Munir Ertegun (
Turkish spelling: Münir Ertegün; 1883 – 11 November 1944) was a
Turkish legal counsel in international law to the "
Sublime Porte
The Sublime Porte, also known as the Ottoman Porte or High Porte ( ota, باب عالی, Bāb-ı Ālī or ''Babıali'', from ar, باب, bāb, gate and , , ), was a synecdoche for the central government of the Ottoman Empire.
History
The name ...
" (
imperial government
The name imperial government (german: Reichsregiment) denotes two organs, created in 1500 and 1521, in the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation to enable a unified political leadership, with input from the Princes. Both were composed of the em ...
) of the late
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) ...
and a diplomat of the
Republic of Turkey during its early years. Ertegun married Emine Hayrünnisa Rüstem in 1917 and the couple had three children, two of whom were
Nesuhi and
Ahmet Ertegun, the brothers who founded
Atlantic Records and became iconic figures in the
American music industry
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
.
Life and career
Born in Istanbul to a civil servant father, Mehmet Cemil
Bey
Bey ( ota, بك, beğ, script=Arab, tr, bey, az, bəy, tk, beg, uz, бек, kz, би/бек, tt-Cyrl, бәк, translit=bäk, cjs, пий/пек, sq, beu/bej, sh, beg, fa, بیگ, beyg/, tg, бек, ar, بك, bak, gr, μπέης) is ...
, and a mother Ayşe Hamide
Hanım, who was a daughter of
Sufi shaykh İbrahim Edhem Efendi
Effendi or effendy ( tr, efendi ; ota, افندی, efendi; originally from grc-x-medieval, αφέντης ) is a title of nobility meaning '' sir'', ''lord'' or ''master'', especially in the Ottoman Empire and the Caucasus''.'' The title i ...
, he studied law at Darülfünûn-u Şahâne (دار الفنون شهانه), now
Istanbul University, and graduated in 1908. He was a legal counsel for the
Ottoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when he saw the birth of his first son, Nesuhi, on 26 November 1917, in Constantinople (now Istanbul), during the
First World War
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
.
Taking part in an Ottoman delegation with a mission to seek reconciliation with the Nationalists in
Ankara
Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...
, by the end of 1920, changed his destiny. While the two Ottoman ministers heading the delegation returned to Istanbul after not achieving an understanding with the revolutionaries led by
Mustafa Kemal Pasha
Mustafa ( ar, مصطفى
, Muṣṭafā) is one of the names of Prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world.
Given name Mou ...
he chose to join the
National Struggle and remained in Ankara, leaving behind his young wife and three-year-old son, Nesuhi.
He became an aide to Mustafa Kemal during 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 ...
and the chief legal counsel of the Turkish delegation to the resulting
Treaty of Lausanne in 1923.
After the Western powers recognized the newly founded
Republic of Turkey in 1923, he was sent to Geneva to the
League of Nations
The League of Nations (french: link=no, Société des Nations ) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference that ...
as an observer for the Turkish Republic. During this assignment, he frequently went to Paris for the
Ottoman public debt negotiations. Following this posting to the League of Nations, he was appointed ambassador to Switzerland (1925–1930), France (1930–1932), the United Kingdom (1932–1934) and the United States (1934–1944). As the Republic's ambassador to Washington, Ertegun opened his embassy's parlors to African American jazz musicians, who gathered there to play freely in a socio-historical context which was deeply divided by racial segregation at the time. Ambassador Ertegun became the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in May 1944. He held this last post until he died in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, of a heart attack in November of the same year. In April 1946, a year after World War II had ended, his body was carried back to Istanbul by the
USS ''Missouri'' and buried in the garden of
Sufi tekke, in Sultantepe,
Üsküdar
Üsküdar () is a large and densely populated district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the Anatolian shore of the Bosphorus. It is bordered to the north by Beykoz, to the east by Ümraniye, to the southeast by Ataşehir and to the south by Kadıköy; ...
. near his
shaykh grandfather
İbrahim Edhem Efendi, who was once the head of the Tekke. (His two sons
Nesuhi and
Ahmet Ertegun also rest there.)
When Ertegun died, there was not yet a
mosque
A mosque (; from ar, مَسْجِد, masjid, ; literally "place of ritual prostration"), also called masjid, is a place of prayer for Muslims. Mosques are usually covered buildings, but can be any place where prayers ( sujud) are performed, ...
in
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, at which his funeral could be held. The
Islamic Center of Washington
The Islamic Center of Washington is a mosque and Islamic cultural center in Washington, D.C. It is located on Embassy Row on Massachusetts Avenue just east of the bridge over Rock Creek. When it opened in 1957, it was the largest mosque in the ...
was built as a result.
See also
*
List of Turkish diplomats
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ertegun, Munir
1883 births
1944 deaths
Diplomats from Istanbul
Lawyers from Istanbul
Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni
Ambassadors of Turkey to the United Kingdom
Ambassadors of Turkey to the United States
Deans of the Diplomatic Corps to the United States
Ambassadors of Turkey to France
Ambassadors of Turkey to Switzerland