Konstantinos Mousouros


Konstantinos Mousouros, also known as Kostaki Musurus Pasha, was an Ottoman Greek diplomatic official of the Ottoman Empire who served as ambassador to Greece, Austria, Great Britain, Belgium, and the Netherlands.

Biography

He was born in 1807 in Constantinople to a distinguished Phanariote family. His brother, Pavlos Mousouros, also became a diplomat. Mousouros became the first ambassador of the Ottoman Empire to the newly independent Kingdom of Greece in 1840, a position he kept until 1848. In 1847–48 he was a central figure in the events known as Mousourika, which led to his temporary recall and the breakdown of relations between the two states. On his return to Athens he survived an assassination attempt, leading to his transfer to Vienna. In 1850 he took up the post of Ottoman ambassador to the Great Britain and Ireland, which he kept for 35 consecutive years, until his retirement in 1885. During the same period, he also served as ambassador to the Netherlands and Belgium. In 1876–78, he was ex officio a member of the short-lived Senate of the Ottoman Empire.
Well educated, in 1883 Mousouros translated Dante's Divine Comedy into ancient Greek and Turkish. He was married and had a son, Stephanos Mousouros, who later became Prince of Samos.

Honours