| Ottoman Turkish:امورِ خارجيه نظارتی Umur-ı Hariciye Nezâreti | |
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| Agency overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1836 |
| Superseding agency |
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| Jurisdiction |  Ottoman Empire |
| Headquarters | Sublime Porte,Constantinople |
| Minister responsible |
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| Parent agency | Grand Vezierate |
TheMinistry of Foreign Affairs (Ottoman Turkish:خارجيه نظارتی;Turkish:Hariciye Nezâreti;French:Ministère des Affaires Étrangères[1]) was the department of theImperial Government responsible for theforeign relations of theOttoman Empire, from its establishment in 1836 to its abolition in 1922. Before 1836, foreign relations were managed by theReis ül-Küttab, who was replaced by a Western-style ministry as part of theTanzimat modernization reforms. The successor of the Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs is theMinistry of Foreign Affairs of theTurkish Republic.
French was officially the working language of the ministry in the period after theCrimean War.[2]
Foreign relations were previously managed by theReis ül-Küttab, a position within theImperial Council, and then thePorte.
During theTanzimat era, the Ottoman Foreign Ministry turned out to have more powers than typical foreign ministries. In addition to its eponymous responsibilities, it had some powers over internal reform legislation, and governed over non-Muslim and foreign subjects. The ministry administered foreign commerce in addition to its political relations. A large part of the oversized responsibility of this ministry had to do with the prominence ofMustafa Reşid Pasha, whose legacy as long time foreign minister held great inertia.[3]
Many of the "Men of the Tanzimat," statesmen whom defined reorganization and reform efforts during the mid-19th century, had their beginnings in the Translation Office, and would alternate between being Grand Vizier and Foreign Minister: Mustafa Reşit Pasha served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 4 times and as Grand Vizier 6 times.Aali Pasha served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 8 times and as Grand Vizier 5 times, whileFuat Pasha served as Minister of Foreign Affairs 5 times and as Grand Vizier twice.
Non-Muslim Ottoman were also appointed Foreign Minister in four instances.Alexander Karatheodori Pasha and then Yannis Sava Pasha (Greek) conducted the negotiations for theTreaty of Berlin from 1878–1879,Gabriel Noradoungian (Armenian Apostolic) in 1912–1913, andYusuf Franko Pasha Coussa (Catholic Greek) in 1919.
Ahmed İzzet Pasha, was the last Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Ottoman Empire. After the foundation of the Republic, theMinistry of Foreign Affairs was moved toAnkara and was renamed twice: fromHariciye Nezareti, it was firstHariciye Vekaleti until taking its modern nameDışişleri Bakanlığı.
The ministry shared theBâb-ı Âli building with the Grand Vizier.
According toShaw and Shaw, during the Tanzimat era, the ministry was divided into two departments, a foreign section and a secondary section. The foreign section dealt with foreign affairs, foreign trade, reception of foreign dignitaries, reception ranking and protocols for Ottomans, and foreign press supervision. The second section held oldImperial Council departments handling internal affairs which itself had two departments: theImperial Council itself:Divan-ı Hümayun Kalemi, which issued and recorded all imperial orders, treaties, letters of the sultan to foreign rulers, officials, and governments, and the sanctioning of travel within and outside the empire; and the Department of non-Muslim Religious Affairs [Mezahib-i Gayr-i Müslüm Dairesi], which was divided bymillet and issued orders and communiques from not only the Foreign Ministry but from other ministries in the government. Finally there were the two "lesser" sections: theTranslation Office, and the Archives Department, which developed into a general archives of the entire Porte.[4]
According to theCorps de droit Ottoman, it was headed by a minister representing theRéis Effendi and a six-member council with sub-secretary of state (mustéchar) leading it. Other major figures included the Grand Master of Ceremonies of the head of theDrogmanat of the ImperialDivan and the Grand Master of Ceremonies (Techrifati-Hardjié) directed by the Introducer of Ambassadors. Its departments included:[1]
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