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| Profile of Sultan Mehmed VI Vahideddin, Last King of the Ottoman Empire Turkey Expelled from Throne |
International Military - Mehmed Vahideddin or better known as Mehmed VI was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire. He reigned from 4 July 1918 to 1 November 1922.
Mehmed VI was the 36th sultan of the Ottoman (Ottoman) Caliphate until the sultanate was dissolved after the defeat in World War I. Mehmed VI was born on January 14, 1861 at Dolmabahce Palace, Istanbul.
He is the son of Sultan Abdulmejid I and Queen Gulustu Hanim. Mehmed VI became crown prince after Sultan Abdulaziz's son, Prince Sehzade Yusuf Izzedin, committed suicide. Mehmed VI ascended the throne on 3 July 1918, succeeding his older brother, Mehmed V.
On December 21, 1918, Mehmed VI, who opposed the nationalist forces, immediately dissolved parliament. Quoted from NYT Then on August 10, 1920, the envoys of Mehmed VI signed the Treaty of Sevres. The Sevres Agreement contains the recognition of the given regional mandate as well as recognizing Hejaz as its territory.
However, after the Treaty of Sevres, the power of the Ottoman Turks was getting weaker. Then, the new government of the Supreme National Council led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was established on 23 April 1920. This new government also rejected the rule of Mehmed VI.
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After the defeat of the Ottomans against Greece, the nationalists became increasingly powerful in Turkey. On November 1, 1922, the Supreme National Council of Turkey abolished the Ottoman Caliphate.
16 days later, Mehmed VI was expelled. He boarded the British warship HMS Malaya to leave Turkey for Malta on November 17, 1922. On November 19, 1922, Mehmed VI's first cousin and crown prince, Abdulmejid Efendi, became caliph and leader of the Ottoman Empire.
However, two years later, in 1924, the Ottoman Caliphate was abolished by the Supreme National Council. Mehmed VI died in Sanremo, which was then part of the Italian empire, on May 16, 1926. He was interred in the Turkiye Mosque, Damascus.