Ambassador to Paris, 1834–1836 Mustafa Reşid was first sent to Paris in 1834 with the task of regaining
Algeria from the
recent French occupation. Although he ultimately failed, he would remain in Paris as a permanent ambassador until being transferred to London in 1836.
Ambassador to London, 1836–1838 Reşid transferred to the Ottoman Embassy in London where he created strong ties with the British Government, especially the London Diplomat Ponsonby who his Mentor, Pertew Pasha, had strong ties with as well. However, his major achievement during his stint as ambassador was gaining the support of the British Government for the Sultan against Muhammad Ali in Egypt. Although the talks materialized into nothing, on 16 August Reşid Pasha did manage to negotiate the
Treaty of Balta Liman which was a commercial treaty between the Ottoman Empire and Britain. However, unbeknownst to the Great Powers, Mustafa Reşid, with approval from the Sultan, had drafted a settlement by the summer 1840 due to his impatience with the Great Powers' inability to reach an agreement. This secret settlement would grant Egypt to
Muhammad Ali as a hereditary state along with the provinces of
Acre,
Saida, and
Tripoli, a position that could be passed down to his sons and grandsons. The condition was that none of them could accumulate any more provinces, and after their deaths the provinces would return to Ottoman control. This plan was never put into place due to the
London Convention of 1840, however. After the London Crisis, Mustafa Reşid received threats from the French embassy that if they were to ratify it, France would actively support the rebellious Egyptian Governor. Reşid ignored the threats and the
Sublime Porte went on to sign the conference. After
Muhammad Ali's refusal to sign the
London Convention of 1840, all the Great Power diplomats met with Reşid Pasha in order to draft Ali Pasha's removal from office much to the dismay of their respective countries. After a swift military intervention that led to the defeat of Egyptian forces in Syria,
Commodore Napier, leader of the allied forces, held a peace convention of his own with
Muhammad Ali, which was met with great reprisal from Mustafa Reşid and the other diplomats. On 11 December 1840,
Muhammad Ali Pasha finally submitted to the sultan and pledged his allegiance to the Sublime Porte.
Ambassador to Paris, 1841–1845 After the conclusion of the
Oriental Crisis, Muhammad Ali Pasha bribed the Ottoman Porte to remove Mustafa Reşid Pasha from his post as Foreign Minister. He returned to his post as Ambassador to Paris soon after where he mainly focused his efforts on solving the
Lebanon Question, which resulted from a
dispute between the
Maronite Christians and
Druze Muslims of
Mount Lebanon.
Crimean War Escalation of crisis At the start of 1853, Mustafa Reşid held no political office. In 1852–53, tensions rose between
Russia and
France over the Holy Lands in Palestine. After the presentation of the Russian demands to the Sublime Porte on 5 May 1853 and the subsequent rejection of them on 10 May, Reşid, with the help of Ambassador Stratford as well as that of Menshikov, gained back his position of Foreign Minister. Reşid immediately tried stalling the Russian diplomat in order to ensure the support of his fellow ministers. After another five-day delay, on 15 May the Sublime Porte again rejected the Russian proposition which led to the evacuation of the Russian embassy and the end of Russian-Ottoman diplomacy on 21 May. During this time, Reşid met one-on-one several times with while also writing to both
Menshikov and
Stratford. In Menshikov's writings, he described Reşid as being almost embarrassed to talk about the unanimous rejection of the Russian proposal and had also given the Russians a Turkish counter proposal, on which he seemed ashamed to present since he explained that he had no ability to revise them. Also according to Menshikov, Reşid had clearly wanted to renew negotiations, but had been advised otherwise by Lord Stratford.
Vienna Note In late July 1853, diplomats of the four major powers, France, Britain, Austria and Prussia met in
Vienna and created their own solution to the Russian-Turkish crisis using a previous French proposal that had already been accepted by the Tsar. The Vienna Note, as it was known, was accepted by the governments of all four of the neutral powers and by Russia, but was met with swift outcry in the Sublime Porte, led by Mustafa Reşid Pasha. The Ottomans had already presented their own ultimatum, drafted by Reşid Pasha, to the Russian Ambassador
Nesselrode which reached the Vienna Conference a day after the completion of their proposal. Reşid Pasha was furious that the British governments had gone behind their backs, and were now trying to force them to concede their sovereignty. He would also draft several amendments to the
Vienna Note after begging for Stratford's support which stressed the sovereignty of the Ottoman Empire against Russian advances, and only with these changes did he and several other Ottoman diplomats agree to the
Vienna Note. Russia, who had been waiting for Ottoman acceptance of the Vienna Note, rejected the Ottoman modifications, and peace seemed to be impossible.
Declaration of war On 26 September, following the Russian advances in the Balkans, the Sublime Porte held a two-day conference to determine a solution to the Russian problem, whether it be war or diplomacy. While many of the officials were favorable to war, Reşid Pasha cautioned them. He warned that the state was not prepared militarily to fight Russia in a war. However, he also added that it was the Porte's decision even though the European Powers had advised them to refrain from waging war. Stratford had even warned Reşid Pasha that England and France would not stand behind the Ottomans if they started the war. However, it appears that Reşid's arguments had persuaded the other officials, and at the end of the conference, Reşid drafted a resolution for war which was sent to and accepted by the Sultan on 30 September and 4 October the Ottoman Empire officially declared War on Russia. According to Certev Pasha, Reşid Pasha wrote this on the purpose of the
Crimean War, "The unique objective of the Sublime Porte, the salutary aim that she entertains, is to come to the end of the war completely protected from any exterior anxiety, in order to busy herself solely with interior regulations to assure the well-well being of the empire by the perfecting of the progressive system of administration, by the just amelioration of the condition of all classes of the subjects, and by the development of her commerce and industry without any impediment; and as we have obviously just seen that the treaty of the year 1841 doesn’t suffice to give her security in the foreign quarter, the Sublime Porte believes it her duty to submit, as of now, to her allies, the necessity of making another treaty to serve as a complement to that one."
During the war Reşid Pasha immediately immersed himself in gaining European support. On 8 October 1853, only four days following the declaration of war, he petitioned the British and French Ambassadors for their support in the form of naval vessels in the straits of
Dardanelles. In December, following an Ottoman naval defeat at the
bay of Sinop and rumors of Reşid Pasha's peace negotiations, students began revolting in the streets of Istanbul forcing Reşid and many of his followers to hide for their lives. Reşid submitted his resignation immediately but it was not accepted. Reşid Pasha's rivalry with one of his prior proteges,
Mehmed Emin Ali, came to fruition during this time period as well. It is believed that Mehmed Ali, who favored the war, had helped instigate the students. Reşid, with the help of Lord Stratford, had Mehmed deposed and even exiled to
Kastamonu after it was discovered that he had held large sums of money from the Ottoman government. Over the Spring of 1854, Reşid used his position as Foreign Minister to coordinate Ottoman naval movements with France and Britain. He also was able to officially drag both Britain and France into the war with a military alliance in March 1854. In November of that year, he was rewarded with an appointment as
Grand Vizier. However, in May 1855, only a few short months later he was removed from office, leaving him out of the rest of the war and the ensuing peace talks as well. ==Domestic affairs==