Mehmet Cavid Bey was a politician, economist, and writer. Born into the prominent Baruchia Russo (Osman Baba) family in Salonica, he was educated at the Şemsi Efendi School. He later became a teacher and principal at the Feyziye Schools (1908 and 1911). While in Salonica, he served as one of the publishers of the Ulum-ı İktisâdiye ve İçtimâiye Mecmuası (Journal for Economic Thought and Social Media), which advocated for liberal thought. He also became a prominent member of the Committee of Union and Progress and served as one of the last ministers of finance in the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Mehmet Cavid Bey was married twice. After losing his first wife, Saniye Hanım, to tuberculosis in 1909, he remarried Aliye Nazlı Hanım, the divorced wife of Ottoman prince Mehmed Burhaneddin. In 1924, he was controversially executed for his alleged involvement in an assassination attempt against Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. His son, Osman Şiar, was born after his execution and was raised by Cavid Bey's close friend, Hüseyin Cahit Yalçın.

Author: Cengiz Şişman