He furthermore served as the Grand Vizier for six years between 1895 until his death in 1901, during the late Abdul Hamid II era.

He was born in Serres (Serez) and received education in an Islamic type parish school in Selanik (Thessaloniki), then continued to Mekteb-i Mülkiye in Constantinople.

[1] He advanced by degrees and was appointed to higher official positions by passage of time, including at Rustchuk.

The most important events in his era as grand vizier were the riots of Sason (in 1895) and in Crete (in 1897), as well as the Greco-Turkish War of 1897 which ended with Ottoman victory.

His motto in the road building campaign was "Any place where you can't go is not yours" (Turkish: Gidemediğin yer senin değildir.)