Mahmud Shevket Pasha, Ottoman general and politician, 279th Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1856)
Mahmud Shevket Pasha (1856 – 11 June 1913) was an Ottoman generalissimo and statesman of Chechen or Circassian origin who was an important political figure during the Second Constitutional Era. During the 31 March Incident, Shevket Pasha foiled Abdulhamid II's attempt to regain absolute power by organising the Action Army to suppress the anti-Constitutionalist uprising in Constantinople (modern Istanbul). Following the crisis Shevket Pasha was War Minister for a couple years, and played a leading role in establishing the Ottoman military aviation program. During the First Balkan War, he became Grand Vizier in the 1913 coup d'état, from 23 January 1913 until his death by assassination.