Çandarlı Halil Pasha the Younger

Çandarlı Halil Pasha (died 10 July 1453), also known as the Younger, was the grand vizier of the Ottoman Empire from 1439 to 1453 under the sultans Murad II and, for the first few years of his reign, Mehmed II. A member of the Çandarlı family, he was the son of Grand Vizier Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha the Elder and father of Grand Vizier Çandarlı Ibrahim Pasha the Younger.

He was appointed grand vizier in 1439 after the deposition of Nizamüddin Pasha. When Murad abdicated in 1444 in favor of the young Mehmed, Halil Pasha urged Murad to return to the throne. Murad returned, marched against the Crusaders, and won the Battle of Varna on 14 November. In 1445, Murad again left the throne to Mehmed. In 1446, during the Buçuktepe rebellion, Halil Pasha again organized the return of Murad, who remained on the throne until his death in 1451.

After Murad's death, Halil Pasha ensured the immediate transfer of power to Mehmed. He was against the siege of Constantinople under Murad and Mehmed. Halil Pasha was suspected of taking bribes from the Byzantines. After Mehmed captured Constantinople in 1453, Halil was removed from office and executed.

Halil Pasha enjoyed the unlimited trust of Murad II, but Mehmed, who had been deposed twice because of Halil Pasha, wanted to take revenge on him. According to the Turkish historian Y. Oztuna, the execution of Halil Pasha ended the struggle between the Turkish aristocratic party and the devshirme party, in which the latter emerged victorious.