Ali Fuat Cebesoy (September 23, 1882Ayfer Özçelik, ''Ali Fuad Cepesoy'', Akçağ Yayınları, 1993, , p. 1. – January 10, 1968) was a Turkish army officer and politician.

Early life

Ali Fuat was born in September 1882 to father Ismail Fazil Pasha and mother Zekiye Hanım. He was of

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany (of or related to) ** Germania (historical use) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law **Ge ...

- Circassian descent, and also his maternal grandfather

Mehmet Ali Pasha Muhammad Ali Pasha al-Mas'ud ibn Agha, also known as Muhammad Ali of Egypt and the Sudan ( sq, Mehmet Ali Pasha, ar, محمد علي باشا, ; ota, محمد علی پاشا المسعود بن آغا; ; 4 March 1769 – 2 August 1849), was ...

was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster Be ...

- French descent. Ali Fuat was the grandson (on his mother's side) of

Mushir ( ar, مشير) is an Arabic word meaning "counsellor" or "advisor". It is related to the word shura, meaning consultation or "taking counsel". As an official title, it historically indicates a personal advisor to the ruler. In this use it is ...

Mehmet Ali PashaAli Fuat Cebesoy, ''Sınıf Arkadaşım Atatürk: Okul ve Genç Subaylık Hâtıraları'', Temel Yayınları, 2000, , p. 19. (Ludwig Karl Friedrich Detroit) who was the commander of the Danube Army (''Tuna Şark Ordusu'') during the

Russo-Turkish war The Russo-Turkish wars (or Ottoman–Russian wars) were a series of twelve wars fought between the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire between the 16th and 20th centuries. It was one of the longest series of military conflicts in European histo ...

, participated in the

Congress of Berlin The Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878) was a diplomatic conference to reorganise the states in the Balkan Peninsula after the Russo-Turkish War of 1877–78, which had been won by Russia against the Ottoman Empire. Represented at th ...

as one of three representatives of the Ottoman Empire and was killed on September 7, 1878Osman Selim Kocahanoğlu, "Bir Osmanlı Ailesi ve Ali Fuad Cebesoy", ''Ali Fuat Cebesoy'un Arşivinden Askeri ve Siyasi Belgeler'', Temel Yayınları, İstanbul, 2005, , p. 13. in

Gjakovë Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

(

Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...

) by Albanian

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion against authority waged by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare from primarily rural base areas. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric warfare, asymmetric na ...

s who were dissatisfied with the results of the Berlin Congress.

Military career

Ali Fuat attended the Military academy together with

Kemal Atatürk Kemal may refer to: ;People * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey * Kemal (name), a common Turkish name ;Places * Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey * Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey ;See als ...

, Kazım Karabekir, and Fethi Okyar amongst other notables of the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

. Following he entered the War School in 1902, and graduated from the Ottoman War College in 1905 as a Staff

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(''Erkân-ı Harp Yüzbaşısı''). Later he was assigned to the 3rd Rifle Battalion (''Üçüncü Nişancı Taburu''), the 28th Cavalry Regiment (''Yirmi Sekizinci Süvari Alayı'') based in

Beirut Beirut, french: Beyrouth is the capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, which makes it the third-largest city in the Levant region. The city is situated on a peninsula at the midpoint o ...

under the command of Fifth Army based in

Damascus )), is an adjective which means "spacious". , motto = , image_flag = Flag of Damascus.svg , image_seal = Emblem of Damascus.svg , seal_type = Seal , map_caption = , ...

, and later to 15th Artillery Regiment (''On Beşinci Topçu Alayı'') based in

Thessalonica Thessaloniki (; el, Θεσσαλονίκη, , also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece, with over one million inhabitants in its metropolitan area, and the capital of the geographic region of ...

under the command of Third Army as an intern. He joined the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

(membership number was 191). On June 28, he was assigned to the staff officer of the Third Army. And then he was promoted to the rank of

Senior Captain Senior captain is a rank which is used in some countries' armed forces, navies, merchant marines, civil aviation and in the airline industry. Army In some armies of the world, the senior captain is a rank between a regular captain and a majo ...

and appointed to the area commander of Karaferye (present day:

Veria Veria ( el, Βέροια or Βέρροια), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Berea or Berœa, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of I ...

