Ministers

Within the parameters of this series of articles it is impossible to mention all those Armenian officials who admirably served in the Ottoman government and represented the Sublime Porte in the capitals of Europe. We are just presenting a few of the most notable and interesting to the readers of Hetq.

Krikor Aghaton (Aghatonian) (1825-1868) was educated at the Nersesian Academy in his native village of Khasgyugh and later, Mkrtich Amira Jezirian sent him to Paris to complete his studies.

After graduating from the Grinion Agricultural University in Paris, Krikor Aghaton returned to Constantinople and was appointed director of the Ay-Mama agricultural academy. In 1860 Krikor Aghaton was appointed member of the Ottoman Finance Ministry’s head office.

In 1864, he was given the responsibility of running the Telegraph Department and in 1866, the Ottoman mail service.

In the same year, as an Ottoman delegate, he participated in the international telegraph committee’s conference in Paris. In 1867, Aghaton was able to resolve the issue of printing Ottoman stamps.

Krikor Aghaton also played a prominent role in the introduction of modern farming practices in the Ottoman Empire. He was a vocal supporter of importing the best in European technologies and agricultural practices to the Ottoman Empire. His articles in the Constantinople press always pointed to the importance of agriculture in the economies of various nations.

Krikor Aghaton was well respected as an economist in European scientific circles. In 1853, he was elected a member of France’s Horticultural Association. In 1859, he became a corresponding member of the Agricultural Academy in Turin, Italy. He was awarded the   Grand’ Croix (Grand Cross) of the French the Légion d’honneur.

In 1868 Abdul Aziz appointed Krikor Aghaton Minister of Public Works. This was the first time in the Ottoman Empire that a Christian had ever been given the post of minister. However, Aghaton’s unexpected death prevented him from ever assuming the post.

Krikor Aghaton was one of the most notable representatives of the Armenian renaissance of the 19th century. He was a founding member of the Constantinople Armenian Benevolent Society and served as its chairman

Anton Yever Pasha Tungrian (1812-1908), served the Ottoman government for 58 years. He taught himself French, Italian, Greek and Turkish. At the age of 24, he entered government service at the translation bureau of the Sublime Porte and later moved to the Steamship Division…

During the 1853-1856 Crimean War he served as personal secretary to Eomer Pasha, General Commander of the Ottoman Military. Andon Pasha went on to become the Head of the Steamship Division, the Director of the Royal Navy and Director of the Foreign Languages Correspondence Office attached to the Ministry of War. In 1875 he became military commander for Rumelia receiving the rank of Beylerbeyi, (Ottoman Turkish for “Bey of Beys”, meaning “Commander of Commanders”) and was bestowed with the title of Pasha.

In 1881 Anton Pasha became an inspector for the Department of Public Debt and in 1903, a member of the Supreme Council of Finances.

Hovhannes Chamich, a notable financier, was a prominent 19th century Armenian official in the Ottoman government. He fluently spoke several eastern languages and this facilitated his entry into the Ottoman government.

In 1867 he was appointed an inspector in the accounting department of the Ottoman Bank and later assumed the directorship of the Ottoman Department of Securities. In 1877, he was appointed the Minister of Commerce. In 1878, he was appointed Deputy Minister of Public Works.

Hovhannes Chamich was the prime force behind the creation of the accounts office and in 1879 he ran the office. In 1881, along with Server Pasha and Myuni Bey, was inducted into negotiations with foreign financial delegations and was also admitted into the State Council.

Bedros Halajian received his primary education at the Makrouhian and Berberian National Academies in Constantinople, the Galatasaray Lyceum and the Constantinople Academy of Jurisprudence. In 1892, he left for Paris and studied at the Trade and Legal Academies, receiving Doctoral degrees in the legal, political and economic sciences.

After returning to Constantinople, he was appointed the assistant to the advisor of the Law Division of the Department of Public Debt. In 1909, he was elected a national MP. In 1911, he was reelected and admitted to the Political Assembly.

As a member of the Ittihat (Union and Progress) Party, he was elected in 1908 as a member of the Ottoman Parliament. During his stay in Paris, Bedros Halajian was in contact with the exiled members of the Party.

In 1908, after the resignation of Kapriel Noradounkian, Halajian became Minister for Public Works and held the post for one and a half years. In 1912, Bedros Halajian participated in the Paris International Conference of Financers as the ottoman delegate.

Bedros Halajian resigned his post, preferring to be of help to his people. In 1913, he was reelected to the Ottoman Parliament. Concurrent with the service in the legislature, Bedros Halajian served as the president budgetary committee of the legal-advisory and parliamentary assemblies.

During World War I, Bedros Halajian, despite being a loyal party member was stripped of most of his privileges and was shunted aside by the Ittihat Party due to the fact that he was Armenian.

After the WWI armistice, Bedros Halajian resettled in Paris. For a short time in 1928 he served as advisor to the AGBU administrative council. In 1934, he published a scientific paper in French regarding the global economic crisis. It received critical acclaim in professional circles.

Kaspar Sinabian (1862-1933) was a prominent military doctor and son of Colonel Bey Sinabian.

He received his primary education in Kaidkoy and then continued his studies at the St. Ghazar monastery. Later he attended the Mourat-Rafaelian High School and from there graduated from the Paris Legal Academy.

Returning to Constantinople, he devoted himself to legal pursuits. In 1899, he was appointed legal counsel to the Ministry of Forests, Mines and Agriculture. From 1907 onwards, he also served as the Deputy Minister at the Sultan’s Personal State Coffers Ministry. In 1911, he received an invitation from Grand Vizier Kyuchuk Sayid Pasha to assume the post of Minister for Forests, Mines and Agriculture.

Krikor Sinabian soon resigned as Minister and turned down all future invitations to work in the Ottoman government.

Voskan Martikian (1867-1947) was born in Erzinga and moved to Constantinople at a young age to continue his education.

He held various posts in the Ottoman government and ministries. In 1913, he was elected a member of the Ottoman parliament. He headed the Ottoman Post-Telegraph Service and introduced many reforms that were the envy of his opponents.

The rabid nationalist Hussein Djahit Bey defamed Martikian in his paper “Tanin”, alleging that Martikian had given the design of new Ottoman paper currency to an Armenian and that secret Armenian codes had been included in the printing.

An Ottoman commission that looked into the allegations, rejected the slurs against Martikian, but a shadow of doubt followed him after the incident, particularly during the regime of the Young Turks. In 1914, at the start of WWI, when the Ottoman Parliament was debating whether the country should enter the war, Martikian vocally opposed the entry. This display further increased tensions between Martikian and the Ottoman authorities. Martikian was forced to resign his seat in the parliament.

In 1918, Voskan Martikian travelled to Europe and became an auditor at various universities. The newly formed Iraqi government invited Martikian to serve and he was awarded the title of “bey”.

Voskan Martikian was had close ties to Armenian public and cultural life. He was a member of the National Political Assembly in Constantinople. He pursued various literary and social endeavors. He penned many articles in the Armenian and Egyptian media on issues concerning Armenian life.

Anahit Astoyan
Madenataran; Junior Researcher