Cezmi Kartay (1920 – August 10, 2008) was a Turkish civil servant and politician.

Early life

Kartay was born in

İzmit İzmit () is a district and the central district of Kocaeli province, Turkey. It is located at the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara, about east of Istanbul, on the northwestern part of Anatolia. As of the last 31/12/2019 estimation, the ...

. After

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 schoo ...

, he graduated from the Faculty of Political Sciences of

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vocat ...

. He served as a district governor (

Kaymakam Kaymakam, also known by many other romanizations, was a title used by various officials of the Ottoman Empire, including acting grand viziers, governors of provincial sanjaks, and administrators of district kazas. The title has been retaine ...

) in the districts of

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 ...

, Akyazı, Çermik and Baskil. After 1960, he was appointed as the province governor ( Vali) of

Malatya Malatya ( hy, Մալաթիա, translit=Malat'ya; Syro-Aramaic ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ku, Meletî; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a large city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city h ...

Tekirdağ Tekirdağ (; see also its other names) is a city in Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. In 2019 the city's population was 204,001. Tekirdağ town is a commercial centre with a harbour ...

and

Gaziantep Province Gaziantep Province ( tr, ) is a province in south-central Turkey. It is located in the westernmost part of Turkey's Southeastern Anatolia Region and partially in the Mediterranean Region. Its capital is the city of Gaziantep. It neighbours Ad ...

s. While serving in

, he was also the acting mayor of the city for four years.

Kartay and CHP

After the coup of 1980, the activities of

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 i ...

(, which is usually credited as the founder of Turkish republic in 1923, were suspended by the military rule so called

National Security Council A national security council (NSC) is usually an executive branch governmental body responsible for coordinating policy on national security issues and advising chief executives on matters related to national security. An NSC is often headed by a n ...

(MGK). But the party was not closed, and Cezmi Kartay was appointed as the trustee of the party. On 16 October 1981 however, the party, like other parties, was closed by the MGK.

Kartay and SODEP

After a year and half, the MGK decided to allow the formation of new parties with severe restrictions. According to instructions, the new parties were not allowed to use the names of the former parties and senior politicians were not allowed to be the charter member of the new parties. Furthermore, the MGK had the power of rejecting the founders. This gave the MGK a privilege to limit the number of parties that would attend the coming parliamentary elections. One of the new parties was SODEP, which was founded by the followers of ex-CHP. The chairman of the party was

Erdal İnönü Erdal İnönü (6 June 1926 – 31 October 2007) was a Turkish theoretical physicist and politician, who served as the interim Prime Minister of Turkey between 16 May and 25 June 1993. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey from ...

, an eminent physics professor and also the son 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 time ...

, the second president of Turkey. Cezmi Kartay was also a charter member of the party. But when İnönü’s name was rejected by the MGK on 23 June 1983, Cezmi Kartay, whose name was not rejected, was elected as the chairman of the party. Cezmi Kartay’s term was short. On 17 December 1983, following the 1983 general elections, he resigned and Erdal İnönü was reelected as the chairman. Cezmi Kartay continued as a vice chairman.

Kartay and SHP

Two years later SODEP merged with another party to form Social Democrat People's Party ( tr, Sosyal Demokrat Halkçı Parti). In SHP also, Cezmi Kartay served as a vice chairman for one term. In 1988 he acted as a moderator between Erdal İnönü and Deniz Baykal, the leader of intraparty opposition.

Later years

In later years, he did not participate in active politics. He died on 10 August 2008, in

, and was laid to rest at the

Karşıyaka Cemetery The Karşıyaka Cemetery ( tr, Karşıyaka Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground located at İvedik neighborhood in Yenimahalle district of Ankara, Turkey. Administered by the Metropolitan Municipality, it is the biggest cemetery in Ankara. Ma ...

following the religious funeral service held at

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 ...

Works

Memoirs

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kartay, Cezmi 1920 births People from İzmit Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Turkish civil servants Leaders of political parties in Turkey Social Democracy Party (Turkey) politicians 20th-century Turkish politicians 2008 deaths Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey) politicians Governors (Turkey) Deaths from prostate cancer Deaths from cancer in Turkey Burials at Karşıyaka Cemetery, Ankara