Osman Bölükbaşı (1913 – February 6, 2002) was a

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 ...

politician and political party leader.

Early life

He was born at Hasanlar village of the former

Mucur Mucur is a town and district of Kırşehir Province in the Central Anatolia region of Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainl ...

district in 1913. He completed his secondary education at the

Istanbul High School Istanbul High School ( tr, İstanbul Lisesi, german: Istanbuler Gymnasium), also commonly known as Istanbul Boys' High School ( tr, İstanbul Erkek Lisesi, abbreviated İEL), is one of the oldest and internationally renowned high schools of Turkey ...

. He studied Mathematics at the

University of Nancy A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, th ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

graduating in 1937. Returned home in 1938, Bölükbaşı began working as assistant to

Fatin Gökmen Fatin Gökmen (6 January 1877 – 1955) was a Turkish astronomer and politician. He was a key figure in facilitating the emergence of the modern astronomical observatory in Turkey. The Imperial Observatory, established in Istanbul in 1867 under ...

at the

Kandilli Observatory Kandilli Observatory, or more formally Kandilli Observatory and Earthquake Research Institute (KOERI, tr, Kandilli Rasathanesi ve Deprem Araştırma Enstitüsü) is a Turkish observatory, which is also specialized on earthquake research. It is si ...

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, ...

. In 1940, he took a teacher post in the

Haydarpaşa High School Haydarpaşa High School ( ) is an Anatolian High School in Üsküdar district of Istanbul, Turkey established in 1934. History The school was founded by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk on 26 September 1934 as a boys' school. It was a boarding and day scho ...

, where he served until 1946.

Political career

Introduced to

Mehmet Fuat Köprülü Mehmet Fuat Köprülü (December 5, 1890 – June 28, 1966), also known as Köprülüzade Mehmed Fuad, was a highly influential Turkish sociologist, turkologist, scholar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of the Republi ...

and Celal Bayar, the co-founders of the Democrat Party (DP) by

, Osman Bölükbaşı entered politics in 1946 becoming a party member. He was appointed Inspector General of the DP. However, he left the party in 1947 along with some other members due to a controversy over the intention of making harsh politics against the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

(CHP). On July 20, 1948, he co-founded with

Fevzi Çakmak Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak (12 January 1876 – 10 April 1950) was a Turkish field marshal ('' Mareşal'') and politician. He served as the Chief of General Staff from 1918 and 1919 and later the Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire in 1920. He lat ...

and some others the Nation Party (MP). Bölükbaşı was arrested in 1949 on allegation for conspiracy against Celal Bayar, leader of the DP, and

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

, leader of the CHP. After a brieft while, he was released. Bölükbaşı entered the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

representing his hometown Kırşehir as the only deputy of his party following the 1950 general elections. His party was banned in 1953 on the grounds of anti-

secularism Secularism is the principle of seeking to conduct human affairs based on Secularity, secular, Naturalism (philosophy), naturalistic considerations. Secularism is most commonly defined as the Separation of church and state, separation of relig ...

politics. Osman Bölükbaşı subsequently formed the

Republican Nation Party Republican National Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Millet Partisi, CMP) was a former right-wing Turkish political party. The party was founded by the members of Nation Party which closed by the court on 27 January 1954. Osman Bölükbaşı with t ...

(CMP) with the founders of the closed party. The new established party won five seats in the parliament at the 1954 general elections. All the five deputies were from Kırşehir, the hometown of Bölükbaşı. The ruling Democrat Party changed the province status of Kırşehir to district and subordinated it to

Nevşehir Province Nevşehir Province ( tr, , from the Persian compound نو شهر ''Now-shahr'' meaning "new city") is a province in central Turkey with its capital in Nevşehir. Its adjacent provinces are Kırşehir to the northwest, Aksaray to the southwest, N ...

. Kırşehir remained district for the following period of three years. During this time, Bölükbaşı harshly criticized the government. Kırşehir's province status was restored in June 1957, however, the district of his village Hasanlar and three other districts remained within Nevşehir Province. Bölükbaşı was arrested in July 1957 on grounds of insulting the parliament. In the 1957 general elections, he secured a seat in the parliament along with other three party colleagues from the CMP. Because still imprisoned, he took the required

oath of office An oath of office is an oath or affirmation a person takes before assuming the duties of an office, usually a position in government or within a religious body, although such oaths are sometimes required of officers of other organizations. Such ...

at the Tenth Ward of the Ankara Central Proison in pajamas before the inmates. To strengthen opposition to the ruling Democratic Party, the CMP merged with the Turkey Peasants' Party (TKP) to form the Republican Peasants' Nation Party (CMKP) in 1958 under the leadership of Bölükbaşı. He was sentenced to ten months in prison in 1959. Following the 1960 military coup, Bölükbașı participated at the

Constitutional Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

in 1961 representing the CKMP. However, he rejected in an uncompromising manner to join the coalition government after the 1961 general elections. Bölükbaşı left the CKMP along with 28 other deputies in June 1962, and re-established the National Party (MP) upon his party's joining the 2nd coalition government of İsmet İnönü. He was named leader of the new party. In 1965, his party took part in the coalition government of

Suat Hayri Ürgüplü Ali Suat Hayri Ürgüplü (13 August 1903, Damascus, Ottoman Empire – 26 December 1981, Istanbul, Turkey) was a Turkish politician who served a brief term as Prime Minister of Turkey in 1965. He was also the last Prime Minister to be born ...

. Bölükbaşı did not take office in the cabinet, and also openly criticized the government. In February 1969, the general assembly of his former party CKMP approved the renaming of the party to today's

Nationalist Movement Party The Nationalist Movement Party (alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party; tr, Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi, MHP) is a Turkish far-right and ultranationalist political party. The group is often described as neo-fascist, and has been ...

(MHP).

Later years

Osman Bölükbaşı stepped down from the post of the Nation Party's leadership in 1972. The reason of his quitting was the conflict of opinion within the party, and also finally injustice done by party members to Hasan Koçdemir, his close friend in active politics. On September 9, 1973, Bölükbaşı resigned from his post as the deputy of Ankara, he was holding since 1961, and left active politics five weeks before the 1973 general elections. Osman Bölükbaşı was a man of action and full of spirits, who won the sympathy of broad masses for his openness, straightforwardness, honesty, rhetoric, quick-wittedness and temperament. He was nicknamed "Anatolian Storm" tr, Anadolu Fırtınası). For chatterers, the saying "Bölükbaşı gab" was coined. His mass meetings during the electoral campaigns were attended by crowds, who, however, did not always vote for him. Osman Bölükbaşı died of

respiratory failure Respiratory failure results from inadequate gas exchange by the respiratory system, meaning that the arterial oxygen, carbon dioxide, or both cannot be kept at normal levels. A drop in the oxygen carried in the blood is known as hypoxemia; a rise ...

at the university hospital in Ankara on February 6, 2002, and was laid to rest two days later at the Cebeci Asri Cemetery following a memorial ceremony held at the parliament building and later a religious funeral service at the

Kocatepe Mosque The Kocatepe Mosque ( tr, Kocatepe Camii) is the largest mosque in Ankara, Turkey. It was built between 1967 and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kızılay, and its size and prominent situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost a ...

in Ankara. He was survived by his wife Mediha Bölükbaşı (née Büyükyağcıoğlu) and his son Ahmet Deniz Bölükbaşı, who is a former ambassador and former MP from the

(MHP).

Early life

Political career

Later years

References

Further reading