Sokollu Mehmed Pasha

Sokollu Mehmed Pasha (Bosnian and Serbian: Mehmed-paša Sokolović, Cyrillic: Мехмед-паша Соколовић; born as Bajica or Bajo Nenadić (Бајица Ненадић, Бајо; 1506 - 1579) was a 16th-century Ottoman statesman hailing from Bosnia. Mehmed was taken away at an early age as part of the devshirmeh system of Ottoman collection of young boys to be raised to serve as a janissary.

He rose through the ranks of the Ottoman imperial system, eventually holding positions as commander of the imperial guard (1543–1546), High Admiral of the Fleet (1546–1551), Governor-General of Rumelia (1551–1555), Third Vizier (1555–1561), Second Vizier (1561–1565) and as Grand Vizier (1565–1579) (for a total of fourteen years, three months, seventeen days) under three Sultans: Suleiman the Magnificent, Selim II, and Murad III. He was assassinated in 1579, ending a near fifteen-year rule as de facto ruler of the Ottoman Empire.