Celal Yardımcı (1911–1986) was a Turkish politician who served as the

minister of education An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...

and

minister of justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...

in the 1950s. Being a member of the Democrat Party (DP) he was arrested and imprisoned following the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

in 1960.

Early life and education

He was born Hüseyin Celal in

Doğubayazıt Doğubayazıt (; or , ) is a town of Ağrı Province of Turkey, near the Iran–Turkey border, border with Iran. Its elevation is 1625 m. It is the seat of Doğubayazıt District. History For most of the periods described here, Doğubay ...

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

, in 1911. His parents divorced in 1929. He had seven siblings. He graduated from Istanbul High School in 1928 and received a degree in law from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

in 1934. During his studies at Istanbul University he also took courses in French and Greek languages.

Career and arrest

Yardımcı started his career working as a clerk at the Istanbul Courthouse. Then he worked as a lawyer and a journalist. He joined the Democrat Party. He was a member of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

and represented

Ağrı Ağrı (; ) is a city in eastern Turkey, near the border with Iran. It is the seat of Ağrı Province and Ağrı District.

in the legislatures of the 9th, 10th and 11th between 1950 and 1960. He also served as the deputy speaker of the Parliament. He was appointed minister of state to the 20th cabinet and 22nd cabinet. His first term in office was between 8 April 1953 and 17 May 1954, and the second was from 9 December 1955 to 15 November 1957. In the 21st cabinet and 23rd cabinet he was the minister of education. Yardımcı served in the post from 17 May 1954 to 9 December 1955 and from 25 November 1957 to 22 May 1959. During his first term as the education minister Maarif Colleges were launched in 1955. These schools were one of the consequences of the improved relations between Turkey and the United States and provided English and Turkish courses. Yardımcı was appointed minister of justice on 3 April 1960 when Esat Budakoğlu resigned from office. Yardımcı served in the 23rd cabinet until the military coup on 27 May 1960. All of the cabinets in which Yardımcı served were led by Prime Minister

Adnan Menderes Ali Adnan Ertekin Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of ...

. Immediately after the coup Yardımcı was arrested and tried at the Yassıada court and sentenced to life imprisonment. During the trials lasted between 14 October 1960 and 15 September 1961 his lawyer was his sister, Mesude Varol. In the Yassıada prison he stayed in the same room with

Fatin Rüştü Zorlu Fatin Rüştü Zorlu (20 April 1910 – 16 September 1961) was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other politicians. Early life and education He was born on 20 April ...

who was the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in the Menderes cabinets. Zorlu would be executed immediately after the trials on 16 September. Yardımcı was first jailed in Kayseri and then in Istanbul and Ankara. Yardımcı was released from the prison in January 1965 when he was pardoned by the President

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (9 June 1894 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish military officer and politician who was the fourth president of Turkey, serving from 1960 to 1966 after taking power in a coup d'état. Early life Gürsel was born in the town ...

due to his health problems. Then Yardımcı worked as a freelance lawyer. When former DP politicians were permitted to join political parties in 1975 Yardımcı became a member of the Justice Party headed by

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

and was elected as a deputy from Istanbul serving in the 16th legislature.

Personal life and death

Yardımcı was married to Harika Yardımcı and had two children. He died in Istanbul on 10 January 1986 and was buried in Zincirlikuyu cemetery.

References