Ragıp Gümüşpala (1897 – 6 June 1964) was the 11th

Chief of the General Staff The Chief of the General Staff (CGS) is a post in many armed forces (militaries), the head of the military staff. List * Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (United States) * Chief of the General Staff (Abkhazia) * Chief of General Staff (Afg ...

of 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 Chi ...

and founder of the Justice Party in 1961. He died shortly afterwards, on 6 June 1964, in

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, ...

Biography

Military Life

While he was a student at Edirne High School, he climbed into Talimgâha and in 1917 he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant. While he was Deputy Commander of the 63rd Regiment of the 12th Division, he was captured by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

on 2 October 1918 during the Battle of Nablus on the

Sinai Sinai commonly refers to: * Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Mount Sinai, a mountain in the Sinai Peninsula, Egypt * Biblical Mount Sinai, the site in the Bible where Moses received the Law of God Sinai may also refer to: * Sinai, South Dakota, a place ...

and Palestine Front. He remained in captivity until October 6, 1920. He returned from

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 ...

and joined the

War of Independence This is a list of wars of independence (also called liberation wars). These wars may or may not have been successful in achieving a goal of independence. List See also * Lists of active separatist movements * List of civil wars * List of o ...

on December 13, 1920. For his contributions to the National Struggle, he was awarded with the Red Stripe Medal of Independence. After serving as Team and Company Commander, he graduated from the War Academy, which he entered in 1931, and became a staff officer in the same year. After serving in various headquarters and units, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1948, major general in 1951, lieutenant general in 1955 and general in 1959. With the rank of Brigadier General, 65th Division Infantry Brigade Command, Motorized Units School Command, 9th Division Deputy Commander and 3rd Army Chief of Staff, 65th Division Command with the rank of Major General and Deputy Commander of the 2nd Corps, 7th Corps Command and 3rd Army Corps with the rank of Lieutenant General. He served as the Deputy Commander of the Army. In 1960, while he was Commander of the 3rd Army in the rank of general, the 27 May Coup happened. He asked the

National Unity Committee The National Unity Committee ( tr, Milli Birlik Komitesi, MBK) was a military committee formed following the 1960 Turkish coup d'état. It dissolved with the 1961 general election. Background Between 1950 and 1960, the ruling party in Turkey wa ...

, which made the coup in Ankara, who their leader was, and informed that if their leader was not a senior general, he would march to Ankara with the 3rd Army under his command and put an end to the rebellion. Thereupon, the juntaists brought retired general

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the List of Presidents of Turkey, fourth President of Turkey after a coup. Early life He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman A ...

from Izmir to Ankara by military plane and showed him the leader instead of Major General

Cemal Madanoğlu Cemal Madanoğlu (22 March 1907 – 28 July 1993) was a Turkish soldier and lieutenant general. Born in Izmir on 22 March 1907, he attended the Turkish Military Academy, and the Academy of High Command. Cemal Madanoğlu was among the leaders ...

, who was the most senior of the coup. He was appointed Chief of General Staff on 3 June 1960. On August 2, 1960, he was ex officio retired by the National Unity Committee, together with about 5000 officers who would later form the Retired Revolution Officers Association (EMINSU).

Political life

He entered politics after military service. After the closure of the Democrat Party (DP) on September 29, 1960, he participated in the work of a political party that would gather the electorate of this party. He was elected as the first chairman of the Justice Party (AP), which was founded on February 11, 1961. As the first chairman of this party, he was elected as Izmir deputy in the 1961 general elections. He did not take part in the CHP-AP coalition government established on 20 November 1961 under the chairmanship of

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 ...

. He was re-elected as the chairman of the 1st Congress of the AP that convened in 1962. He died in Istanbul on June 6, 1964. His grave is in

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

. He was married with six children. After his death,

Süleyman Demirel Süleyman Sami Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously served as the ...

was elected as the AP leader. Perceived as the continuation of DP, AP came to power alone with 52% of the votes in the 1965 elections.TBMM Album. Cilt 2
TBMM (in Turkish)

References

External links

in the official website of the Turkish General Staff {{DEFAULTSORT:Gumuspala, Ragip 1897 births 1964 deaths People from Edirne People from Adrianople vilayet Justice Party (Turkey) politicians 20th-century Turkish politicians Deputies of Izmir Leaders of the Opposition (Turkey) Turkish Army generals Chiefs of the Turkish General Staff Turkish military personnel of the Turkish War of Independence Kuleli Military High School alumni Ottoman Military Academy alumni Turkish Military Academy alumni Army War College (Turkey) alumni Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Red Ribbon (Turkey) Turkish political party founders