Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ottoman Empire)

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Ottoman Turkish: خارجيه نظارتی; Turkish: Hariciye Nezâreti; French: Ministère des Affaires Étrangères[1]) was the department of the Imperial Government responsible for the foreign relations of the Ottoman Empire, from its establishment in 1836 to its abolition in 1922. Before 1836, foreign relations were managed by the Reis ül-Küttab, who was replaced by a Western-style ministry as part of the Tanzimat modernization reforms. The successor of the Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Turkish Republic.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Ottoman Turkish: امورِ خارجيه نظارتی
Umur-ı Hariciye Nezâreti
Agency overview
Formed1836
Superseding agency
JurisdictionOttoman Empire Ottoman Empire
HeadquartersConstantinople

French was officially the working language of the ministry in the period after the Crimean War.[2]

Organisation

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It was headed by a minister representing the Réis 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 the Drogmanat of the Imperial Divan and the Grand Master of Ceremonies (Techrifati-Hardjié) directed by the Introducer of Ambassadors.[1]

Departments included:[1]

  • Accounting (Direction de Comptabilité)
  • Chamber of Jurists (Bab-i-ali Istikharé Odassi, Chambre des Conseillers légistes)
  • Commercial Affairs (Tidjarié, Direction des Affaires Commerciales)
  • Consulates (Chehpendéri, Direction des Consulats)
  • Foreign Correspondence (Tahrirat-i-Hardjié, Direction de la Correspondance étrangère)
  • Foreign Press (Direction de la presse étrangère)
  • Litigation (Oumori-Houkoukié-i-Muhtélita, Direction du Contentieux)
  • Nationalities (Direction des Nationalités)
  • Personnel (Sigilli Ahwal, Direction du Personnel)
  • Translation (Terdjumé, Direction de Traduction)
  • Turkish Correspondence (Mektoubi-Hardjié, Direction de la Correspondance turque)

List of ministers

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c Young, George (1905). Corps de droit ottoman; recueil des codes, lois, règlements, ordonnances et actes les plus importants du droit intérieur, et d'études sur le droit coutumier de l'Empire ottoman (in French). Vol. 3. Clarendon Press. p. 1.
  2. ^ Turkish Yearbook of International Relations. Ankara Üniversitesi Diş Munasebetler Enstitüsü, 2000. (head book says 2000/2 Special Issue of Turkish-American Relations. Issue 31, p. 13. "Chambre des Conseillers Légistes de la Porte as was their title in French, which had, after the Crimean War become the official working language of the Ottoman Foreign Ministry."
  3. ^ Wasti, Syed Tanvir (2012). "Ahmed Rüstem Bey and the End of an Era". Middle Eastern Studies. 48 (5): 781–796. doi:10.1080/00263206.2012.703616. S2CID 144132608. - Published online 14 August 2012 - Content from notes section specifies the years he was active.
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