After service in the Foreign Ministry he became Grand Vizier in 1852. He became one of the leading statesmen of the Tanzimat reform movement, and was responsible for the Hatt‐i Humayun reform edict of 1856. This guaranteed Christians security of life and property, opened civil offices to all subjects, abolished torture, and allowed acquisition of property by foreigners. He believed in autocratic rule and opposed the granting of a parliamentary constitution.