Fahri Sabit Korutürk (3 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the

6th 6 (six) is the natural number following 5 and preceding 7. It is a composite number and the smallest perfect number. In mathematics Six is the smallest positive integer which is neither a square number nor a prime number; it is the second ...

president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the 3rd commander of the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

from 1957 to 1960. He was also a member of the Senate of the Republic from 1968 to 1973 and again in 1980. Prior to his senatorship, he served as Turkey's ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

from 1960 to 1964. He was born in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

, at

Soğukçeşme Sokağı Soğukçeşme Sokağı (literally: Street of the Cold Fountain) is a small street with historic houses in the Sultanahmet neighborhood of Istanbul, Turkey, sandwiched in-between the Hagia Sophia and Topkapı Palace. The car-free zone street i ...

, a small street between

Topkapı Palace The Topkapı Palace ( tr, Topkapı Sarayı; ota, طوپقپو سرايى, ṭopḳapu sarāyı, lit=cannon gate palace), or the Seraglio, is a large museum in the east of the Fatih district of Istanbul in Turkey. From the 1460s to the compl ...

and

Hagia Sophia Hagia Sophia ( 'Holy Wisdom'; ; ; ), officially the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque ( tr, Ayasofya-i Kebir Cami-i Şerifi), is a mosque and major cultural and historical site in Istanbul, Turkey. The cathedral was originally built as a Greek Ortho ...

. He attended the navy cadet school in 1916, was graduated in 1923 and from the

Naval Academy A naval academy provides education for prospective naval officers. See also * Military academy A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally pr ...

in 1933. In 18 March 1934 after an encounter with President Atatürk he was given Korutürk as his

Surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

. Korutürk saw active service on

cruiser A cruiser is a type of warship. Modern cruisers are generally the largest ships in a fleet after aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, and can usually perform several roles. The term "cruiser", which has been in use for several ...

s and

submarine A submarine (or sub) is a watercraft capable of independent operation underwater. It differs from a submersible, which has more limited underwater capability. The term is also sometimes used historically or colloquially to refer to remotely op ...

s and later traveled abroad as naval

attaché In diplomacy, an attaché is a person who is assigned ("to be attached") to the diplomatic or administrative staff of a higher placed person or another service or agency. Although a loanword from French, in English the word is not modified accord ...

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Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitu ...

and

Stockholm Stockholm () is the capital and largest city of Sweden as well as the largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people live in the municipality, with 1.6 million in the urban area, and 2.4 million in the metropo ...

. In 1936, he participated in Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits as military advisor. He was made

rear admiral Rear admiral is a senior naval flag officer rank, equivalent to a major general and air vice marshal and above that of a commodore and captain, but below that of a vice admiral. It is regarded as a two star " admiral" rank. It is often rega ...

in 1950 and commanded various units until he became

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet ...

. After his retirement in 1960 from the post of Commander of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces ( tr, ), or Turkish Navy ( tr, ) is the naval warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was establis ...

, Korutürk was appointed by the Head of State

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the fourth President of Turkey after a coup. Early life He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, and ...

as Turkish

ambassador An ambassador is an official envoy, especially a high-ranking diplomat who represents a state and is usually accredited to another sovereign state or to an international organization as the resident representative of their own government or s ...

to the

(1960-1964) and later to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

(1964-1965). In 1968, President Cevdet Sunay appointed him member of 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 ...

. On 6 April 1973, the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Cons ...

elected him the 6th President of the Republic of Turkey. During his term he presided over the

Turkish Invasion of Cyprus The Turkish invasion of Cyprus began on 20 July 1974 and progressed in two phases over the following month. Taking place upon a background of intercommunal violence between Greek and Turkish Cypriots, and in response to a Greek junta-s ...

after Archbishop

Makarios III Makarios III ( el, Μακάριος Γ΄; born Michael Christodoulou Mouskos) ( Greek: Μιχαήλ Χριστοδούλου Μούσκος) (13 August 1913 – 3 August 1977) was a Cypriot politician, archbishop and primate who served as ...

was ousted by the Greek officer-led

Cypriot National Guard , name2 = National Guard General Staff , image = Emblem of the Cypriot National Guard.svg , image_size = 100px , caption = Emblem of the National Guard of Cyprus , image2 = Flag of the ...

. Korutürk served the constitutional term of seven years until 6 April 1980.

Kenan Evren Ahmet Kenan Evren (; 17 July 1917 – 9 May 2015) was a Turkish politician and military officer, who served as the seventh President of Turkey from 1980 to 1989. He assumed the post by leading the 1980 military coup. On 18 June 2014, a Turkis ...

said that he suggested President Korutürk to occupy the office of presidency one more term through military's intervention as he was a respected figure by both military officers and parliamentarians, but he refused this offer and stated it would be unconstitutional. Afterwards he became a

senator 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 ...

until the coup d`etat in 1980. He married Emel Korutürk in 1944 and they had two sons and a daughter. Fahri Korutürk died in Moda, Istanbul. He was laid to rest in the

Turkish State Cemetery The Turkish State Cemetery ( tr, Devlet Mezarlığı) is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder ...

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

. His son Osman Korutürk was appointed Turkey's ambassador in

Tehran Tehran (; fa, تهران ) is the largest city in Tehran Province and the capital of Iran. With a population of around 9 million in the city and around 16 million in the larger metropolitan area of Greater Tehran, Tehran is the most popul ...

in October 1996. The Iranian government presented him with documents about his father that had been acquired during 1979 seizure of American embassy. In the documents it's said that most ambassadors serving in Soviet Union used the black market to exchange their paychecks with American dollars (which had more value among the population) while Fahri Korutürk is the only one who used

Gosbank Gosbank (russian: Госбанк, Государственный банк СССР, ''Gosudarstvenny bank SSSR''—the State Bank of the USSR) was the central bank of the Soviet Union and the only bank in the entire country from 1922 to 1991 ...

to exchange his paycheck

Works

* ''İskajerak Deniz Muharebesi hakkında bir konferans'' ''(A Conference on the Battle of Skagerrak)''

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Koruturk, Fahri 1903 births 1987 deaths 20th-century presidents of Turkey Military personnel from Istanbul Naval Academy (Turkey) alumni Turkish Muslims Commanders of the Turkish Naval Forces Presidents of Turkey Burials at Turkish State Cemetery Ambassadors of Turkey to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Turkey to Spain Naval attachés Politicians from Istanbul Turkish admirals