Hüseyin Hilmi Bey or İştirakçi (Socialist) Hilmi (1885 – 16 November 1922) was one of the early

Turkish Turkish may refer to: *a Turkic language spoken by the Turks * of or about Turkey ** Turkish language *** Turkish alphabet ** Turkish people, a Turkic ethnic group and nation *** Turkish citizen, a citizen of Turkey *** Turkish communities and mi ...

socialists Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the eco ...

. He was the founder and first General Chairman of the

Ottoman Socialist Party The Ottoman Socialist Party ( tr, Osmanlı Sosyalist Fırkası, OSF) was the first Turkish socialist political party, founded in the Ottoman Empire in 1910. Ottoman Socialist Party (1910–1913) Before the formation of the party, socialist par ...

and the Socialist Party of Turkey.

Early years

Hüseyin Hilmi was born in İzmir. Hilmi's birth date is not clearly known. He worked as a

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

in İzmir.

Hilmi Before He Became a Socialist

In İzmir, Hilmi published a newspaper named ''Serbest İzmir'' (Free İzmir or Liberal İzmir) in 1907. He was a supporter of the

Ottoman Liberty Party The Ottoman Liberty Party ( ota, Osmanlı Ahrar Fırkası) was a short-lived liberal political party in the Ottoman Empire during the Second Constitutional Era. It was founded by Prince Sabahaddin, Ahmet Samim, Suat Soyer, Ahmet Reşit Rey, Me ...

and Prince Sabahaddin.

''İştirakçi Hilmi''

He received an inheritance from his father and went to Romania in the following years. In Romania, Hilmi was affected by labour movements and he became a socialist. Hilmi published ''İştirak'' on 13 February 1909. Now, Hilmi was known with ''İştirak'' Newspaper. And he was called ''İştirakçi Hilmi''.

Ottoman Socialist Party era

The Ottoman Socialist Party ( tr, Osmanlı Sosyalist Fırkası) was founded by Hüseyin Hilmi, Namık Hasan, İbnül Tahir İsmail Faik, Baha Tevfik and Hamit Suphi on August 1910. İştirak became a periodical for the defense of socialism among Ottoman intellectuals. ''İştirak'' introduced different branches of socialism to its readers. It was the first time that the thoughts of Karl Marx were defended systematically in the Ottoman Press. The Ottoman Socialist Party was closed in 1912. After the assassination of Mahmut Şevket Pasha, Hilmi was exiled to

Sinop Fortress Prison Sinop Fortress Prison ( tr, Sinop Kale Cezaevi) was a state prison situated in the inside of the Sinop Fortress in Sinop, Turkey. As one of the oldest prisons of Turkey, it was established in 1887 within the inner fortress of the centuries-old f ...

in 1913.

Ottoman Socialist Party in Paris Branch

Paris Branch of OSF was founded by Doctor Refik Nevzat in the 1910s. After the closing of the party 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, ...

and the exiling of Hilmi, Refik Nevzat became the only representative person of the party. He published 3 brochures for OSF named ''Siyaset-i Hazıra-i Meş'ume'' (Current Sinister Politics), ''Sosyalizm ve Rehber-i Amele'' (Socialism and Vanguard Workers) and ''Haraç Mezat Satıyoruz'' (Auctions Sell Tribute).

Socialist Party of Turkey

After the Armistice of Mudros ( tr, Mondros Mütakeresi) Hüseyin Hilmi returned to Istanbul. On 20 February 1325 (1919), the Socialist Party of Turkey ( tr, Türkiye Sosyalist Fırkası, TSF) was founded by Hüseyin Hilmi and another 13 persons. Full list of founders: Hüseyin Hilmi (General chairman), Mustafa Fazıl Çun (general secretary), Namık Hasan, Mehmet Ali Bilgişin, Hasan Sadi Birkök, Doctor Refik Nevzat, Sadrettin Celal, Mustafa Kazım Kip from Van, Suphi Nuri İleri, Salih, Çopur Rıza Kiper, Rasim Şakir, Doctor İhsan Özgen, Mehmet Nurettin Compared to the Ottoman Socialist Party, the Socialist Party of Turkey was positioned more to the left. Also TSF was a member of the

Second International The Second International (1889–1916) was an organisation of socialist and labour parties, formed on 14 July 1889 at two simultaneous Paris meetings in which delegations from twenty countries participated. The Second International continued th ...

.The Party published the newspaper ''İdrak''.

Strikes and TSF

In Istanbul, in 1920, the Ottoman worker class launched several strikes for occupation of the country, poor wages, and other reasons. In this atmosphere, TSF became popular among Istanbul workers.

Second Congress and dissolution

On 31 October 1920 Party prepared a second congress. In this congress Hüseyin Hilmi became ''founder and unchangeable leader''.Old Turkish: ''Fırkanın unvanı "Türkiye Sosyalist Fırkası" olup müessisi evveli Hüseyin Hilmi arkadaş lâyenazil ve daimi residir'' / English: Name of this party is "Socialist Party of Turkey" and our founder and unchangeable leader is Hüseyin Hilmi friend (comrade). With this, the opposition tried to exile Hilmi and friends. But Hilmi and Hilmi's friends survived this opposition. With this, the opposition split from the party and founded the Independent Socialist Party. After the split, the party lost power.

Third Congress and exiling of Hilmi

On 8 March 1922, the party prepared a third congress. In this congress, Hilmi and supporters were exiled from the party. The party was democratic again but it did not have any effect on the outcome. The party was dissolved.

Killing of Hilmi

On 16 November 1922 Hüseyin Hilmi was killed by a police officer named Ali Haydar. At the first, Ali Haydar said Hilmi was trying to rape him so then he killed the ''Rapist Hilmi''. But he changed his statement after and said ''Hilmi was killed by unknown men''.

References

* Y. Doğan Çetinkaya and Foti Benlisoy, “İştirakçi Hilmi,” ''Modern Türkiye’de Siyasi Düşünce, Sol,'' Vol. VIII, İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2007, pp. 165-18
pdf
* Y. Doğan Çetinkaya, “Sosyalizmi ''İdrak'' Etmek: Bir Mütareke Dönemi Gazetesi,” ''Mete Tunçay’a Armağan'', İstanbul: İletişim Yayınları, 2007, pp. 499-53
pdf
* Erdem, Hamit, Osmanlı Sosyalist Fırkası ve İştirakçi Hilmi

Footnotes

References

External links

Original PDF scans of Ishtirak (''İchtirak'')
{{DEFAULTSORT:Huseyin Hilmi 1922 deaths Assassinated Turkish politicians Turkish socialists People from İzmir 1885 births