Celal Bayar
Encyclopedia
Celâl Bayar was a Turkish
politician
, statesman
and the third President of Turkey
. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years (he was surpassed in 2008 by Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
).
, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher who migrated
from Lom, Bulgaria. After school, he worked as a clerk, first in the court in Gemlik, then in Ziraat Bankası, and still later in the Deutsche Orientbank in Bursa.
. He served as the secretary-general of the newly founded Bursa branch and later of the İzmir
branch of this party.
In 1919, Bayar was elected to the Ottoman
Parliament
in Istanbul
as deputy of Saruhan (today Manisa
).
As he disagreed with the new constitution
determined by the sultan
, he went in 1920 to Ankara
to join Mustafa Kemal
by the Turkish Independence Movement
. He became an active member of the "Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti" (Association for Defense of Rights of Anatolia
and Rumelia
), another political organization formed after the World War I
. He became deputy of Bursa
in the newly established Grand National Assembly of Turkey
. The same year, he served as deputy Minister of Economy and on February 27, 1921 he was appointed as Minister of Economy. He led the negotiation commission during the Çerkes Ethem uprising. In 1922, Bayar took part in the Turkish delegation during the Lausanne Peace Conference
as an advisor to İsmet İnönü
. After the elections in 1923, he served as deputy of İzmir in the parliament. On 6 March 1924 Celâl Bayar was appointed minister population exchange, development and resettlement (until 7 July 1924). On August 26, 1924, he founded Türkiye İş Bankası
in Ankara by using as capital the gold bullions sent by the Moslems of India
to support the Turkish War of Independence. He was the Managing Director of this largest Turkish commercial Bank until 1932.
On October 25, 1937 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
appointed him as prime minister
of the 9th government
after İsmet İnönü left the government. He continued to serve as prime minister when Atatürk died and İnönü became president in 1938. Differences of opinion with Inönü led him to lay down his office on January 25, 1939.
Until 1945, he was a member of Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (the Republican People's Party), a republican
party. Then on January 7, 1946, he founded Demokrat Parti (the Democratic Party), a socially conservative
economically liberal party, along with Adnan Menderes
, Fuat Köprülü
and Refik Koraltan
. The DP won, with 408 of 487 seats, a majority in the first free general elections in Turkish history on May 14, 1950. The parliament elected Bayar, the chairman of the DP, as president of Turkey
. He was subsequently re-elected in 1954 and 1957, serving for 10 years as president. In that period, Adnan Menderes
was his prime minister. It was under his presidency that the anti-Greek Istanbul Pogrom
(6.-7. 1955) took place.
staged a coup d’etat and sent Celal Bayar along with Adnan Menderes
and some other government and party members to a military court on the tiny island Yassiada in the Sea of Marmara
on June 10 of the same year. He and 15 other party members were tried for violating the constitution
and sentenced to death by a kangaroo court
appointed by the junta
on September 15, 1961. The ruling military committee approved the death sentence
for Menderes, Zorlu and Polatkan, but the punishment for Bayar and other 12 party members was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment
. Bayar was sent to jail
in Kayseri
, but he was released on November 7, 1964 due to ill health.
Bayar was "pardoned" in 1966 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9013860/Celal-Bayar. Full political rights were restored to him in 1974, but he declined an invitation to become a life member of the Senate
, on the grounds that one can represent the people only if elected http://celalbayar.org/. He died on August 22, 1986 in Istanbul at the age of 103. He was father of three children. Their names were Refii (1904–1940), Turgut (1911–1983) and Nilufer (1921-). Refii Bayar was the General Manager of "Milli Reasurans" a reinsurance company from 1929 to 1939, was the founder of "Halk Evleri" an educational government entity in Istanbul, and was a journalist and published "Halk" newspaper between 1939-1941 with Cemal Kutay. Dr. Nilüfer Gürsoy married Ahmet İhsan Gürsoy (1913–2008), who was Kütahya deputy for Democratic Party between 1946–1960 and was Bursa deputy of Justice Party
between 1965–1969 and İstanbul deputy for Democratic Party between 1973–1975 and for again Justice Party between 1975-1980.
