Kâzım Paşa Hazretleri Özalp (17 February 1882 – 6 June 1968) was a
Turkish military officer of
Albanian descent, politician, and one of the leading figures in the
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...
.
Biography
Born in
Köprülü (now Veles,
Republic of Macedonia
North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...
), in the
Kosovo Vilayet 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) ...
into an
Albanian family, Kâzım Fikri graduated from the Ottoman military school in 1902 and completed the College of War in 1905.
Kâzım Özalp was involved to
31 March Incident
The 31 March Incident ( tr, 31 Mart Vakası, , , or ) was a political crisis within the Ottoman Empire in April 1909, during the Second Constitutional Era. Occurring soon after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, in which the Committee of Union and Pr ...
in 1909. He was a military commander during the
Balkan wars. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of the colonel. He was one of the military commanders who organized resistance groups against the
occupation of Izmir
The city of Smyrna (modern-day İzmir) and surrounding areas were under Greek military occupation from 15 May 1919 until 9 September 1922. The Allied Powers authorized the occupation and creation of the Zone of Smyrna ( el, Ζώνη Σμύρν� ...
. During the Turkish War of Independence, he fought at several fronts. In 1921, Kâzım Özalp was promoted to the rank General for his success at the
Battle of Sakarya. After the
Kurdish
Kurdish may refer to:
*Kurds or Kurdish people
*Kurdish languages
*Kurdish alphabets
*Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes:
**Southern Kurdistan
**Eastern Kurdistan
**Northern Kurdistan
**Western Kurdistan
See also
* Kurd (dis ...
Sheikh Said Rebellion was subdued, he contributed to the
Report for Reform of the East, which advised to establish
Inspectorates General in the eastern provinces of
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 ...
and crush the Kurdish elite in the region.
Already a member of the first term of the parliament of the newly established Republic as an
MP from
Balıkesir Province, Kâzım Fikri served as the Minister of Defense in several cabinets from 1921 to 1925, and later from 1935 to 1939. He was elected Speaker of the
Turkish Grand National Assembly from 1924 to 1935. In 1950, he was elected to the parliament as an MP from
Van Province
Van Province ( tr, Van ili, ku, Parezgêha Wanê, Armenian: Վանի մարզ) is a province in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 a ...
.
He retired from active politics in 1954. He was rumored to have been a
Bektashi
The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...
possibly because of his opposition to the decision to close Bektashi centers (
Tekke).
Kâzım Özalp wrote his memoirs in his book ''Milli Mücadele'' ("National Warfare"). He died on 6 June 1968 in Ankara. His remains were transferred to the
Turkish State Cemetery
The Turkish State Cemetery ( tr, Devlet Mezarlığı) is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder ...
.
See also
*
List of high-ranking commanders of the Turkish War of Independence
References
Who is who
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozalp, Kazim
1880 births
1968 deaths
People from Veles Municipality
People from Kosovo vilayet
Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians
Ministers of National Defence of Turkey
Government ministers of Turkey
Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey
Deputies of Balıkesir
Deputies of Van
Ottoman Army officers
Turkish Army generals
Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars
Ottoman military personnel of World War I
Turkish military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922)
Malta exiles
Turkish people of Albanian descent
Ottoman Military Academy alumni
Ottoman Military College alumni
Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Red-Green Ribbon (Turkey)
Burials at Turkish State Cemetery
Members of the 1st government of Turkey
Members of the 2nd government of Turkey
Members of the 8th government of Turkey
Members of the 9th government of Turkey
Members of the 10th government of Turkey
Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey
Turkish nationalists