Ferit Sadi Melen (2 November 1906 – 3 September 1988) was a Turkish

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

, politician and Prime Minister of Turkey.

Biography

After graduating from high school in

Bursa ( grc-gre, Προῦσα, Proûsa, Latin: Prusa, ota, بورسه, Arabic:بورصة) is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the ...

, he obtained a degree in finance from the School of Political Science at Ankara University in 1931. Ferit Melen entered the state service right after his graduation, and was sent to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

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 ...

, for an internship at the Ministry of Finance there. After one year, he returned home and worked in several services of the Ministry of Finance as an inspector. In 1943, he was promoted to general director in the ministry. Ferit Melen entered politics as a deputy from

Van Province Van Province ( tr, Van ili, ku, Parezgêha Wanê, Armenian: Վանի մարզ) is a province in the Eastern Anatolian region of Turkey, between Lake Van and the Iranian border. It is 19,069 km2 in area and had a population of 1,035,418 a ...

from 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 ...

(''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi,'' CHP) following the 1950 general election. After the end of the legislative term, he did not run for the parliament in the 1954 election, and he returned to his profession to work as a chartered accountant. He practiced until his retirement in 1959. In 1957, he was elected once again to the parliament as deputy from Van. President John F

Ferit Melen was minister of finance in the two cabinets 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 ...

between 25 June 1962 and 20 February 1965 in the 27th and 28th governments without affiliation to the parliament. He left his party CHP along with 47 other colleagues to co-found on 12 May 1967 "Güven Partisi" GP ("Reliance Party"), which was renamed

Republican Reliance Party Republican Reliance Party ( tr, Cumhuriyetçi Güven Partisi, CGP) was a former party in Turkey. Background The Republican People's Party (CHP) which is usually credited as the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1923 was the oldest party in Tur ...

(''Cumhuriyetçi Güven Partisi'', CGP) after merging with "Cumhuriyetçi Parti" CP ("Republican Party") on 28 February 1973. He served also as minister of national defense in the two cabinets of

Nihat Erim İsmail Nihat Erim (30 November 1912 – 19 July 1980) was a Turkish politician and jurist. He served as the 13th Prime Minister of Turkey for almost 14 months after the 1971 Turkish military memorandum. He was assassinated by the Revolutionar ...

from 26 March 1971 to 22 May 1972. Following the resignation of Nihat Erim, he was appointed prime minister of a military-approved coalition government that lasted until 15 April 1973. Between 31 March 1975 and 21 June 1977, he served a second time as minister of national defense in the cabinet of

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 ...

. In the time from 7 June 1964 to 14 October 1979, Ferit Melen was a member of the senate representing Van Province. On 12 July 1980, he was appointed again senator that ended on 12 September 1980 with the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such ...

. Ferit Melen was elected to

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 ...

in the

1983 elections The following elections occurred in the year 1983. Africa * 1983 Cameroonian parliamentary election * 1983 Equatorial Guinean legislative election * 1983 Kenyan general election * 1983 Malagasy parliamentary election * 1983 Malawian general elec ...

as a candidate of the

Nationalist Democracy Party Nationalist Democracy Party ( tr, Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi, MDP) was a former political party in Turkey. Background About one year after the coup of 1980, all political parties were closed by the military regime, or the so-called National ...

(MDP). He was succeeded by his son Mithat Melen, a former high ranked civil servant and academics, who in 2002 tried to enter politics with the

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). The airport of Van is named after him.

References

* Biyografi.info
''Biography of Ferit Melen''

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Melen, Ferit 1906 births 1988 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Turkey People from Van, Turkey Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Republican Reliance Party politicians Nationalist Democracy Party politicians Prime Ministers of Turkey Ministers of National Defence of Turkey Ministers of Finance of Turkey Deputies of Van Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey) Turkish civil servants Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Members of the 27th government of Turkey Members of the 28th government of Turkey Members of the 34th government of Turkey Members of the 35th government of Turkey Members of the 39th government of Turkey Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery