Mehmed VI

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1963 -

King of Morocco since 1999.

Sidi Muhammad, the oldest son of King Hassan II, was born in Rabat on 21 August 1963. In 1985 he obtained a bachelor of arts degree in law from Muhammad V University, followed in 1987 by a master of arts degree in political science. In 1993 he earned a doctor in law degree from the Université de Nice Sophia Antipolis. Upon his father's death, on 23 July 1999, Sidi Muhammad ascended to the throne under the name Muhammad VI. He became the eighteenth king of the Alawite dynasty
bearing the title of Amir al-Muʾminin ("commander of the faithful"), befitting a monarch who claims descent from the Prophet.

From the outset, Muhammad VI distinguished himself by advocating religious tolerance, democracy, and human rights reforms. On religion and the state, he echoed his father's position when he asserted in 2000 that, although Islam is the state's official religion, there are also Jews who are an integral part of the Moroccan social fabric. The Amir al-Muʾminin is the leader of the Muslims but also of the Jewish minority still dwelling in the kingdom.

On democracy and human rights, Muhammad VI contended that his country must cultivate specific "homemade" democratic features and avoid blind emulation of Western political systems and advocacy organizations, which often seem irrelevant to the local milieu. He soon released several thousand prisoners and reduced the prison terms of another 38,000, many of the latter affiliated with the Islamist Jamaʿat al-Adl wa al-Ihsan (Justice and Charity).

On 20 August 1999 the king broke a taboo by giving a speech in which he mentioned the "disappeared" and the victims of "arbitrary arrest." Simultaneously, emblematic political exiles, or their families, were permitted to return home. Such was the case with the Marxist activist Abraham Serfaty and the family of Mehdi Ben Barka, who had been eliminated in 1965 by the Moroccan secret service upon his arrival in Paris. On 12 November 1999 Muhammad VI dismissed Driss Basri, minister of the interior since 1979. Basri had been regarded as Hassan II's powerful right-hand man who, since the late 1970s, had exiled numerous political opponents or incarcerated them at the infamous Tazmamart prison colony. During the early and mid-1990s King Hassan II had himself set the stage for the reforms undertaken by his son, fearing that the suffering of his people could lead to chaos.

The new king faced major challenges. The population has expanded, despite an infant mortality rate of 57 per 1,000, from ten million in 1956 to thirty-one million in 2003 (an annual growth rate of 2.1 percent). The nation suffers from water scarcity. Unemployment, based on official figures, has reached 20 to 25 percent, but may well be much higher. An estimated 5.9 million people live at or near the poverty level. A major problem is the low access to education, mainly in rural areas. Some 53 percent of the population are illiterate (70 percent among women), while 93 percent receive no medical care.

Of further concern is the Sahara crisis. During the 1970s Hassan II captured large areas of the Western Sahara evacuated by Spain. With Algerian support, the POLISARIO, a Saharawi national liberation movement, sprang up in the Sahara and engaged in guerrilla activity against Morocco. The movement formed a phantom Saharan State in Algiers. Hassan ignored demands for territorial concessions. Muhammad VI pursued this policy despite international pressure to revise it. The policy has caused tensions between Morocco and Algeria.

Despite the proliferation of political parties, nongovernmental human rights organizations, and women's organizations, the struggle for democracy and the uprooting of bureaucratic corruption and inefficiency continues. His most significant effort to date in a drive toward democracy was his decision to convene legislative elections on 27 September 2002. These elections were a step toward a modern civil society. Until these elections, women were excluded from the political decision-making process. In parliament women's representation was only 0.6 percent of the 325 seats in the Moroccan house of representatives (lower house). Only one woman held a government position, that of minister-delegate, which was not a full-fledged portfolio. Since the convening of the newly elected lower house, there are thirty-five women MPs, or 10.8 percent of the total. However, the elections also enabled the Islamists and other opposition parties to fortify their position within Morocco's parliament.

Despite increased women's representation in politics, serious problems continue for the majority of women not represented in the political elite. Muhammad VI's endorsement of revising the religious madawana (family code pertaining to women's personal status) toward greater equality between men and women is progressing well but remains thus far in the embryonic stage. The king's "Plan of Action" includes the lifting of legal discrimination in marriage and divorce, the abolition of polygamy, and economic equality between the sexes. The Islamists vehemently oppose the Plan, having forced the government in past years to postpone reforms.

Whereas the Jamaʿat al-Adl wa al-Ihsan retained outsider status, because it questions the legitimacy of Muhammad VI's status as commander of the faithful, the legal Islamist party, al-Adala wa alTanmiya (Justice and Development), made vital electoral strides. It reached third place in the legislative elections, with forty-two seats as compared to the fifty seats won by the Union Socialiste des Forces Populaires (USFP) and forty-eight of the Istiqlal Party.

The attempt to form a new government in October 2002 revealed the shortcomings of Moroccan democracy. Neither the USFP nor Istiqlal, the dominant governmental partners, nor Muhammad VI wanted the Islamists to hold ministerial posts. Committed to the concept of a global economy and determined to privatize the public sector, the king feared that involving Islamists in government could stymie reforms and draw sharp criticism from the Moroccan business community as well as the European Union (EU). Moreover, after the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks, the king thought such a move might irritate Washington. According to the 1996 constitution, the king appoints key members of the government and may, at his discretion, terminate the tenure of any minister or prevent any political party from participating in the ruling cabinet.

Owing to the more liberal atmosphere in Morocco after the death of Hassan II, both conservative Islamists and secular leftists leveled serious criticisms at the new king. They claimed that while Muhammad VI had placed, early in his reign, priority on technological advances aimed at supplying Morocco's rural areas with potable water, electricity, Internet access, and cellular phone service, it had soon became evident that the son was not all that different from the father. Thus the Islamists stepped in to provide some education and welfare services to communities as yet not benefiting from promised reforms and to organize effective mass protests against the government.

Also having grown more vocal, the Berber population demanded greater cultural recognition of their heritage. Berber leaders claim that 60 percent of the Moroccan population is of Berber heritage. It is almost impossible to verify the population figures; leading experts on Berber culture note that Morocco's Berber speakers (there are three Berber dialects as well as literary Berber) constitute 40 percent of the population, mostly in rural areas. The Berber associations protest against their youth being exposed generation after generation to the idea that Morocco is part of the Arab nation, making them Arabs in spite of themselves. Although Berbers were converted to Islam, their ethnic and linguistic purity has remained intact. Morocco, the Berbers argue, is Berber, Arab, and African. In March 2000 Berber leaders drafted a manifesto calling on the kingdom to recognize Berber as a national language, teach it in schools, license a Berber television station, and end restrictions on registering Berber names for their children. In a concession to the Berbers, in 2001 Muhammad VI created by royal decree an institute devoted to the conservation, dissemination, and teaching of the Berber language and culture of Morocco.

Until 2003 Muhammad VI had shown little interest in the Middle East. He declined a U.S.-Egyptian invitation to attend the June 2003 Sharm al-Shaykh meeting that preceded the U.S.-Israeli-Palestinian summit in Aqaba, and only grudgingly accepted his father's role as chairman of the al-Quds Committee, a body formulating Arab policies on Jerusalem. Unlike their political predecessors, Muhammad VI and the presidents of Tunisia and Algeria have chosen thus far to immerse themselves in domestic issues and ties with the EU.

Bibliography

Laskier, Michael M. "A Difficult Inheritance: Moroccan Society under Muhammad VI." Middle East Review of International Affairs 7, no. 3 (September 2003): 1 - 20.

Ramonet, Ignacio. "New Hope, Old Frustrations: Morocco - The Point of Change." Le Monde Diploma-tique (July 2000): 18 - 26.

— MICHAEL M. LASKIER

Mehmed VI
His Imperial Majesty Sultan of the Ottomans Commander of the Faithful Successor of the Prophet of the Universe
Mehmed VI
Ottoman Sultan (full titles)
Reign	3 July 1918 – 1 November 1922
Sword Girding	4 June 1918
Predecessor	Mehmed V
Successor	Sultanate abolished
Caliph of Islam
Reign	3 July 1918 – 19 November 1922
Coronation	None
Predecessor	Mehmed V
Successor	Abdülmecid II
Wives	Emine Nazikedâ Marjim-Abaza Kadın Efendi Inshira Kadın Efendi Sadiye Mevedett Kadın Efendi Nevare Kadın Efendi Nimit Nevzad Kadın Efendi
Issue
Princess Münire Sultan Princess Fatma Ulviye Sultan Princess Rukiye Sabiha Sultan Hanım Efendi Prince Şehzade Ertuğrul Mehmed Efendi
House	Osman
Father	Abdülmecid I
Mother	Gülcemal Sultan
Born	(1861-01-14)14 January 1861 Constantinople, Turkey
Died	16 May 1926(1926-05-16) (aged 65) Sanremo, Italy
Burial	Damascus, Syria
Signature
Religion	Sunni Islam

Royal styles of Mehmed VI
Reference style	His Imperial Majesty
Spoken style	Your Imperial Majesty
Alternative style	Sire

Departure of Mehmed VI, last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, 1922

Mehmet VI (Ottoman Turkish: محمد سادس Meḥmed-i sâdis, وحيد الدين Vahidettin. Turkish: Mehmed Vahideddin or Mehmet Vahdettin) (14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926) was the 36th and last Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, reigning from 1918 to 1922. The brother of Mehmed V, he succeeded to the throne as the eldest male member of the House of Osman after the 1916 suicide of Abdülaziz's son Yusuf Izzettin Efendi,^[1] the heir to the throne. He was girded with the Sword of Osman on 4 June 1918, as the thirty-sixth padishah. His father was Sultan Abdülmecid I and mother was Gülüstü (1831 – May 1861), a Circassian. Mehmed was removed from the throne when the Ottoman sultanate was abolished in 1922.

