Kasım Gülek (1905 – 1996) was a prominent Turkish statesman credited with being instrumental in entrenching democracy in

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 in ...

by taking politics to the masses.

Biography

He was born and lived in

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart of Cilicia, wh ...

, Adana Vilayet, Ottoman Empire, until he went away to school 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 ...

, where he studied respectively at

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School ( tr, Galatasaray Lisesi, french: Lycée de Galatasaray), established in what was then Constantinople and is now Istanbul, in 1481, is the oldest high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational in ...

and Robert College. He then went on to study at Ecole des Sciences Politiques in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, France, followed by

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

New York City, New York New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, United States, where he received his PhD in Economics. After undertaking post doctorate studies at

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a College town, university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cam ...

in the United Kingdom and

Berlin University Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

as a fellow of the Rockefeller Foundation, he returned to his country upon request form the founder and president of the republic of Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Political career

After receiving a letter praising Kasım Gülek from the Dean of

, Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, called upon him and offered him to become a Member of Parliament. Throughout his career, he held various ministerial positions including Minister of Public Works, Minister of Communications, Transport Minister, and Deputy Prime Minister. He was a leading member of Atatürk's party, the Republican People's Party (CHP). Early in 1947 he was one of the leaders of group of thirty-five deputies who revolted in the party caucus urging reforms and liberalizations. The episode was called the "Rebellion of 35", but even though it was unsuccessful, Gülek and three other insurgents were still permitted to join the cabinet afterwards. He is best remembered for his role as the Secretary General of the Republican People's Party from 1950 until 1959, a position to which he was elected seven consecutive times with an overwhelming majority of the vote. During his time as Secretary General, he resurrected the crushed CHP by travelling to the all corners of Turkey visiting almost every village in the country. He later served as a member of the Constituent Assembly and as a Senator from Adana. He also held several international positions such as Chairman of the UN Commission on

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

, President of the North Atlantic Assembly, Governor of the

Atlantic Institute The Atlantic Institute (full name, Atlantic Institute for International Affairs) was an independent, non-governmental institute that promoted economic, political, and cultural relations among NATO alliance members and the international community in ...

, Vice-President of

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Parliamentarians Conference and Vice-President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe. He had 2 children, including

Tayyibe Gülek Tayyibe Gülek (born 1968, Adana) is a Turkish economist and politician. Biography Gulek received her B.A. with honors in economics from Harvard University in 1991 and her M.Sc. degree in 1992 from the London School of Economics. She started he ...

References

* Afad.org.tr
''Biography of Kasım Gülek''

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Gulek, Kasim 1905 births 1996 deaths People from Adana People from Adana vilayet Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Ministers of Transport and Communications of Turkey Ministers of Public Works of Turkey Government ministers of Turkey Deputies of Adana Galatasaray High School alumni Robert College alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Members of the 16th government of Turkey Members of the 17th government of Turkey