Mehmet Şemsettin Günaltay (; 17 July 1883 – 19 October 1961) was a Turkish

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the st ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking ...

, and Prime Minister of Turkey from 1949 to 1950.

Biography

Günaltay was born 1883 in the

Kemaliye Kemaliye (formerly Eğin) ( hy, Ակն, Romanized Old Armenian: ''Akn'', meaning "spring") is both a town in and one of the nine districts of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey. The town is known for its historic architect ...

town of the Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz,

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) ...

. After finishing the Teacher's College, he was educated in physics at the

University of Lausanne The University of Lausanne (UNIL; french: links=no, Université de Lausanne) in Lausanne, Switzerland was founded in 1537 as a school of Protestant theology, before being made a university in 1890. The university is the second oldest in Switzer ...

in Switzerland. After his return to Turkey, Günaltay worked as a teacher in a number of high schools. During this time, he got to know

Ziya Gökalp Mehmet Ziya Gökalp (23 March 1876 – 25 October 1924) was a Turkish sociologist, writer, poet, and politician. After the 1908 Young Turk Revolution that reinstated constitutionalism in the Ottoman Empire, he adopted the pen name Gökalp ("ce ...

, a prominent ideologue of

Pan-Turkism Pan-Turkism is a political movement that emerged during the 1880s among Turkic intellectuals who lived in the Russian region of Kazan (Tatarstan), Caucasus (modern-day Azerbaijan) and the Ottoman Empire (modern-day Turkey), with its aim bei ...

. Influenced by him, he began to carry out research on Turkish history. In 1914, he was appointed professor of the history of Turks and Islamic tribes at the Faculty of Letters of İstanbul University. Later, he served as the dean of the Faculty of Theology at the same university.

Political career

In 1915, Günaltay was elected to the

Ottoman Parliament The General Assembly ( tr, Meclis-i Umumî (French romanization: "Medjliss Oumoumi" ) or ''Genel Parlamento''; french: Assemblée Générale) was the first attempt at representative democracy by the imperial government of the Ottoman Empire. Als ...

as deputy of Bilecik Province from the

Committee of Union and Progress The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى جمعيتی, translit=İttihad ve Terakki Cemiyeti, script=Arab), later the Union and Progress Party ( ota, اتحاد و ترقى فرقه‌سی, translit=İttihad ve Tera ...

(CUP), and remained a member of the parliament until its dissolution. In the meantime, he continued to lecture at the university. 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 ...

, Günaltay joined the "Association of Defense of the Rights of

Anatolia Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

and Rumelia". After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, he entered

Turkish Grand National Assembly The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Const ...

as deputy of

Sivas Province Sivas Province ( tr, ) is a province of Turkey. It is largely located at the eastern part of the Central Anatolia region of Turkey; it is the second largest province in Turkey by territory. Its adjacent provinces are Yozgat to the west, Kays ...

from the Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, CHP), serving for 27 years until 1950. Between 1950 and 1954, he represented

Erzincan Province Erzincan Province ( tr, ; ku, Parezgêha Erzînganê) is a province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. In Turkey, its capital is also called Erzincan. The population was 236,034 in 2018. Geography Erzincan is traversed by the northeaste ...

in the parliament. After Prime Minister Hasan Saka's resignation, Günaltay was appointed by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...

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 ...

to form his cabinet on January 16, 1949 that lasted until Adnan Menderes's

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

took over the government on May 22, 1950 following the

general elections A general election is a political voting election where generally all or most members of a given political body are chosen. These are usually held for a nation, state, or territory's primary legislative body, and are different from by-elections ( ...

. He was the last prime minister of the single party era in the politics of Turkey. He was a scholar of Islam and reopened the faculty of Divinity at the Ankara University, after its Faculty of Divinity was closed in 1933. Günaltay died on October 19, 1961 in

Istanbul ) , 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_i ...

due to prostate cancer, shortly after he was elected to the Senate to represent

Istanbul Province ) , 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 ...

(but before he could take his seat). He was laid to rest next to his daughter's grave 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 ...

in accordance with his will. Günaltay was also the head of the

Turkish Historical Society The Turkish Historical Society ( tr, Türk Tarih Kurumu, TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been ...

from 1941 until his death.

Bibliography

* ''Zulmetten Nura'' (''From Darkness to Light'') * ''Hurafattan Hakikata'' (''From Superstition to Reality'') * ''İslam Dini Tarihi'' (''History of the Religion of Islam'') * ''Maziden Atiye'' (''From the Past to the Future'') * ''Mufassal Türk Tarihi'' (''Detailed Turkish History'') * ''Tarih'', (''History'')

References

* Biyografi.net
''Biography of Şemsettin Günaltay''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunaltay, Semsettin 1883 births 1961 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Turkey 20th-century historians People from Kemaliye Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Prime Ministers of Turkey Deputies of Sivas Deputies of Erzurum Turkish non-fiction writers Turkish scientists Turkish historians Turkish Islamists People of the Ottoman Empire Istanbul University faculty University of Lausanne alumni Members of the 18th government of Turkey Deaths from cancer in Turkey Deaths from prostate cancer