The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in Istanbul in February 6, 1889 by medical students Ibrahim Temo, Çerkez Mehmed Resid, Abdullah Cevdet, Ishak Sükuti, Ali Hüseyinzade, Kerim Sebatî, Mekkeli Sabri Bey, Selanikli Nazim Bey, Serafettin Magmumi, Cevdet Osman and Giritli Sefik. It was transformed into a political organization (and later an official political party) by Bahaeddin Sakir, aligning itself with the Young Turks in 1906, during the period of the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire. In the West, members of the CUP were usually called "Young Turks" while in the Ottoman Empire, its members were known as Unionists.