Ahmet Ferit Tek

Ahmet Ferit Bey (Tek)

Ahmet Ferit Tek (born March 7, 1878 in Bursa , † November 25, 1971 in Istanbul ) was a Turkish politician, diplomat and thinker in the Ottoman Empire and the later Republic of Turkey .

Family and school education

Although Tek was born in Bursa, his family came from Istanbul. His father Mustafa Reşit Bey was a financial accountant. Tek started his education at the Darü'l-Feyz School. He then attended the Gülhâne secondary school in Istanbul. He then enrolled in the Kuleli Military High School, also in Istanbul. In 1896 Tek graduated from the Harbiye Military Academy as an ensign. Then Tek studied for a year in the general staff class.

In the years 1897 and 1898 there were investigations against supporters of the constitutional monarchy ( Young Turks ) among the students, Tek was arrested because he had tried to cover his classmate and friend Yusuf Akçura . He was held in the stone barracks ( Taşkışla ) for 102 days . On September 8, 1897, Tek and others were exiled to Fessan on the Şeref ferry . The first destination of the crossing was Tripoli . Since the exiles were not covered for their travel expenses, they had to serve in a prison in Tripoli for a year. In 1897 Tek was granted amnesty and his military rank was returned to him. He then worked in the general staff of the Tripoli division . During this time Tek met his future wife Müfide Ferit Hanım. Together with Yusuf Akçura, Tek fled by boat to Tunis in 1900 and from there to Paris . In Paris, Tek took part in the political exile life of other Young Turks and at the same time attended the École libre des sciences politiques , which he completed on June 29, 1903 as the seventh best and with an honorary award.

During his studies in Paris he took part in the first Congress of the Young Turks, which took place on February 4, 1902. Murfide Ferit came to Paris and attended the Versailles high school. In 1907 she married Tek. In 1914 they had their first child, their daughter Emel Esin.

Political activity

Unable to return to Turkey, Tek settled in Egypt and wrote for a Turkish newspaper in Cairo . When the Second Ottoman constitutional period was proclaimed, Tek was able to return to Istanbul. He wrote for the Şurayı Ümmet newspaper . He received his first teaching post as a professor at the University of Administrative Sciences ( Mektebi Mülkiye ), where he taught political history of the 18th century. Tek stayed in this position until he was brought out of Istanbul by the Young Turks.

After the deputy to the Ottoman parliament , Saffet Pascha, had resigned his office, Tek was elected to parliament on November 18, 1909 as a member of the Kütahya Province. After openly criticizing the Party for Unity and Progress , Tek was expelled from the party. He was not re-elected in the 1912 parliamentary elections.

Ahmet Ferit Bey founded the national constitutional party Millî Meşrutiyet Fırkası with Yusuf Akçura, Müderris Zühdü Bey, Mehmed Ali and Cami Bey on July 5th . From the party program: “The Turks fought on the borders of the empire for centuries, neglecting their own provinces. Anatolia, the heart of the Turkish provinces, has decayed. The hour has come when the Turks must consider their own national fate. ”On September 22nd, 1912, the party launched its own media organ , the İfham newspaper . She also published a book series under the name "İfham Library". The content of the newspaper was determined by Turanist and Islamic solidarity. The primacy of the nation and nationalism over all other political ideologies was central.

During the Balkan Wars , Ahmet Ferit was a captain in the main command of Çatalca until the signing of the London Treaty in 1913. After the war he worked again in the party newspaper. The newspaper was closed due to news of the assassination attempt on Mahmud Şevket Pasha on June 13, 1913.

1918 Ahmet Ferit was ordered to the consul general in Kiev . When the country was invaded by Bolsheviks a year later , he returned to Istanbul. For a short time, Ahmet Ferit was Minister of Infrastructure in Damad Ferid Pasha's cabinet . Together with his party comrades, Millî Meşrutiyet Fırkası, he founded a new political party under the name Millî Türk Fırkası (German: National Turkish Party). Ferit was elected to the last Ottoman parliament on January 12, 1920 as a member of the Kütahya Province. After the parliament was dissolved by the Allied occupying powers, Ahmet Ferit went to Ankara to join the national resistance under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal Pasha.

On May 30, 1920 Tek became a member of parliament in Ankara. He became finance minister, but did not last long in this position due to disputes during budget talks and resigned with the other ministers on May 16, 1921. On November 26, 1921, he was elected representative of the Council of Ministers for Paris. Tek took part in the Lausanne peace talks as a diplomat .

Tek was Minister of the Interior in the first cabinet of the Republic of Turkey (Cabinet İnönü I. from November 30, 1923). He also remained in this position in the second cabinet. During his tenure he worked out the first village law in the republic. This was intended to reduce the number of attacks by robbers and rioters, which often occurred in Anatolia at the time. Tek also worked out the list of Persona non grata , in which the expulsion of the sultan's family and their followers (150 people) was resolved.

On May 6, 1925, Tek was appointed Ambassador of the Republic of Turkey to London . He remained in this position for seven years until he was appointed ambassador to Warsaw in 1932 . Tek also held this position for seven years. In 1934 he adopted the name Tek after the family name was introduced in Turkey. In 1939 he worked in the Foreign Ministry in Ankara. Tek was appointed ambassador to Tokyo for the last time on December 5, 1939 . He retired in 1943.

Ahmet Ferit Tek spoke French and English.

Awards

•  Turkey : Independence Medal
•  Poland : Order of the White Eagle

Web links

Commons : Ahmet Ferit Tek  - collection of images, videos and audio files