In 1954, Bayar was awarded the Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Sonderstufe des Großkreuzes des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). In 1958, the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University Berlin) awarded him an honorary doctorate. Previously, in 1954, Bayar was awarded a honorary doctorate by the University of Belgrade
. Celal Bayar University
, which was established in 1992 in Manisa
, is named after him.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
, statesman
Statesman
A statesman is usually a politician or other notable public figure who has had a long and respected career in politics or government at the national and international level. As a term of respect, it is usually left to supporters or commentators to use the term...
and the third President of Turkey
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
. At the time of his death, he was the longest lived former head of state, living over 103 years (he was surpassed in 2008 by Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
Chau Sen Cocsal Chhum
Chau Sen Cocsal , also known as “Chhum”, was a Cambodian civil servant and politician. He is also the longest lived former head of government in history....
).
Early years
He was born in 1883 at Umurbey, a village of GemlikGemlik
Gemlik is a harbor town bordering the Sea of Marmara in Western Turkey, at approximately 29 kilometres from Bursa and not far from Istanbul. Gemlik was called Kios until 1922 when its Greek inhabitants left Asia Minor because of the population exchange. In2004, Gemlik had approximately 70,000...
, Bursa as the son of a religious leader and teacher who migrated
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
from Lom, Bulgaria. After school, he worked as a clerk, first in the court in Gemlik, then in Ziraat Bankası, and still later in the Deutsche Orientbank in Bursa.
Political career
In 1908, he joined the volunteer’s troop of "İttihad Terakki Cemiyeti" (Committee of Union and Progress), a political organization of Young TurksYoung Turks
The Young Turks , from French: Les Jeunes Turcs) were a coalition of various groups favouring reformation of the administration of the Ottoman Empire. The movement was against the absolute monarchy of the Ottoman Sultan and favoured a re-installation of the short-lived Kanûn-ı Esâsî constitution...
. He served as the secretary-general of the newly founded Bursa branch and later of the İzmir
Izmir
Izmir is a large metropolis in the western extremity of Anatolia. The metropolitan area in the entire Izmir Province had a population of 3.35 million as of 2010, making the city third most populous in Turkey...
branch of this party.
In 1919, Bayar was elected to the Ottoman
Ottoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
Parliament
Parliament
A parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
as deputy of Saruhan (today Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
).
As he disagreed with the new constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
determined by the sultan
Sultan
Sultan is a title with several historical meanings. Originally, it was an Arabic language abstract noun meaning "strength", "authority", "rulership", and "dictatorship", derived from the masdar سلطة , meaning "authority" or "power". Later, it came to be used as the title of certain rulers who...
, he went in 1920 to Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
to join Mustafa Kemal
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
by the Turkish Independence Movement
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. He became an active member of the "Müdafaa-i Hukuk Cemiyeti" (Association for Defense of Rights of Anatolia
Anatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
and Rumelia
Rumelia
Rumelia was an historical region comprising the territories of the Ottoman Empire in Europe...
), another political organization formed after the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. He became deputy of Bursa
Bursa Province
Bursa Province is a province in western Turkey, along the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Balıkesir to the west, Kütahya to the south, Bilecik and Sakarya to the east, Kocaeli to the northeast and Yalova to the north. The province has an area of 11,043 km2 and a population of 3,187,000...
in the newly established Grand National Assembly of Turkey
Grand National Assembly of Turkey
The Grand National Assembly of Turkey , usually referred to simply as the Meclis , is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Constitution. It was founded in Ankara on 23 April 1920 in the midst of the Turkish War of Independence...
. The same year, he served as deputy Minister of Economy and on February 27, 1921 he was appointed as Minister of Economy. He led the negotiation commission during the Çerkes Ethem uprising. In 1922, Bayar took part in the Turkish delegation during the Lausanne Peace Conference
Treaty of Lausanne
The Treaty of Lausanne was a peace treaty signed in Lausanne, Switzerland on 24 July 1923, that settled the Anatolian and East Thracian parts of the partitioning of the Ottoman Empire. The treaty of Lausanne was ratified by the Greek government on 11 February 1924, by the Turkish government on 31...
as an advisor to İsmet İnönü
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...
