Fahrettin Kerim Gökay (January 9, 1900 – July 22, 1987) was a Turkish politician, civil servant, professor ordinarius and physician. He served as government minister, and is well known for his long-term position as governor of Istanbul.

Early years

He was born on January 9, 1900, in

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 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

. His father was

Hajji Hajji (; sometimes spelled Hajjeh, Hadji, Haji, Alhaji, Al-Hadj, Al-Haj or El-Hajj) is an honorific title which is given to a Muslim who has successfully completed the Hajj to Mecca. Etymology ''Hajji'' is derived from the Arabic ' (), which i ...

Kerim Efendi, a Crimean Tatar from

Kerch Kerch, also known as Keriç or Kerich, is a city of regional significance on the Kerch Peninsula in the east of Crimea. It has a population of Founded 2,600 years ago as the Colonies in antiquity#Greek colonies, ancient Greek colony Pantik ...

and his mother Hajji Azize Hanım, an immigrant daughter from

Dobruja Dobruja or Dobrudja (; or ''Dobrudža''; , or ; ; Dobrujan Tatar: ''Tomrîğa''; Ukrainian language, Ukrainian and ) is a Geography, geographical and historical region in Southeastern Europe that has been divided since the 19th century betw ...

. After finishing the primary school in his hometown, he studied in a high school in Istanbul. Gökay was educated at

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 ...

's Faculty of Medicine, from where he graduated as a physician in 1922. He then carried out studies between 1922 and 1924 at universities of

Munich Munich is the capital and most populous city of Bavaria, Germany. As of 30 November 2024, its population was 1,604,384, making it the third-largest city in Germany after Berlin and Hamburg. Munich is the largest city in Germany that is no ...

and

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

as well as at

University of Vienna The University of Vienna (, ) is a public university, public research university in Vienna, Austria. Founded by Rudolf IV, Duke of Austria, Duke Rudolph IV in 1365, it is the oldest university in the German-speaking world and among the largest ...

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

, specializing in

neuropathy Peripheral neuropathy, often shortened to neuropathy, refers to damage or disease affecting the nerves. Damage to nerves may impair sensation, movement, gland function, and/or organ function depending on which nerve fibers are affected. Neuropa ...

. In 1926, Gökay became associate professor, in 1933 professor and then in 1942 full professor. He served also as president of the

Turkish Red Crescent The Turkish Red Crescent () is the Turkish affiliate of the International Red Crescent and the first worldwide adopter of the crescent symbol for humanitarian aid. Being the largest humanitarian foundation in Turkey, its roots goes back to the ...

Civil servant

On October 24, 1949, he was appointed governor and mayor of Istanbul, succeeding

Lütfi Kırdar Mehmet Lütfi Kırdar (March 15, 1887 – February 17, 1961) was a Turkish physician, civil servant, politician and Minister of Health and Social Security. He is best remembered for his long-term position as the Governor and Mayor of Istanbul. ...

(in office 1938–1949). Gökay served in this post until November 26, 1957. He introduced

price controls Price controls are restrictions set in place and enforced by governments, on the prices that can be charged for goods and services in a market. The intent behind implementing such controls can stem from the desire to maintain affordability of go ...

staple food A staple food, food staple, or simply staple, is a food that is eaten often and in such quantities that it constitutes a dominant portion of a standard diet for an individual or a population group, supplying a large fraction of energy needs an ...

s in Istanbul to protect low-income residents. The municipality of Istanbul founded Migros Türk in 1954 as a joint venture with Swiss Migros, initially operating (like its counterpart in Switzerland) via sales trucks. Gökay opened up the area outside of the Walls of Istanbul for urbanization. He also initiated the foundation of around fifty schools in Istanbul. During his term of office, he was nicknamed "Küçük Vali" (literally ) for his small height, and was a favorite figure depicted in cartoons as such. He was blamed for his passive behavior during the Istanbul riots on September 6–7 in 1955, and was tried before the military tribunal on Yassıada after the 1960 coup d'état. On November 23, 1957, he was appointed Ambassador to

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, where he served in

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

until July 2, 1960.

Politician

In the 1961 general election, Gökay entered politics, running for a seat in the parliament from the New Turkey Party and became deputy of Istanbul. In the cabinet of

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...

, Gökay served as Minister of Construction and Settlement from July 1962, and then as minister of health and social security between November 27 and December 25, 1963. He retired from politics in 1965. Gökay died on July 22, 1987, at the age of 87 in Istanbul.

Legacy

A main street in

Kadıköy Kadıköy () is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district on the Asian side of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 25 km2, and its population is 467,919 (2023). It is a large and populous area in the Asian si ...

district of Istanbul is named after him. There is an

Anatolian High School Anatolian High School, or Anadolu High School (), refers to public high schools in Turkey that admit their students according to high nationwide standardized test (LGS) scores, though this is not required for entering all Anatolian High Schools. ...

at Sefaköy in

Küçükçekmece Küçükçekmece (; meaning “small-drawer”, from much earlier ''Rhegion'' (Greek: Ρήγιον) and ''Küçükçökmece as “little breakdown''" or “''little depression''”, in more ancient times just as Bathonea), is a municipality and d ...

district of Istanbul bearing his name.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gokay, Fahrettin Kerim 1900 births 20th-century mayors of places in Turkey People from Eskişehir Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine alumni Turkish neurologists Academic staff of Istanbul University Turkish civil servants Governors of Istanbul Mayors of Istanbul Ambassadors of Turkey to Switzerland New Turkey Party (1961) politicians 20th-century Turkish politicians Deputies of Istanbul Government ministers of Turkey Ministers of health of Turkey 1987 deaths Members of the 27th government of Turkey Grand Crosses with Star and Sash of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany Istanbul pogrom Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent University of Hamburg alumni Ludwig Maximilian University of Munich alumni