Saffet Arıkan (1888–1946) was a Turkish politician and former government minister.

Biography

He was born in

Erzincan Erzincan (; ku, Erzîngan), historically Yerznka ( hy, Երզնկա), is the capital of Erzincan Province in Eastern Turkey. Nearby cities include Erzurum, Sivas, Tunceli, Bingöl, Elazığ, Malatya, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, and Giresun. 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) ...

. In 1910 he graduated from the Military Academy. After a brief service in

Yemen Yemen (; ar, ٱلْيَمَن, al-Yaman), officially the Republic of Yemen,, ) is a country in Western Asia. It is situated on the southern end of the Arabian Peninsula, and borders Saudi Arabia to the Saudi Arabia–Yemen border, north and ...

, he was appointed to an office work in

İstanbul ) , 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_in ...

. In 1915 he fought in the

Battle of Gully Ravine The Battle of Gully Ravine (''Zığındere'') was a World War I battle fought at Cape Helles on the Gallipoli peninsula. By June 1915 all thoughts the Allies had of a swift decisive victory over the Ottoman Empire had vanished. The preceding Thi ...

(''Kerevizdere'') during the Dardanelles Campaign. Later he also served in the

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia ''Mesopotamíā''; ar, بِلَاد ٱلرَّافِدَيْن or ; syc, ܐܪܡ ܢܗܪ̈ܝܢ, or , ) is a historical region of Western Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the ...

. After the Ottoman Empire was defeated in

World War I 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 ...

, he joined the

nationalists Nationalism is an idea and movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, nationalism tends to promote the interests of a particular nation (as in a group of people), Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: The ...

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 ...

. He served briefly as the

military attache A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

of the newly founded

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 ...

in Moscow. Beginning by 8 August 1923, he was elected as an MP in the

2nd Parliament of Turkey The 2nd Grand National Assembly of Turkey existed from 29 October 1923 to 1 September 1927. Actually the parliament members were elected on 11 August 1923, before the Republic was proclaimed on 29 October. There were 333 MPs in the parliament al ...

. He was reelected in the following terms. In the 8th, 9th and the 10th government of Turkey he was the Minister of Education and in the 12th government of Turkey he was the Minister National Defence. Between 1942 and 1944 he was the Turkish ambassador to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

. He is known as one of the pioneers of the

Village Institutes Village Institutes ( Turkish: ''Köy Enstitüleri'') were a group of rural schools in Turkey founded in accordance with a project led by Hasan Âli Yücel, who was the Minister of Education at the time. The project started on April 17, 1940 in or ...

. Although the project began after his term in the Ministry of Education, another project called "village trainer" (''Turkish:köy eğitmeni'') which was the predecessor of the village institutes began in 1936 during his term in the office. He is also known as proposing the surname ''Atatürk'' to Turkish national leader

Mustafa Kemal 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 ...

. Arıkan committed suicide on 27 November 1946 in İstanbul.Türkiye'nin 75 Yılı, Tempo Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1998 p.100

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Arıkan, Saffet 1888 births 1946 deaths Turkish diplomats People from Erzincan Ministers of National Education of Turkey Ministers of National Defence of Turkey