Günseli Başar (22 January 1932 – 20 April 2013) was a

Turkish Turkish may refer to: * Something related to Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities in the former Ottoman Empire * The w ...

beauty contest A beauty pageant is a competition in which the contestants are judged and ranked based on various physical and mental attributes. Per its name, beauty pageants traditionally focus on judging the contestants' physical attractiveness, sometimes so ...

ant and

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (periodical), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the ...

who was crowned

Miss Turkey The Miss Turkey () is a national beauty pageant in Turkey. The pageant was founded in 1929, where the winners titled as Miss Turkey World, and Miss Turkey Supranational. History The Miss Turkey pageant was initially promoted by the newspa ...

1951 and

Miss Europe Miss Europe is a beauty pageant for women from all over Europe. It was established in February 1927 by , the European distributor of Paramount, as a one-off event where the winner was to star in a film directed by Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau. A ...

1952.

Biography

Başar was born on February 22, 1932, to an officer's family in Istanbul, where her father was stationed. However, her birth was registered some time later in

Erzurum Erzurum (; ) is a List of cities in Turkey, city in eastern Anatolia, Turkey. It is the largest city and capital of Erzurum Province and is 1,900 meters (6,233 feet) above sea level. Erzurum had a population of 367,250 in 2010. It is the site of an ...

due to her father's transfer. Her great-grand uncle was

Grand Vizier Grand vizier (; ; ) was the title of the effective head of government of many sovereign states in the Islamic world. It was first held by officials in the later Abbasid Caliphate. It was then held in the Ottoman Empire, the Mughal Empire, the Soko ...

Halil Rifat Pasha Halil Rifat Pasha () ( Modern Turkish: ''Halil Rıfat Paşa''; 1820According to the obituary in The Times, he was born about 1807. This would make him almost 95 years old at the time of his death. Other sources give 1820.–9 November 1901) was ...

, founder of the almshouse () in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

and commissioner of the

İzmir Clock Tower İzmir Clock Tower () is a historic clock tower located at the Konak Square in the Konak district of İzmir, Turkey. It is considered as the main landmark of the city. History Kâmil Pasha, the then-Governor of Aidin Vilayet, held a meeting w ...

. She is of

Rumelian Turkish Balkan Gagauz, Balkan Turkish or Rumelian Turkish (), is a Turkic language spoken in European Turkey, in Dulovo and the Deliorman area in Bulgaria, the Prizren area in Kosovo, and the Kumanovo and Bitola areas of North Macedonia. Dialects in ...

, Circassian and Georgian descent. Günseli Başar completed her secondary education at

Erenköy Girls High School Erenköy Girls High School (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Erenköy Kız Anadolu Lisesi'') is a public girls high school in the Erenköy, Kadıköy, Erenköy neighborhood of Kadıköy district in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1911 during the Ottom ...

in Istanbul. While studying sculpture at the Fine Arts Academy in

, Günseli participated at a beauty pageant organized by the newspaper ''

Cumhuriyet ''Cumhuriyet'' (; English: "Republic") is the oldest up-market Turkish daily newspaper. It has been described as "the most important independent public interest newspaper in contemporary Turkey". The newspaper was awarded the ''Freedom of Press ...

'', and won the title

1951 on October 13, 1951. The next year, she represented her country at the Miss Europe beauty contest held in

Naples Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

, and became Turkey's first ever Miss Europe winner on August 20, 1952. She dropped out of her arts education, and at the age of 23, married Mehmet Kutsi Beğdeş, a charitable businessman. Günseli made her second marriage in 1959 to the Mayor of

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

, Faruk Tunca. Both her marriages were short-lived. She has one daughter, Aslı, from her second marriage and two granddaughters. In 1977, she accepted an offer from

Erol Simavi Erol is a Turkish given name or surname meaning "brave". This name is shared by the following people: Given name * Erol Alkan (born 1974), Turkish Cypriot DJ, artist and record producer * Erol Erdal Alkan (born 1994), Turkish footballer * Erol Bek ...

, the owner of the daily newspaper ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

'', to write a column under the title "Günseli Oradaydı" (literally: "Günseli Was There") in order to finance her daughter's education abroad. After only one year of travelling across the country to write her column, she was involved in a traffic accident in which she was seriously injured. She underwent repeated operations on her head and arm. After recovering she did not return to her writing career. Günseli Başar lived in

Bodrum Bodrum () is a town and district of Muğla Province, Turkey. About 200 thousand people live in the district, which covers 650 km2 and includes the town. It is a port town at the entrance to the Gulf of Gökova. Known in ancient times as Hal ...

, Turkey until her death on 20 April 2013 at the age of 82.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Basar, Gunseli 1932 births 2013 deaths People from Istanbul Erenköy Girls High School alumni Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul alumni Miss Europe winners Miss Turkey winners Turkish columnists Turkish people of Circassian descent Turkish people of Georgian descent Hürriyet people Turkish women columnists 20th-century Turkish journalists 21st-century Turkish journalists 20th-century Turkish women journalists 21st-century Turkish women journalists