, Ottoman statesman, twice grand vizier.

Midḥat Pas̲h̲a was born in Stambul in Ṣafar 1238 (beg. Oct. 18, 1822), the son of Ḥād̲j̲d̲j̲ī ʿAlī Efendi-Zāde Ḥād̲j̲d̲j̲ī Ḥāfiẓ Meḥemmed Es̲h̲ref Efendi, a native of Rus̲h̲čuk The family seem to have been professed Bektas̲h̲īs and Midḥat Pas̲h̲a also had a leaning towards them. His earliest youth was spent in his parents’ home at Widdin, Lofča (Bulgaria) and later in Stambul, where his father held judicial offices. In 1836 he was working in the secretariat of …