. After the elections in 1923, he served as deputy of İzmir in the parliament. On 6 March 1924 Celâl Bayar was appointed minister population exchange, development and resettlement (until 7 July 1924). On August 26, 1924, he founded Türkiye İş Bankası
Türkiye Is Bankasi
Türkiye İş Bankası is Turkey's first public bank and premiere national financial institution, ranked 102nd in the “Top 1000 World Banks” survey of Financial Times' The Banker and 371st in the Forbes Global 2000 lists as of 2008, with a Gross Profit for the Year 2006 TRY 2,540 million and USD 6.8...
in Ankara by using as capital the gold bullions sent by the Moslems of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to support the Turkish War of Independence. He was the Managing Director of this largest Turkish commercial Bank until 1932.
On October 25, 1937 Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
appointed him as prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
of the 9th government
Government
Government refers to the legislators, administrators, and arbitrators in the administrative bureaucracy who control a state at a given time, and to the system of government by which they are organized...
after İsmet İnönü left the government. He continued to serve as prime minister when Atatürk died and İnönü became president in 1938. Differences of opinion with Inönü led him to lay down his office on January 25, 1939.
Until 1945, he was a member of Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (the Republican People's Party), a republican
Republicanism
Republicanism is the ideology of governing a nation as a republic, where the head of state is appointed by means other than heredity, often elections. The exact meaning of republicanism varies depending on the cultural and historical context...
party. Then on January 7, 1946, he founded Demokrat Parti (the Democratic Party), a socially conservative
Conservatism
Conservatism is a political and social philosophy that promotes the maintenance of traditional institutions and supports, at the most, minimal and gradual change in society. Some conservatives seek to preserve things as they are, emphasizing stability and continuity, while others oppose modernism...
economically liberal party, along with Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
, Fuat Köprülü
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü
Mehmet Fuat Köprülü , aka Köprülüzade, who traced his descent from the illustrious Köprülü family, was a Turkish politician and historian, known for his contributions to Ottoman history, Turkish folklore and language.-Biography:A founding member of the Democratic Party along with Celal Bayar, Adnan...
and Refik Koraltan
Refik Koraltan
Refik Koraltan was a Turkish politician, having served as the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey from May 22, 1950 to May 27, 1960.-Biography:...
. The DP won, with 408 of 487 seats, a majority in the first free general elections in Turkish history on May 14, 1950. The parliament elected Bayar, the chairman of the DP, as president of Turkey
President of Turkey
The President of Turkey is the head of state of the Republic of Turkey. The presidency is largely a ceremonial office but has some important functions...
. He was subsequently re-elected in 1954 and 1957, serving for 10 years as president. In that period, Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
was his prime minister. It was under his presidency that the anti-Greek Istanbul Pogrom
Istanbul Pogrom
The Istanbul riots , were mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The riots were orchestrated by the Turkish government under Adnan Menderes. The events were triggered by the false news that the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, north Greece—the...
(6.-7. 1955) took place.
Coup d’etat
On May 27, 1960 the armed forcesArmed forces
The armed forces of a country are its government-sponsored defense, fighting forces, and organizations. They exist to further the foreign and domestic policies of their governing body, and to defend that body and the nation it represents from external aggressors. In some countries paramilitary...
staged a coup d’etat and sent Celal Bayar along with Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes was the first democratically elected Turkish Prime Minister between 1950–1960. He was one of the founders of the Democratic Party in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He was hanged by the military junta after the 1960 coup d'état, along with two other cabinet...
and some other government and party members to a military court on the tiny island Yassiada in the Sea of Marmara
Sea of Marmara
The Sea of Marmara , also known as the Sea of Marmora or the Marmara Sea, and in the context of classical antiquity as the Propontis , is the inland sea that connects the Black Sea to the Aegean Sea, thus separating Turkey's Asian and European parts. The Bosphorus strait connects it to the Black...
on June 10 of the same year. He and 15 other party members were tried for violating the constitution
Constitution
A constitution is a set of fundamental principles or established precedents according to which a state or other organization is governed. These rules together make up, i.e. constitute, what the entity is...