Contents 1 Regnal title 2 Birth 3 Reign 4 Marriages and issue 4.1 First marriage and issue 4.2 Second marriage 4.3 Third marriage and issue 4.4 Fourth marriage 4.5 Fifth marriage 5 Notes 6 Further reading 7 External links

Regnal title

Mehmet VI ruled as His Imperial Majesty, The Grand Sultan Mehmed VI Vahid ed-din, Emperor of the Ottomans, Commander of the Faithful and Successor of the Prophet of the Universe.^{[citation needed]}

Birth

He was born in the Dolmabahçe Palace or the Beşiktaş Palace, Beşiktaş, both in Constantinople.^[2][3] On his ninth birthday he was ceremonially circumcised in the special Circumcision Room (Sünnet Odasi) of Topkapı Palace.

Reign

The First World War was a disaster for the Ottoman Empire. British and allied forces had conquered Baghdad, Damascus, and Jerusalem during the war and most of the Empire was divided among the European allies. At the San Remo conference of April 1920, the French were granted a mandate over Syria and the British were granted one over Palestine and Mesopotamia. On 10 August 1920, Mehmed's representatives signed the Treaty of Sèvres, which recognized the mandates, removed Ottoman control over Anatolia and İzmir, severely reduced the extent of Turkey, and recognized Hejaz as an independent state.

Turkish nationalists rejected the settlement by the Sultan's four signatories.^[4] A new government, the Turkish Grand National Assembly, under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) was formed on 23 April 1920, in Ankara (then known as Angora). The new government denounced the rule of Mehmed VI and a temporary constitution was drafted.

The Turkish Grand National Assembly abolished the Sultanate on 1 November 1922, and Mehmed was expelled from Constantinople, aboard the British warship Malaya on 17 November. He went into exile in Malta; Mehmed later lived on the Italian Riviera.

On 19 November 1922, Mehmed's first cousin and heir Abdülmecid Efendi was elected Caliph, becoming the new head of the Imperial House of Osman as Abdülmecid II before the Caliphate was abolished in 1924.

Mehmed died on 16 May 1926 in Sanremo, Italy, and was buried at the Tekkiye Mosque of Sultan Suleiman the Magnificent in Damascus.^[5]

Marriages and issue

First marriage and issue

His first marriage was to Abkhaz HH Emine Nazikedâ Marjim-Abaza Kadın Efendi (Sukhumi, Abkhazia, 9 October 1866 - Maadi, Cairo, 1944 and buried there) in the Ortaköy Palace, Istanbul, on 8 June 1885. Their issue was:

• HIH Princess Münire Sultan (1888).
• HIH Princess Fatma Ulviye Sultan (Ortaköy Palace, Ortaköy, Istanbul, 11 September 1892 – İzmir, 25 January 1967 and buried at Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul, first married to HE Damat Ismail Hakki Okday Beyefendi (Athens, 28 October 1881 - Istanbul, 11 October 1977) at the Kurucheshme Palace, Constantinople, on 10 August 1916, without issue; second marriage to HE Damat Ali Haidar Beyefendi (Göztepe, Istanbul, 20 September 1889 – Istanbul, 5 February 1962) at the Nişantaşı Palace, Nişantaşı, Pera (today Beyoğlu), on 1 November 1923, also without issue.
• HH HIH Princess Rukiye Sabiha Sultan Hanım Efendi (the Ortaköy Palace, Ortaköy, Istanbul, 19 March/1 April 1894 – Istanbul, 26 August 1971), married to her cousin HIH Prince Şehzade Ömer Faruk Efendi (the Ortaköy Palace, Istanbul, 27/29 February 1898 – 28 March 1969/1971), son of Abdülmecid II, at the Yıldız Palace, Istanbul, on 29 April 1920 as his first wife. Their issue was:
  • HIH Princess Fatma Neslişah Osmanoğlu Sultan (Istanbul, Nişantaşı, Nişantaşı Palace, 4 February 1921 – 1 April, 2012), married in Heliopolis Palace, Cairo, on 26 September 1940 to her cousin HE Damat HH Prince/HRH Prince Muhammad Abdel Moneim Beyefendi (Alexandria, Montaza Palace, 20 February 1899 – Istanbul, 1/2 December 1979, buried in Cairo), Heir Apparent to the Throne of Egypt from 1899 to 1914, created HH in 1922, created HRH in 1952, Regent of Egypt from 1952 to 1953, and had issue.

