He became first secretary to Sultan Abdul Hamid II shortly after the Sultan's accession, and is said to have contributed to the realizations of his majesty's design of concentrating power in his own hands; later he became successively minister of the interior and then governor of Bursa, reaching the high post of grand vizier in 1879. He was grand vizier seven more times under Abdul Hamid, and once under his successor, Mehmed V Reşat. He was known for his opposition to the extension of foreign influence in Turkey.