Rüstem Paşa, Ottoman Vizier

ca. 1500-1561/ca. 906-968 AH (r. 1544-1553, 1558-1561/951-960, 962-968 AH)

Türkiye

Rüstem Paşa was a grand vizier under the Ottoman sultan Kanuni Süleyman. He was born to a family of few resources in a Balkan village near Sarajevo in around 1500/906 AH. As a child, he entered the palace school and then the service of the Ottoman court where he was quickly promoted again and again until becoming vizier in 1544/951 AH. His productive reign, though interrupted by court intrigue for two years, was relatively long, and coincided with a period in which Ottoman Empire had reached an unprecedented level of power and prestige. Rüstem was known for both his financial abilities and his architectural patronage, having commissioned a number of buildings across the heart of the Ottoman Empire.

Sources: 

Woodhead, Christine. "Rüstem Pas̲h̲a." Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_SIM_6349 [Accessed May 3, 2018].