and sentenced to death by a kangaroo court
Kangaroo court
A kangaroo court is "a mock court in which the principles of law and justice are disregarded or perverted".The outcome of a trial by kangaroo court is essentially determined in advance, usually for the purpose of ensuring conviction, either by going through the motions of manipulated procedure or...
appointed by the junta
Military junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
on September 15, 1961. The ruling military committee approved the death sentence
Death Sentence
Death Sentence is a short story by the American science-fiction writer Isaac Asimov. It was first published in the November 1943 issue of Astounding Science Fiction and reprinted in the 1972 collection The Early Asimov.-Plot summary:...
for Menderes, Zorlu and Polatkan, but the punishment for Bayar and other 12 party members was commuted to aggravated life imprisonment
Life imprisonment
Life imprisonment is a sentence of imprisonment for a serious crime under which the convicted person is to remain in jail for the rest of his or her life...
. Bayar was sent to jail
Prison
A prison is a place in which people are physically confined and, usually, deprived of a range of personal freedoms. Imprisonment or incarceration is a legal penalty that may be imposed by the state for the commission of a crime...
in Kayseri
Kayseri
Kayseri is a large and industrialized city in Central Anatolia, Turkey. It is the seat of Kayseri Province. The city of Kayseri, as defined by the boundaries of Kayseri Metropolitan Municipality, is structurally composed of five metropolitan districts, the two core districts of Kocasinan and...
, but he was released on November 7, 1964 due to ill health.
Bayar was "pardoned" in 1966 http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9013860/Celal-Bayar. Full political rights were restored to him in 1974, but he declined an invitation to become a life member of the Senate
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a legislature or parliament. There have been many such bodies in history, since senate means the assembly of the eldest and wiser members of the society and ruling class...
, on the grounds that one can represent the people only if elected http://celalbayar.org/. He died on August 22, 1986 in Istanbul at the age of 103. He was father of three children. Their names were Refii (1904–1940), Turgut (1911–1983) and Nilufer (1921-). Refii Bayar was the General Manager of "Milli Reasurans" a reinsurance company from 1929 to 1939, was the founder of "Halk Evleri" an educational government entity in Istanbul, and was a journalist and published "Halk" newspaper between 1939-1941 with Cemal Kutay. Dr. Nilüfer Gürsoy married Ahmet İhsan Gürsoy (1913–2008), who was Kütahya deputy for Democratic Party between 1946–1960 and was Bursa deputy of Justice Party
Justice Party (Turkey)
The Justice Party was a Turkish political party prominent in the 1960s and 1970s. A descendant of the Democrat Party, the AP was dominated by Süleyman Demirel, who served six times as prime minister, and was in office at the time of the military coup on September 12, 1980...
between 1965–1969 and İstanbul deputy for Democratic Party between 1973–1975 and for again Justice Party between 1975-1980.
In 1954, Bayar was awarded the Grand Cross Special Class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (Sonderstufe des Großkreuzes des Verdienstordens der Bundesrepublik Deutschland). In 1958, the Freie Universität Berlin (Free University Berlin) awarded him an honorary doctorate. Previously, in 1954, Bayar was awarded a honorary doctorate by the University of Belgrade
University of Belgrade
The University of Belgrade is the oldest and largest university of Serbia.Founded in 1808 as the Belgrade Higher School in revolutionary Serbia, by 1838 it merged with the Kragujevac-based departments into a single university...
. Celal Bayar University
Celal Bayar University
Celal Bayar University or ' is a state university located in Manisa, Turkey. It is one of the third largest universities in Aegean Region with close to 25,000 student body and 1,156 faculty members.- History :...
, which was established in 1992 in Manisa
Manisa
Manisa is a large city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province.Modern Manisa is a booming center of industry and services, advantaged by its closeness to the international port city and the regional metropolitan center of İzmir and by its fertile hinterland rich in...
, is named after him.
Books
- Kayseri Cezaevi Günlüğü (Kayseri Prison Diary), Yapı Kredi yayınları/Tarih dizisi.
- Ben De Yazdım - Milli Mücadeleye Gidiş (And so I wrote - Going to the War of National Independence) 8 volumes., Sabah kitapları/Türkiyeden dizisi, 1965-1972.