Ottoman senator and liberal politician (1838–1923)
Mehmed Sherif Rauf Pasha (1838 – 1923) was an Ottoman senator and liberal politician during the Second Constitutional Era, who was a member of the Freedom and Accord Party. A fluent French speaker and strident reformer, he participated in writing the constitution of the Ottoman Empire in 1876 and was a close supporter of fellow reformist Midhat Pasha.[1]
Rauf Pasha was the governor of Jerusalem for 12 years (1877-1889), during which he put down strengthened the administrative apparatus in the province, organized a population census in 1883, built roads, and put down tribal rebellions in the Gaza region.[1] One of these roads included the southern road connecting Jerusalem to Hebron, which was completed in May 1888.[1] Subsequent roads, including the 1892 east road connecting Jerusalem to Jericho, was opened and helped establish Jerusalem as the centre of a modern and coherent network of both roads and regional administration.[1]
After Jerusalem, he was appointed as governor of Beirut (1889), Erzurum (1895-1901), and Salonica (1904-1908).[1]
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