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, ...

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 transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula ...

) 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 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 Const ...

for the Democratic Party. He secured his seat in the parliament after the 1950,

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 year ...

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 Chie ...

staged a coup and ousted the 19th government.

Trial and execution

He was arrested with Menderes in

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

, 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 entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed. When these pr ...

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 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 Apr ...

. Many years after his death, his grave was moved to a mausoleum 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 ...

on 17 September 1990 along with Menderes' and Zorlu's remains. He was survived by his wife Mutahhare Polatkan and daughter Nilgün Polatkan.

Legacy

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, 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