). On January 9, 1909, he was appointed to the military attaché in Rome, Italy. On October 1, 1911, he was appointed to the chief of the 1st department (chief of operations) of the Western Army.T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, ''Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri'', Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 154. On February 20, he was temporarily appointed to the chief of staff of the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

VII Corps 7th Corps, Seventh Corps, or VII Corps may refer to: * VII Corps (Grande Armée), a corps of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Army prior to and during World War I * VII ...

. And then he was appointed to the commander of a detachment that was formed to liberate İpek (present day:

Peć Peja ( Indefinite Albanian form: ''Pejë'' ) or Peć ( sr-Cyrl, Пећ ) is the fourth largest city of Kosovo and seat of Peja Municipality and Peja District. It is situated in the region of Rugova on the eastern section of the Accursed Moun ...

) and Yakova (present day:

Đakovica Gjakova, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the seventh largest city of Kosovo and seat of Gjakova Municipality and Gjakova District. The city has 40,827 inhabitants, while the municipality has 94,556 inhabitants. Geographicall ...

) from insurgents.

Balkan Wars

On June 24, he was dispatched to Europe for the preparation of the transfer of arms and ammunition to Tripoli Vilayet. On September 29, he was appointed to the chief of staff of the İşkodra Corps. He also participated in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defe ...

. He became the chief of staff of the

Yanya Corps The Yanya Corps or Independent Yanya Corps of the Ottoman Empire ( tr, Yanya Kolordusu) was one of the major formations under the command of the Ottoman Western Army. It was formed in Yanya (present-day Ioannina) area during the First Balkan War ...

and on November 10 he was appointed to the deputy commander of the 23rd Division (''Yirmi Üçüncü Fırka''), replacing ''Mirliva'' Cevat Pasha. On December 12, when the Greek offensive commanded by

Konstantinos Sapountzakis Konstantinos Sapountzakis ( el, Κωνσταντίνος Σαπουντζάκης; 1846–1931) was a Hellenic Army officer. He is notable as the first head of the Hellenic Army General Staff and as the first commander of the Army of Epirus durin ...

was launched, he planned to retreat in an orderly fashion, but panic amongst the ranks led to the defeat of his division. In the defense line of

Bizani Bizani ( el, Μπιζάνι) is a village and a former municipality in the Ioannina regional unit, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Ioannina, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit ...

he was severely wounded in the thigh, but continued to direct artillery fire whilst on a stretcher. On March 6, 1913, he and his forces surrendered following the instruction of Esad Pasha ( Battle of Bizani). He was then transferred to a hospital in Kifissia, a suburb of

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, to receive medical treatment.

World War

On January 15, 1914, he was appointed to the chief of staff of the

VIII Corps 8th Corps, Eighth Corps, or VIII Corps may refer to: * VIII Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French army during the Napoleonic Wars * VIII Army Corps (German Confederation) * VIII Corps (German Empire), a unit of the Imperial German Ar ...

. After Kress von Kressenstein was appointed the chief of staff of this corps, replacing Ali Fuat, he was promoted to the rank of

Lieutenant Colonel Lieutenant colonel ( , ) is a rank of commissioned officers in the armies, most marine forces and some air forces of the world, above a major and below a colonel. Several police forces in the United States use the rank of lieutenant colone ...

(''Kaymakam'') and on September 19, he was appointed to the commander of the 25th Division. In January 1915, he participated in the

First Suez Offensive The Raid on the Suez Canal, also known as Actions on the Suez Canal, took place between 26 January and 4 February 1915 when a German Empire, German-led Ottoman Army force advanced from Mutasarrifate of Jerusalem, Southern Palestine to attack the ...

. On January 7, he and his division left Birüssebi (present day:

Beersheba Beersheba or Beer Sheva, officially Be'er-Sheva ( he, בְּאֵר שֶׁבַע, ''Bəʾēr Ševaʿ'', ; ar, بئر السبع, Biʾr as-Sabʿ, Well of the Oath or Well of the Seven), is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. ...

