Çürüksulu Mahmud Pasha ( tr, Çürüksulu Mahmut Paşa; 1864 – 31 July 1931), was an Ottoman army general and statesman of ethnic Georgian background.

Early life and career

Mahmud Pasha was born in 1864 in

Kobuleti Kobuleti ( ka, ქობულეთი ) is a town in Adjara, western Georgia, situated on the eastern coast of the Black Sea. It is the seat of Kobuleti Municipality and a seaside resort, visited annually by Georgians and many former Soviet Union ...

, then part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University ...

known by its Ottoman name ''Çürüksu'', in the present-day

Adjara Adjara ( ka, აჭარა ''Ach’ara'' ) or Achara, officially known as the Autonomous Republic of Adjara ( ka, აჭარის ავტონომიური რესპუბლიკა ''Ach’aris Avt’onomiuri Resp’ublik’a'' ...

region of the Republic of Georgia. After 1909, Mahmud Pasha took part in the modernization of the Ottoman army under the auspices of German High Command. He served as the Minister of Public Works in the CUP government. When

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

broke out in 1914, Mahmud Pasha opposed the Ottoman participation in view of the unpreparedness of the armed forces. He was known as an outspoken but a respected figure in the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

(CUP). Later in the war, Mahmud Pasha served as the Minister of the Navy in the CUP cabinet of

Talaat Pasha Mehmed Talaat (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha,; tr, Talat Paşa, links=no was an Ottoman politician and convicted war criminal of the late Ottoman Empire who served as its leader from 1913 t ...

. In 1914, Mahmud Pasha's candidacy was put forward by the Sultan to serve in the Ottoman Senate (Ayan Meclisi). After the defeat of the Ottoman Empire in WW I, Mahmud Pasha led the commission to negotiate peace. Mahmud Pasha's support for territorial concessions to reach an agreement with Armenians in 1919 drew criticism from

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...

. On March 22, 1920, Mahmud Pasha was among the few CUP members arrested and sent by the British authorities for a tribunal in

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

. Upon their repatriation in 1921, he returned to Turkey. Mahmud Pasha died in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

on July 31, 1931.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pasha, Mahmud 1864 births 1931 deaths Ottoman generals Georgians from the Ottoman Empire People from Kobuleti Government ministers of the Ottoman Empire Committee of Union and Progress politicians Ottoman people of World War I