Kâzım Paşa Hazretleri Özalp (17 February 1882 – 6 June 1968) was a Turkish military officer of Albanian descent, politician, and one of the leading figures 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 ...

Biography

Atatürk is leaving Dolmabahçe Palace (30 September 1929)

Born in Köprülü (now Veles,

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

), in the Kosovo Vilayet of 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) ...

into an Albanian family, Kâzım Fikri graduated from the Ottoman military school in 1902 and completed the College of War in 1905. Kâzım Özalp was involved to

31 March Incident The 31 March Incident ( tr, 31 Mart Vakası, , , or ) was a political crisis within the Ottoman Empire in April 1909, during the Second Constitutional Era. Occurring soon after the 1908 Young Turk Revolution, in which the Committee of Union and Pr ...

in 1909. He was a military commander during the Balkan wars. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of the colonel. He was one of the military commanders who organized resistance groups against the

occupation of Izmir The city of Smyrna (modern-day İzmir) and surrounding areas were under Greek military occupation from 15 May 1919 until 9 September 1922. The Allied Powers authorized the occupation and creation of the Zone of Smyrna ( el, Ζώνη Σμύρν� ...

. During the Turkish War of Independence, he fought at several fronts. In 1921, Kâzım Özalp was promoted to the rank General for his success at the Battle of Sakarya. After the

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

Sheikh Said Rebellion was subdued, he contributed to the Report for Reform of the East, which advised to establish Inspectorates General in the eastern provinces of

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 ...

and crush the Kurdish elite in the region. Already a member of the first term of the parliament of the newly established Republic as an MP from Balıkesir Province, Kâzım Fikri served as the Minister of Defense in several cabinets from 1921 to 1925, and later from 1935 to 1939. He was elected Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly from 1924 to 1935. In 1950, he was elected to the parliament as an MP 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 ...

. He retired from active politics in 1954. He was rumored to have been a

Bektashi The Bektashi Order; sq, Tarikati Bektashi; tr, Bektaşi or Bektashism is an Islamic Sufi mystic movement originating in the 13th-century. It is named after the Anatolian saint Haji Bektash Wali (d. 1271). The community is currently led by ...

possibly because of his opposition to the decision to close Bektashi centers ( Tekke). Kâzım Özalp wrote his memoirs in his book ''Milli Mücadele'' ("National Warfare"). He died on 6 June 1968 in Ankara. His remains were transferred to the

Turkish State Cemetery The Turkish State Cemetery ( tr, Devlet Mezarlığı) is a national and military cemetery in Ankara, Turkey, containing the graves of the presidents of Turkey and the high-ranked, close companions-in-arms of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder ...

References

Who is who

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozalp, Kazim 1880 births 1968 deaths People from Veles Municipality People from Kosovo vilayet Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Ministers of National Defence of Turkey Government ministers of Turkey Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey Deputies of Balıkesir Deputies of Van Ottoman Army officers Turkish Army generals Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Malta exiles Turkish people of Albanian descent Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Military College alumni Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Red-Green Ribbon (Turkey) Burials at Turkish State Cemetery Members of the 1st government of Turkey Members of the 2nd government of Turkey Members of the 8th government of Turkey Members of the 9th government of Turkey Members of the 10th government of Turkey Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey Turkish nationalists