Gazi Hüseyin Pasha ("Hüseyin Pasha the Warrior"; died 1659), also known as Deli Hüseyin Pasha ("the Mad") or Sarı Hüseyin Pasha ("the Blonde") or Baltaoğlu Hüseyin Pasha ("of the Axe"), was an Ottoman military officer and statesman. He was governor of Egypt (1635–1637), Kapudan Pasha in the 1630s, and briefly Grand Vizier in 1656. Background Hüseyin was of Turkish origin and was born in Yenişehir near Bursa in northwest Anatolia. Other than that, little is known about his early days in Constantinople (present İstanbul), the Ottoman capital. During the reign of Sultan Murad IV, he was a member of palace staff. The Shah Safi of Persia had sent Murad IV a prestigious gift, a bow which was reputed as being undrawable. Hüseyin attracted attention when he easily drew the bow. After winning sultan's appreciation, he was promoted to various posts: chief stable man, governor of Silistria in (now in modern Bulgaria), beylerbey (high governor) of Egypt, beylerbey of Anatolia, Kapudan Pasha (grand admiral), etc. He participated in campaigns around Baghdad in modern Iraq (Capture of Baghdad (1638)) and Yerevan (now in modern Armenia). During the reign of Sultan Ibrahim, he served in various European provinces as a governor, and in 1646, he became the governor of Chania, Crete (now in Greece). Governor of Egypt Hüseyin Pasha was appointed the governor of Egypt Eyalet in 1635, succeeding Bakırcı Ahmed Pasha and serving until 1637. He was reportedly a cruel and violent governor who murdered for sport. From the very first day of his arrival in Egypt, when he confiscated his finance minister and advisors' temporary tents for his own, Hüseyin Pasha began a series of actions that made him widely disliked by the local populace. He brought with him to Egypt a large number of Druzes, who committed robberies in Cairo, the capital, and his men extorted money from the locals for an upcoming feast celebrating his arrival. Hüseyin Pasha was also involved in stealing wealthy locals' inheritances, so much so that it became a reliable way to exact revenge on an enemy by reporting to the Pasha that he or she had received an inheritance from a relative. He also often reportedly rode a horse through crowds of people and animals, swinging a sword, for recreation. Each month, he forced locals to trade in their bullion coin for adulterated metal and sent bureaucrats and officials to remote locations for sport.