Ahmed Rıza

Ahmed Riza (* 1858 in Istanbul, † February 26, 1930 ) was an Ottoman politician, one of the early leaders of the Young Turk movement and the first president of the Chamber of Deputies in the second Ottoman constitutional period.

Life

Training

Ahmed Riza was the son Naile Hanıms and Ali Bey. Ali Bey, who was called because of his style of dress ingiliz / انكليز /, Englishman ', was a member of Şürâyı Devlet and the Senate. After visiting the Beylerbeyi Rüşdiyesi (about middle school ), the Mahrec -i Aklâm ( Technical School for Secretaries ) and the Mekteb -i Sultani Ahmed Riza worked briefly in the Translation Bureau of the Sublime Porte. In 1884 he finished his studies of agriculture in Grignon and became an officer in the Ottoman Ministry of Agriculture and later in the Ministry of Education.

Exile

In 1889, Ahmed Riza went to Paris, where he writings against the absolutist regime Abdülhamids II published and heard at the Sorbonne lectures on natural history and positivism. In 1895 he published the " revolutionary newspaper" Meşveret / مشورت /, advice ' and in French the Français Mechveret Supplément, which he was regarded as the leader of European exile Young Turks. However, due to his rejection of an assassination attempt on Abdulhamid II Ahmed Riza distanced itself from the Istanbul Young Turks, so that Murad Bey, the Egyptian exile, the newspaper Mizan / ميزان / Libra ' issued progressively influence on the Young Turks in the Ottoman Empire won. At the Congress in December 1896 finally Murad Bey was elected chairman. On the first Paris Conference Young Turks ( 4 to 9 February 1902), the Young Turks were split under Prince Sabahaddin and İsmail Kemal Bey on one side and a minority of Ahmed Riza on the other side. The latter, who refused to part İsmail Kemal Bey Prince Sabahaddin and demanded foreign intervention strictly, as the " Ottoman Society for Progress and Unity" designated ( Osmanlı Terakki Ittihad ve Cemiyeti / عثمانلو ترقى و اتحاد جمعيتى ) and were, due to their connections especially in the Balkans, to take over the leadership of the Young Turk movement in the situation.

Return from exile

After the successful " Young Turk Revolution" of 1908, in consequence of which the Constitution had been de facto reinstated, returned Ahmed Riza, celebrated as the " Father of the Liberal " ( Ebü'l - Ahrar / ابو الاحرار / Abū al - Ahrar; Turkish hürriyetçilerin Babasi ) back to Istanbul. On 17 December 1908, the House of Representatives, newly elected elected him president. His disagreements after the so-called " event of 31 March " with the Central Committee of the Young Turks led in 1910 to his exclusion. On 18 April 1912 he was elected by the Sultan as a member of the Senate and exerted strong criticism of the Committee of Union and Progress. Finally, he broke with the Young Turks after their raid on the Sublime Porte on 23 January 1913.

In 1915, he was the only deputy in the Ottoman Parliament who attacked the deportations of the Armenians as unconstitutional. On October 19, 1918, he was elected president of the Senate. He used his inaugural speech for the explanation of the killing of Armenians in the last few years, the Turkish government was responsible.

After the defeat in the First World War Ahmed Riza was on 22 June 1919 at the order of Mustafa Kemal to Paris, to campaign for the "Turkish cause." In 1926 he returned to the set up on October 29, 1923 Republic of Turkey home, retired to his estate in Vaniköy in Istanbul's Üsküdar and wrote his memoirs. On February 26, 1930 Ahmed Riza suffered as a result of a fall, a pelvic fracture and died on the same day in the Şişli - Etfal Hospital. He was buried on the Kandilli Cemetery in Üsküdar.