Emel Korutürk (born Emel Cimcoz; 1915 – 12 March 2013) was a
Turkish
Turkish may refer to:
*a Turkic language spoken by the Turks
* of or about Turkey
** Turkish language
*** Turkish alphabet
** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
*** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey
*** Turkish communities and mi ...
painter and a former
First Lady of Turkey.
Early years
She was born in 1915 as Emel Cimcoz, the fourth child of Salah Cimcöz and his wife Hasene Hanim. During her early childhood her father was exiled by the
Allies of World War I to
Malta.
After her primary education, she studied in
Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul a prestigious school for girls. She took private art lessons by
Fikret Mualla, but he was fired in 1936 because an violent argoument with her father. Following her high school years in
Lausanne,
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
she graduated from Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi which is now
Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University in 1936. During her academy years she was congratulated by
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 Surname Law (Turkey), until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish Mareşal (Turkey), field marshal, Turkish National Movement, re ...
, the first president of
Turkey, for her talent in art in 1933. After academy she worked together with Turkish painter
İbrahim Çallı.
Family life
In 1944 she married
Fahri Korutürk, a naval officer. The couple had two sons and a daughter,
Osman,
Selah and AyÅŸe.
Between 1960 and 1977 Fahri Korutürk was the commander of the
Turkish Naval Forces. After his retirement from the navy in 1960, he was appointed as Turkish ambassador to the
Soviet Union (1960–1964) and later to
Spain (1964–1965). In 1968 Fahri Korutürk was elected as the
senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
member by the president who had the right to name 15 members of the Turkish senate. In 1973, he was elected as the 6th
president of Turkey. Thus Emel Korutürk became the first lady of the country. In 1980 Fahri Korutürk's term as the president ended and in 1987 he died. Emel Korutürk lived another 26 years and died on 13 March 2013 in Istanbul.
Her contributions to art
During her term as the first lady, she concentrated on promoting
Turkish painting. She was instrumental in presidential receptions to Turkish artists. She also supported the foundation of the
Ankara State Art and Sculpture Museum which would be a model for other such museums. In this museum, she began collecting 34 paintings of Turkish artist
Fikret Mualla.
Turkish paintings page
/ref> Her painting "Gratitude to Gazi" (referring to "Atatürk") is also exhibited in the museum.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Korutürk, Emel
1915 births
2013 deaths
Artists from Istanbul
Turkish women painters
First ladies of Turkey
Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul alumni