Hagop Kazazian Pasha (alternative spelling: ''Agop Kazazyan'') (1836–1891) was a high-ranking

Ottoman Armenian Armenians were a significant minority in the Ottoman Empire. They belonged to either the Armenian Apostolic Church, the Armenian Catholic Church, or the Armenian Protestant Church, each church serving as the basis of a millet. They played a ...

official, who served as the

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

and the Minister of the Privy Treasury during the reign of Sultan

Abdul Hamid II Abdulhamid II or Abdul Hamid II (; ; 21 September 184210 February 1918) was the 34th sultan of the Ottoman Empire, from 1876 to 1909, and the last sultan to exert effective control over the fracturing state. He oversaw a Decline and modernizati ...

. Famed at the time for his loyalty, he received a state funeral after he died in 1891 from a horse-riding accident on the grounds of Kalender Kasrı while riding a horse that had been a gift from the sultan.

Biography

Life and early career

Despite Hagop Kazazian's lack of higher education, he was able to rise in the bureaucracy of the Ottoman State through the diligence he showed in financial matters. During the early years of his career, he served as the head of the translation department for the

Ottoman Bank The Ottoman Bank (), known from 1863 to 1925 as the Imperial Ottoman Bank (, ) and correspondingly referred to by its French acronym BIO, was a bank that played a major role in the financial history of the Ottoman Empire. By the early 20th cent ...

, a post that allowed him to forge ties to the Palace. After uncovering a case of malpractice at the bank, he was recommended by the General Director of the Ottoman Bank to Sultan

, who was looking to put the affairs of the Privy Treasury into order. A bachelor all his life, Hagop Kazazian lived in the Yeniköy district of

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

with his mother. Since Kazazian was awarded the

Order of St. Gregory the Great The Pontifical Equestrian Order of St. Gregory the Great (; ) was established on 1 September 1831, by Pope Gregory XVI, seven months after his election as Pope. The order is one of the five Papal order of knighthood, orders of knighthood of th ...

by the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

(an award rarely given to non-Catholics), it is possible that he had connections with the

Armenian Catholic Church The Armenian Catholic Church is an Eastern Catholic Churches, Eastern Catholic particular church ''sui iuris'' of the Catholic Church. It accepts the papal supremacy, leadership of the bishop of Rome, and is therefore in full communion with ...

, a small minority within the Armenian community that was considered a separate religious

millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

by the

Ottoman Porte The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( or ''Babıali''; ), was a synecdoche or metaphor used to refer collectively to the central government of the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul. It is particularly referred to the buildin ...

Posts and awards

Abdul Hamid II appointed Kazazian as the Director of the Privy Treasury in 1879, and as Minister the following year, when the Privy Treasury was re-organized as a ministry. Under Kazazian, the Privy Treasury was greatly reformed, expenditures were cut, and the income of the treasury improved significantly with building of numerous railways and the anticipation of oil revenues from Mesopotamia. In 1887, he was appointed as the

, holding both posts simultaneously. Carrying out reforms and expenditure cuts in the Finance Ministry, Kazazian was opposed in his measures, which prompted him to offer his resignation. The sultan refused the resignation and supported Kazazian in his reform attempts. As Minister of Finance, Kazazian showed great ability at raising Ottoman loans and easing payment of its debts. An influential man in his time, Kazazian interceded successfully on behalf of

Sarkis Balyan The Balyan family (; ) was a prominent Armenian family in the Ottoman Empire of court architects in the service of Ottoman sultans and other members of the Ottoman dynasty during the 18th and 19th centuries. For five generations, they designed ...

, a famed architect who had been exiled to France because of political accusations. Kazazian also served as a member of the

Armenian National Assembly The Armenian National Assembly was the governing body of the Armenian millet in the Ottoman Empire, established by the Armenian National Constitution of 1863. Elections Tax paying members of the Armenian Gregorian church were given suffrage ...

, which was established in 1863 and regulated the temporal matters of the Armenian population of the Ottoman Empire under the

Millet Millets () are a highly varied group of small-seeded grasses, widely grown around the world as cereal crops or grains for fodder and human food. Most millets belong to the tribe Paniceae. Millets are important crops in the Semi-arid climate, ...

system. Kazazian was given the title of ''

Pasha Pasha (; ; ) was a high rank in the Ottoman Empire, Ottoman political and military system, typically granted to governors, generals, dignitary, dignitaries, and others. ''Pasha'' was also one of the highest titles in the 20th-century Kingdom of ...

'', an honorific reserved for the highest elite of the Empire, as well as a number of decorations by the sultan with whom he was a favorite. He was also awarded the

Pope Pius IX Pope Pius IX (; born Giovanni Maria Battista Pietro Pellegrino Isidoro Mastai-Ferretti; 13 May 1792 – 7 February 1878) was head of the Catholic Church from 1846 to 1878. His reign of nearly 32 years is the longest verified of any pope in hist ...

Death and afterward

Famed at the time for his loyalty to Sultan Abdul Hamid II, he received a state funeral after he died in 1891 from a horse-riding accident on the grounds of Kalender Kasrı while riding a horse that had been a gift from the sultan. Kazazian Pasha was succeeded as the Minister of the Privy Treasury by two other Armenians, Mikael Portukal Pasha, who served until 1897 and was, in turn, succeeded by Ohannes Pasha.

Biography

Life and early career

Posts and awards

Death and afterward

Notes

See also