Mehmet Şemsettin Günaltay (ʃemseˈtin ɟynaɫˈtaj; 1883 – 1961) was a Turkish

Turkish people

Turkish people, also known as the "Turks" , are an ethnic group primarily living in Turkey and in the former lands of the Ottoman Empire where Turkish minorities had been established in Bulgaria, Cyprus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Greece, Kosovo, Macedonia, and Romania...

 historian

Historian

A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...

, politician

Politician

A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...

 and prime minister of Turkey.

Biography

He was born 1883 in the Kemaliye

Kemaliye

Kemaliye is a both a town in and one of the nine districts of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey.The town is known for its historic architecture, including many Ottoman-era houses...

 town of the Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz, Ottoman Empire

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...

. After finishing the Teacher’s College, Şemsettin Günaltay was educated in physics at University of Lausanne

University of Lausanne

The University of Lausanne in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of theology, before being made a university in 1890. Today about 12,000 students and 2200 researchers study and work at the university...

 in Switzerland

Switzerland

Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....

.

After his return to Turkey, he worked as teacher and schoolmaster in a number of high schools. During this time, he got to know Ziya Gökalp

Ziya Gökalp

Ziya Gökalp was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and political activist. In 1908, after the Young Turk revolution, he adopted the pen name Gökalp , which he retained for the rest of his life...

, a prominent ideologue of Pan-Turkism

Pan-Turkism

Pan-Turkism is a nationalist movement that emerged in 1880s among the Turkic intellectuals of the Russian Empire, with the aim of cultural and political unification of all Turkic peoples.-Name:...

. Influenced by him, he began to carry out research on the Turkish history. In 1914, he was appointed professor of history of Turks and Islam

Islam

Islam . The most common are and .   : Arabic pronunciation varies regionally. The first vowel ranges from ~~. The second vowel ranges from ~~~...

ic tribes at the Faculty of Letters of İstanbul 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...

. Later, he served as the dean of the Faculty of Theology at the same university.

Political career

In 1915, he was elected to the Ottoman Parliament as deputy of Bilecik Province from the Committee of Union and Progress

Committee of Union and Progress

The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...

 (CUP), and remained member of the parliament until its dissolution. In the meantime, he continued to lecture at the university.

During the Turkish War of Independence

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 joined the "Association of Defense of the 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...

". After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, Şemsettin Günaltay entered Turkish Grand National Assembly as deputy of Sivas Province

Sivas Province

The Sivas Province is a province of Turkey. It located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolian region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kayseri to the southwest, Kahramanmaraş to the south, Malatya to the southeast, Erzincan...

 from “Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi” CHP (“Republican People's Party

Republican People's Party (Turkey)

The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...

”) that lasted until 1950. Between 1950 and 1954, he represented Erzincan Province

Erzincan Province

Erzincan Province is a province in the eastern region of Anatolia, Turkey, and home to Erzincan, a city which was destroyed and rebuilt after an earthquake of magnitude 7.9 on December 27, 1939...

 in the parliament.

After Prime Minister Hasan Saka

Hasan Saka

Hasan Saka was a Turkish politician, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Prime Minister of Turkey.-Political career:...

’s resignation, Şemsettin Günaltay was appointed by President

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...

 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:...

 to form his cabinet on January 16, 1949 that lasted until 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...

’ Democratic Party

Democratic Party (Turkey)

Democratic Party may refer to:* Democratic Party , current party* Democratic Party a historical party * Democratic Party a historical party...

 took over the government on May 22, 1950 following the general elections. He was the last prime minister of the single party era in the politics of Turkey.

Şemsettin Günaltay died on October 19, 1961 in İstanbul

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...

 due to prostate cancer

Prostate cancer

Prostate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...

, shortly after he was elected to the senate to represent Istanbul Province

Istanbul Province

Istanbul Province is a province located in north-west Turkey. It has an area of 5,196 km² and a population of 13,255,685. The population was 10,018,735 in 2000. It is surrounded by the provinces of Tekirdağ to the west, Kocaeli to the east, the Black Sea to the northern part and the Sea of...

, however, before he could take his seat. He laid to rest next to his daughter’s grave in 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....

 according to his will.

Şemsettin Günaltay was the head of the Turkish Historical Society

Turkish Historical Society

The Turkish Historical Society also known as Turkish Historical Association or Turkish History Foundation is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey.-Presidents:The...

from 1941 until his death.