) for the desert and arrived at the front of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal ( arz, قَنَاةُ ٱلسُّوَيْسِ, ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia. The long canal is a popular ...

, but the Ottoman forces couldn't pass the canal and retreated. He and his division went back to Gaza on January 20, 1915. After the Gallipoli Campaign was launched, the 25th Division was dispatched to the Gallipoli Front on May 24, 1915, and started to arrive there on June 2, 1916. His division entered to the order of the XVII Corps of the First Army and deployed in the Bulair- Saros area. On January 20, 1916, he was appointed to the commander of the 14th Division. At first, his division was intended for use in the Second Suez Offensive and sent to Maallaha, but because of the Russian offensive, his division instead came under the command of the Second Army under

Ahmet İzzet Pasha Ahmad ( ar, أحمد, ʾAḥmad) is an Arabic male given name common in most parts of the Muslim world. Other spellings of the name include Ahmed and Ahmet. Etymology The word derives from the root (ḥ-m-d), from the Arabic (), from the ve ...

, and on June 27, were sent back from the

Rayak Rayaq - Haouch Hala ( ar, رياق), also romanized Rayak, is a Lebanese town in the Beqaa Governorate near the city of Zahlé. In the early 20th century and up to 1975 and the outbreak of the civil war, it was Lebanon's most important railway ...

station to

Aleppo )), is an adjective which means "white-colored mixed with black". , motto = , image_map = , mapsize = , map_caption = , image_map1 = ...

and dispatched to Diyârbekir.Ayfer Özçelik, ''Ali Fuad Cepesoy'', pp. 18–19. On September 30, he was promoted to commander of the 5th Division and in January he became the chief of staff of the Seconde Army. On January 12, 1917, he returned to the Sina-Palestine Front and in April he became the deputy commander of the Sina-Palestine Front. On June 30, 1917, he became the commander of the XX Corps. After the

Armistice of Mudros Concluded on 30 October 1918 and taking effect at noon the next day, the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütarekesi) ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between the Ottoman Empire and the Allies of World War I. It was signed by th ...

was signed, he concurrently became the deputy commander of Seventh Army, replacing

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى , Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name ...

. After the Seventh Army was abolished, he transferred the headquarters of the XX Corps from

Syria Syria ( ar, سُورِيَا or سُورِيَة, translit=Sūriyā), officially the Syrian Arab Republic ( ar, الجمهورية العربية السورية, al-Jumhūrīyah al-ʻArabīyah as-Sūrīyah), is a Western Asian country loc ...

to Ereğli, then to

Konya Konya () is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium (), although the Seljuks also called it D ...

and to

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

War of Independence

Ali Fuat Pasha organized the resistance in Western Turkey against the Greek invasion and thus actually started the National Independence War. He contributed to the resistance forces against the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

army that had begun to occupy Western

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The re ...

. He signed

Amasya Protocol Amasya Protocol (''Amasya Görüşmeleri'') was a memorandum of understanding signed on 22 October 1919 in Amasya, Turkey between the Ottoman imperial government in Istanbul and the Turkish revolutionaries (the Turkish National Movement) aimed at ...

and at the end of the Sivas Congress in 1920, he was appointed as the general commander of the National Forces by the Board of Representatives. The presence of him and his army in Ankara is the reason behind Atatürk's choice of this city as the center of Turkish War of Independence. The same year, he was elected as a deputy at the First Parliament. He was appointed ambassador to Moscow,

Soviet Russia The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic, Russian SFSR or RSFSR ( rus, Российская Советская Федеративная Социалистическая Республика, Rossíyskaya Sovétskaya Federatívnaya Soci ...

in 1921, as he had quarrels with

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

, who was appointed by Atatürk as the Commander of the Western Front although İnönü had failed against Greek invasion at Kutahya-Altıntas in 1921. By personally negotiating with

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov. ( 1870 – 21 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin,. was a Russian revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. He served as the first and founding head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 to 19 ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...

in Moscow, he signed the

Treaty of Moscow (1921) The Treaty of Moscow, or Treaty of Brotherhood ( tr, Moskova Antlaşması, russian: Московский договор) was an agreement between the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), under the leadership of Mustafa Kemal, and Russia, un ...

