Early life and education

Nizamettin Erkmen was born in Görele

Görele

Görele is a town and a district of Giresun Province on the Black Sea coast of eastern Turkey. The population is 16,033 as of 2010.-Etymology:The name derives from the Italian for coral as the Genoese named the area La Coralla.-Geography:...

, Turkey. He attended Istanbul University

Istanbul University

Istanbul University is a Turkish university located in Istanbul. The main campus is adjacent to Beyazıt Square.- Synopsis :A madrasa, a religious school, was established sometime in the 15th century after the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople. An institution of higher education named the...

 - School of Public Administration.

Career

After graduation in 1943, he served as Maiyet Memuru for Giresun Valiliği and Bucak Müdürlüğü at Yavuzkemal. Following his military service, he served as Deputy Governor in Keşap, Şenkaya, and Şebinkarahisar. He served as Governor of towns of Akseki

Akseki

Akseki is a town and district of Antalya Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. According to 2010 census, population of the district is 15,912 of which 3,441 live in the town of Akseki....

, Fatsa

Fatsa

Fatsa is a town and a large district of Ordu Province in the central Black Sea region of Turkey.-Etymology:The name Fatsa derives from Fanizan daughter of King Pharnaces II of Pontus and has since mutated through Fanise, Phadsane, Pytane, Facha and today's Fatsa. In the Ottoman Empire records the...

, Söke

Söke

Söke is a town and a large district of Aydın Province in the Aegean region of western Turkey, south-west of the city of Aydın, near the Aegean coast. It had 68,020 population in 2010.- Geography :...

, and Yalova

Yalova

Yalova is a city located in northwestern Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara, and is the capital of the Yalova Province. Yalova has a city population of 92,166, while the population of the Yalova Province is 202,531. as of 2009...

 through 1960.

In 1960, when he was the Governor in Yalova, a military coup toppled the governing 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...

 administration. The military regime that put Nizamettin Erkmen's brother Hayrettin Erkmen, who was serving as Minister of Trade at the time, in jail for unsubstantiated charges, also removed Nizamettin Erkmen from his Governorship duties. This event set the stage for entry of Mr. Erkmen into the Turkish political arena. By completing the extra course requirements of Faculty of Law, he became a lawyer in 1961.

In 1961 he became the Director of Legal Affairs for the Government in city of Samsun

Samsun

Samsun is a city of about half a million people on the north coast of Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Samsun Province and a major Black Sea port.-Name:...

. Shortly after, he signed up with Yeni Turkiye Party, ran for Member of Parliament for Giresun in the general elections and got elected. In the following 19 years he participated in active politics and represented Giresun in the Parliament, winning a seat in all of the subsequent general elections.

He served as General Secretary 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...

 as well as the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Interior Affairs under Naim Talu

Naim Talu

Mehmet Naim Talu was a Turkish economist, banker, politician and former Prime Minister of Turkey.-Biography:...

administration in 1973.

Marriage and children

He was married to Muzaffer Erkmen (1921 - 2006), and has 2 children, Ugur and Umur Erkmen.