he chose as his station the highest step of the ladder of dignity. If righteousness and honor could take form, the statue of Nazif Paşa would appear. In his conduct, the rights of the state and the rights of people were each given their due. When news of his death was heard, the world of the good was filled with lament. The pen, moved by love, wrote the date thus: "Nazif Paşa is now forever in the presence of the Lord." Year 1906.
A Fatiha for his/her soul