Professor Cemil Bilsel (1879–1949) was a Turkish lawyer, academic, and politician. He was also the former

Rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of the

University of Istanbul , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

(1934–1943).

Early life and career

Bilsel was born in 1879 in the city of Damascus, in Ottoman Syria, into a family of Turkish origin. In 1903 he graduated from his studies in law, and between 1908–1914 and 1921–1925, Birsel entered the State Public Law Course at the Law Department of the Darülfünun’u Istanbul. In 1925 he became one of the first faculty members of the Law School of Ankara University and served as a Professor of Public Law until 1934. Thereafter, Bilsel became the

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Istanbul University and remained in this post until his retirement in 1943.. He also became a national parliament member and an international representative of Turkey in global diplomatic forums. In 1948 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in medicine by the

University of Toulouse The University of Toulouse (french: Université de Toulouse) was a university in the French city of Toulouse that was established by papal bull in 1229, making it one of the earliest universities to emerge in Europe. Suppressed during the Frenc ...

. The "Prof. Dr. Cemil Bilsel Konferans Salonu" is a conference hall named in his honor at Istanbul University.

Personal life

In addition to speaking Turkish, he could also speak in the

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...

and French languages. Bilsel died In 1949, at the age of 70.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bilsel, Cemil Syrian people of Turkish descent People from Damascus 1879 births 1949 deaths Academic staff of Istanbul University Academic staff of Ankara University Turkish politicians Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni University of Toulouse alumni