Hasan Polatkan (1915 – 16 September 1961) was a
Turkish politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
and Minister of Labor and Finance, who was executed by hanging after the
coup d'état in 1960 along with two other cabinet members.
Early years
He was born 1915 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 898,369 with a metropolitan population of 797,708. The city is located on the banks of the ...
,
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) ...
(now
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 ...
) to a family of
Crimean Tatar descent. He studied political science at
Istanbul University
, image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg
, image_size = 200px
, latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis
, motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü
, mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future
, established = 1453 1846 1933
...
.
After his graduation in 1936, Polatkan worked at the state-owned
Ziraat Bank
Ziraat Bankası is a state-owned bank in Turkey founded in 1863. Offers commercial loan support to companies and tradesmen, as well as personal loans such as consumer loans, vehicle loans and housing loans.
History
During the first half of the ...
as inspector.
Political career
He entered politics and was elected in the
1946 general election deputy of Eskişehir into the
Turkish Grand National Assembly
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 Consti ...
for the
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to:
*Democratic Party (United States)
Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to:
Active parties Africa
*Botswana Democratic Party
*Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea
*Gabonese Democratic Party
*Demo ...
. He secured his seat in the parliament after the
1950
Events January
* January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed.
* January 5 – 1950 Sverdlovsk plane crash, Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 cr ...
,
1954
Events
January
* January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany.
* January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting.
* January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fir ...
and
1957
1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th y ...
general elections. He served in the cabinet of Prime Minister
Adnan Menderes
Adnan Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of Turkey. He ...
as Minister of Labor () and later twice as Minister of Finance ( and ) until the
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; tr, Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, TSK) are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. Turkish Armed Forces consist of the General Staff, the Land Forces, the Naval Forces and the Air Forces. The current Chi ...
staged a coup and ousted the
19th government.
Trial and execution
He was arrested with Menderes in
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) ...
, charged with corruption and violating the
constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of Legal entity, entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When ...
along with some other party members, and arraigned at the
Yassıada trials
The Yassıada Trials were a series of criminal cases in Turkey brought by the military regime against politicians of the formerly ruling Democrat Party. Following the coup which removed the Democrats from power on May 27, 1960, the military junta ...
. Polatkan was sentenced to death and hanged on the island of
İmralı
İmralı is a small Turkish prison island in the south of the Sea of Marmara, west of the Armutlu-Bozburun peninsula within Bursa Province. It measures in the north–south direction with a width of , and has an area of . The highest peak is ...
on 16 September 1961,
as were Adnan Menderes and
Fatin Rüştü Zorlu
Fatin Rüştü Zorlu (20 April 1910 – 16 September 1961) was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He was executed by hanging after the coup d'état in 1960 along with two other politicians.
Early life and education
He was born on 20 Apri ...
. Many years after his death, his grave was moved to a mausoleum in
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, ...
on 17 September 1990 along with Menderes' and Zorlu's remains.
He was survived by his wife Mutahhare Polatkan and daughter Nilgün Polatkan.
Legacy
A
boulevard
A boulevard is a type of broad avenue planted with rows of trees, or in parts of North America, any urban highway.
Boulevards were originally circumferential roads following the line of former city walls.
In American usage, boulevards may ...
in Eskişehir is named after him.
His name is given to a high school in
Bakırköy
Bakırköy is a neighbourhood, municipality and district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey. The quarter is densely populated, has a residential character and is inhabited by an upper middle class population. The municipality of Bakırköy ...
, Istanbul,
as well as to a secondary school,
and a cultural center in
Odunpazarı
Odunpazarı (literally "firewood market" in Turkish) is a historic district of Eskişehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey. Odunpazarı is one of the central districts of Eskişehir along with the district of Tepebaşı.
Histori ...
, Eskişehir.
The airport in the city of Eskişehir is also named after him. AOE (HASAN POLATKAN AIRPORT)
References
* The Atatürk Institute for Modern Turkish History
''Biography of Hasan Polatkan''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polatkan, Hasan
1915 births
1961 deaths
People from Eskişehir
Turkish people of Crimean Tatar descent
Istanbul University alumni
Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1961) politicians
20th-century Turkish politicians
Deputies of Eskişehir
Ministers of Labour and Social Security of Turkey
Ministers of Finance of Turkey
Executed politicians
Executed Turkish people
People executed by Turkey by hanging
20th-century executions by Turkey
People who have received posthumous pardons
Members of the 19th government of Turkey
Members of the 20th government of Turkey
Members of the 21st government of Turkey
Members of the 22nd government of Turkey
Members of the 23rd government of Turkey
Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany
Politicians arrested in Turkey