Second marriage

His second marriage was to Georgian HH Seniye Inshira Kadın Efendi (Batumi, 10 July 1887 - Cairo, 10 June 1930) at the Çengelköy Palace, Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul, on 8 July 1905. The marriage ended in divorce because of an affair with Prens Sabahaddin,she bore him a son in 1910 in Exile on Heybeliada, one of the Princes' Islands of Istanbul, in the days of the Ottoman Empire.

Third marriage and issue

His third marriage was to HH Sadiye Mevedett Kadın Efendi (Adapazarı, 12 October 1893 – Çengelköy Palace, Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul, 1951 and buried there), at the Çengelköy Palace, Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul, on 25 April 1911, Their only issue was:

• HIH Prince Şehzade Ertuğrul Mehmed Efendi (Çengelköy Palace, Çengelköy, Üsküdar, Istanbul, 5 September 1912 – Cairo, 2 July 1944).Issue unsure.

Fourth marriage

His fourth marriage was to HH Nevare Kadın Efendi (Adapazarı, 4 May 1901 – ?) at the Dolmabahçe Palace, Istanbul, on 20 June 1918. They divorced in 1924, without issue.

Fifth marriage

His fifth marriage was to HH Nimit Nevzad Kadın Efendi (Istanbul, 2 March 1902 – bef. 1985/199?) at the Yıldız Palace, Istanbul, on 1 September 1921 and was without issue.

Notes

1. ^ Freely, John, Inside the Seraglio, 1999, Chapter 16: The Year of Three Sultans.
2. ^ Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911), The Encyclopædia Britannica, 7, "Istanbul, the capital of the Turkish Empire…" .
3. ^ Britannica, Istanbul:When the Republic of Turkey was founded in 1923, the capital was moved to Ankara, and Constantinople was officially renamed Istanbul in 1930.
4. ^ Treaty of Sèvres
5. ^ Freely, John, Inside the Seraglio, published 1999, Chapter 19: The Gathering Place of the Jinns

Further reading

• Fromkin, David, 1989. A Peace to End All Peace: The Fall of the Ottoman Empire and the Creation of the Modern Middle East ISBN 0-8050-0857-8

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Mehmed VI

• Sultane Neslishah - La dernière Sultane - Turquie on YouTube

Mehmed VI House of Osman Born: 14 January 1861 Died: 16 May 1926
Regnal titles
Preceded by Mehmed V	Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 3 July 1918 – 1 November 1922	Monarchy abolished Ottoman Empire dissolved
Sunni Islam titles
Preceded by Mehmed V	Caliph of Islam 3 July 1918 – 19 November 1922	Succeeded by Abdülmecid II
Titles in pretence
Preceded by Loss of actual title	— TITULAR — Sultan of the Ottoman Empire 1 November 1922 – 19 November 1922	Abdülmecid II

v t e Ottoman Sultans / Caliphs Dynasty · Family tree (detailed) · Family tree (simplified) · Line of succession Osman I · Orhan · Murad I · Bayezid I · Interregnum · Mehmed I · Murad II · Mehmed II · Murad II · Mehmed II · Bayezid II · Selim I · Suleiman I · Selim II · Murad III · Mehmed III · Ahmed I · Mustafa I · Osman II · Mustafa I · Murad IV · Ibrahim · Mehmed IV · Suleiman II · Ahmed II · Mustafa II · Ahmed III · Mahmud I · Osman III · Mustafa III · Abdülhamid I · Selim III · Mustafa IV · Mahmud II · Abdülmecid I · Abdülaziz · Murad V · Abdülhamid II · Mehmed V · Mehmed VI · Abdülmecid II (Caliph) Related Templates: Claimants · Valide Sultans

v t e Claimants to the Ottoman throne since 1922 1922 Mehmed VI 1922–1944 Abdülmecid II 1944–1954 Ahmed Nihad 1954–1973 Osman Fuad 1973–1977 Mehmed Abdulaziz 1977–1983 Ali Vâsib 1983–1994 Mehmed Orhan 1994–2009 Ertuğrul Osman 2009–present Bayezid Osman Current heir Dündar Aliosman See also Ottoman Dynasty

Persondata
Name	Mehmed Vi
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	14 January 1861
Place of birth	Constantinople
Date of death	16 May 1926
Place of death	Italy

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