Faik Ali Ozansoy (10 March 1876 – 1 October 1950) was a Turkish politician, poet, and educator. He was the younger brother of

Süleyman Nazif Süleyman Nazif ( ota, سلیمان نظیف;‎ 29 January 1870 – 4 January 1927) was a Turkish people, Turkish poet and a prominent member of the Committee of Union and Progress, CUP. He mastered Arabic language, Arabic, Persian language, ...

, an eminent man of letters and prominent member of the Committee for Union and Progress. Faik Ali was one of the foremost poets and writers of the

Servet-i Fünun ''Servet-i Fünun'' ("''Wealth of Knowledge''", french: Servetifunoun) was an avant-garde journal published in the Ottoman Empire and later in Turkey. Halit Ziya (Uşaklıgil) and the other writers of the "New Literature" ( ota, Edebiyat-ı Cedi ...

and Fecr-i Âti literary period. During World War I, Ozansoy served as the governor of

Kütahya Kütahya () (historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion, Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, Porsuk river, at 969 metres above sea level. It is inhabited by some 578,640 people (2022 estimate) ...

. Ozansoy is especially known for having saved the lives of thousands of Armenians during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was ...

. Due to protecting the life of Armenian Christians, Ozansoy was known as the "governor of the infidels" by his contemporaries. On 24 April 2013, the day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide, various prominent figures of both the Armenian and Turkish community visited his grave to pay tribute.

Early life

Faik Ali Ozansoy, who was originally named Mehmet Faik, was born on 10 March 1876 in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır (; ; ; ) is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. He was born into a family that was known for their poetic skill. His father, Saîd Paşa, was a renowned historian of Diyarbakır. His father was of Kurdish origin belonging to the Zirqanid Tribe, while his mother, Ayşe Hanim, was a daughter of a prominent member of the Turkish Akkoyunlu tribe. Ozansoy had two sisters and a brother named

, who was a famous Turkish poet and politician.

Armenian genocide

During the

, Ozansoy served as governor of the

Kütahya Province Kütahya Province ( tr, ) is a province in the Aegean region of Turkey. It is 11,875 km in size, and the population is 571,554 (2014). In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,000. The neighboring provinces are Bursa to the northwest, ...

. When orders of deportations reached Ozansoy, he refused to carry them out. His brother, Suleyman Nazif, insisted in a letter that he not "participate in this event, watch out for our family's honor." Meanwhile, while many Armenians were being deported through Kutahya and onto further destinations, Ozansoy protected them and provided shelter. He was then invited to

Constantinople la, Constantinopolis ota, قسطنطينيه , alternate_name = Byzantion (earlier Greek name), Nova Roma ("New Rome"), Miklagard/Miklagarth (Old Norse), Tsargrad ( Slavic), Qustantiniya (Arabic), Basileuousa ("Queen of Cities"), Megalopolis (" ...

(now

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

) to explain his actions towards the Armenians. Memoirist

Stepan Stepanian Stepan Stepanian (1866–1915) was an Armenian Revolutionary Federation member and politician in the Ottoman Empire. He was among the participants in the 1907 Fourth General Congress that decided ARF participation in the Iranian Constitution ...

describes his encounter with

Talaat Pasha Mehmed Talaat (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha,; tr, Talat Paşa, links=no was an Ottoman politician and convicted war criminal of the late Ottoman Empire who served as its leader from 1913 t ...

: While Ozansoy was in the capital negotiating with Talaat, the chief of police in Kutahya, Kemal Bey, took advantage of Ozansoy's absence and forced many Armenians in the province to convert to Islam. As a result, many of the Armenians converted to save themselves from deportation. Upon returning to Kutahya, Ozansoy was upset over the mass conversions. He immediately removed Kemal Bey from his post and reassessed the situation by asking the Armenians of Kutahya whether they wished to remain Muslim. All, with the exception of one, decided to stay Christian. In the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide, Ozansoy refused a gift of gratitude from the Armenians consisting of 500 gold pieces and instead had the gold spent for the relief efforts of the Armenian refugees. The funds were used to establish a soup kitchen and a school. Ali Faik assigned Stepan Stepanyan as the first principal of the school.

Later life

After World War I ended and with the establishment of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

, Faik Ali Ozansoy continued working as a politician, then moved to Istanbul where he became the mayor of the

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; w ...

and

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (, ota, بك‌اوغلی, script=Arab) is a district on the European side of İstanbul, Turkey, separated from the old city (historic peninsula of Constantinople) by the Golden Horn. It was known as the region of Pera (Πέρα, meani ...

districts in the city. During

Damat Ferid Pasha Damat Mehmed Adil Ferid Pasha ( ota, محمد عادل فريد پاشا tr, Damat Ferit Paşa;‎ 1853 – 6 October 1923), known simply as Damat Ferid Pasha, was an Ottoman liberal statesman, who held the office of Grand Vizier, the ...

's government, he was appointed as the undersecretary for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is the government department responsible for the state's diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral relations affairs as well as for providing support for a country's citizens who are abroad. The entit ...

. In March 1919, he served as a governor for the

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province ( tr, Diyarbakır ili, Zazaki: Suke Diyarbekır ku, Parêzgeha Amedê) is a Provinces of Turkey, province in southeastern Turkey. The province covers an area of 15,355 km2 and its population is 1,528,958. The provincia ...

for a few months. He returned to Istanbul where he became a French teacher at the ''Mulkiye Mektep'' School. He served as an undersecretary for the Interior Ministry from 1930–32. He died on 1 October 1950 and is buried at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

in Istanbul.

Literary work

Some of Ozansoy's notable poems include: *Fani Teselliler (1908) *Temasil (1912) *Elhan-ı Vatan (1915)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozansoy, Faik Ali 1876 births People from Diyarbakır Turkish poets Turkish politicians People of the Armenian genocide Turkish educators 1950 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Witnesses of the Armenian genocide

Early life

Armenian genocide

Later life

Literary work

See also

References