, along the lines of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, as the representative of the

government, which provided financial and military support from Russia to the Turkish Independence War, in exchange for ceding the right to

Batum Batumi (; ka, ბათუმი ) is the second largest city of Georgia and the capital of the Autonomous Republic of Adjara, located on the coast of the Black Sea in Georgia's southwest. It is situated in a subtropical zone at the foot of t ...

, then controlled by the

Georgian Republic Georgia (, ; ) is a transcontinental country at the intersection of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is part of the Caucasus region, bounded by the Black Sea to the west, by Russia to the north and northeast, by Turkey to the southwest ...

, to the Soviet government. After finishing his duty as an ambassador, he was elected as the second spokesman of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

Political life

After the declaration of the Republic, he became a deputy. In this new era of his political career, he joined the founders of the opposition party, the Progressive Republican Party, and he was elected as the general secretary of the party in 1924. During the rebellion of Şeyh Sait, the Law on the Maintenance of Order was affected and the Progressive Republican Party was closed down. Ali Fuat Cebesoy was arrested with the accusations of participating in the attempt of assassination against Atatürk and was taken to

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

. He was tried at the İzmir

Independence Court An Independence Tribunal ( tr, İstiklâl Mahkemesi, plural ''İstiklâl Mahkemeleri'') was a court invested with superior authority and the first were established in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence in order to prosecute those who we ...

and was acquitted in 1926. He retired with the title of general. He stayed away from politics for four years between 1927 and 1931. In 1931, he returned to politics and was elected as a deputy representing

. He served as the deputy for Konya and

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from "old" and "city") is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...

until 1950. He also served as Minister of Public Works from 1939 to 1943, Minister of Transportation (1943–1946) and as the president of the Parliament in 1948. He was an independent candidate of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

from

in the first democratic elections of the

Turkish history :''See History of the Republic of Turkey for the history of the modern state.'' The history of Turkey, understood as the history of the region now forming the territory of the Republic of Turkey, includes the history of both Anatolia (the Asia ...

held on May 14, 1950, and he was elected with a landslide. In the following years, he was elected as a deputy from İstanbul and served in the parliament for ten more years between 1950 and 1960. After the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

on May 27, 1960, he was initially arrested by the junta with the rest of the Democratic Party MPs but later set free. After this experience he quit politics for good. In accordance with his will, he was buried to the backyard of a mosque near

Geyve Geyve is a town in Sakarya Province in the Marmara region of Turkey. The closest international airport is Istanbul Sabiha Gökçen International Airport, from Geyve. It is the third largest town of Sakarya Province in terms of area. Geyve is l ...

train station, where the first shots of the Turkish War of Independence were fired, when he died at the age of 86. However, his remains were moved to the

Turkish State Cemetery The Turkish State Cemetery ( tr, Devlet Mezarlığı) is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder ...

in Ankara, after the military coup of 1980. File:Orbay, Atatürk and Cebesoy.jpg,

is holding a meeting with Ali Fuat Cebesoy and

Rauf Orbay Hüseyin Rauf Orbay (27 July 1881 – 16 July 1964) was an Ottoman-born Turkish naval officer, statesman and diplomat of Abkhazian origin. Biography Hüseyin Rauf was born in Constantinople in 1881 to an Abkhazian family. As an officer i ...

during the

Sivas Congress The Sivas Congress ( tr, Sivas Kongresi) was an assembly of the Turkish National Movement held for one week from 4 to 11 September 1919 in the city of Sivas, in central-eastern Turkey, which united delegates from all Anatolian provinces of the Ot ...

(September 1919) File:Commanders of the Independence War (Turkey).JPG, Commanders of Turkish Army during the

File:Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet.jpg, Founders of the Progressive Republican Party, 1924, in front of the

Haydarpaşa Terminal Haydarpaşa is a neighborhood within the Kadıköy and Üsküdar districts on the Asian part of Istanbul, Turkey. Haydarpaşa is named after Ottoman Vizier Haydar Pasha. The place, on the coast of Sea of Marmara, borders to Harem in the northwest ...