Reşit Galip, also known as Mustafa Reşit Baymur (1893 – 5 March 1934) was a Turkish politician in the early years of the Turkish Republic. By profession, he was a medical doctor.

Early years

He was born in the Sanjak of Rhodes (now an island of

Greece Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders wi ...

, then a part 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 ...

) in 1883. His father was Mehmet Galip, a judge and his mother was Münevver. He completed his elementary education in Rhodes. According to his granddaughter Feyhan Oran, when Rhodes was occupied by

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

he escaped to

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

where he finished his highschool education. Then, he travelled to

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 ...

to study medicine. During the

Balkan War The Balkan Wars refers to a series of two conflicts that took place in the Balkan States in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan States of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defea ...

and the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

he voluntarily served in the fronts. In 1917 he graduated from the medicine school of

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

. Although he briefly served as an assistant in the faculty, he later on moved to

Tavşanlı Tavşanlı is a town and district of Kütahya Province in the Aegean region of Turkey. Tavşanlı is a typical Aegean town where a government-owned coal mine company attracted thousands of settlers from surrounding cities and villages which mad ...

( a town in West

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 re ...

) to participate 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 ...

. Towards the end of the war, he was appointed as the official doctor in

Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of Mersin (İçel) Province. It is made up of four municipalities and district governorates: Akdeniz, Mezitl ...

. In 1925 he was elected as an MP from

Aydın Province Aydın Province ( tr, ) is a province of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. The provincial capital is the city of Aydın which has a population of almost 200,000 (2012). Other towns in the province include the summer seaside res ...

.Biography page
/ref>

In politics

He was always interested in politics. In İzmir and Istanbul he published bulletins and in Mersin he wrote in a local newspaper as the chief editor. While serving as an MP, he was elected a member of the Independence Tribunals. In 1930s he served as the charter member of two associations which were supported by

Kemal Atatürk Kemal may refer to: ;People * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey * Kemal (name), a common Turkish name ;Places * Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey * Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey ;See a ...

, the founder of Turkish Republic;

Turkish Language Association The Turkish Language Association ( tr, Türk Dil Kurumu, TDK) is the regulatory body for the Turkish language, founded on 12 July 1932 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. The Institution acts as the ...

and

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 ...

. He later on became the president of Turkish Language Association. During his speech at the First Turkish History Congress in 1932, he claimed that the

Sumerians Sumer () is the earliest known civilization in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. It is one of the cradles of c ...

, the Ancient Egyptians or the

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

where originally of Turkish origin. One of the dubious evidences he presented for this claim was that the Egyptian

Amun Amun (; also ''Amon'', ''Ammon'', ''Amen''; egy, jmn, reconstructed as ( Old Egyptian and early Middle Egyptian) → (later Middle Egyptian) → ( Late Egyptian), cop, Ⲁⲙⲟⲩⲛ, Amoun) romanized: ʾmn) was a major ancient Egypt ...

priests were of Turkish race due their

brachycephalic Brachycephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek '' βραχύς'', 'short' and '' κεφαλή'', 'head') is the shape of a skull shorter than typical for its species. It is perceived as a desirable trait in some domesticated dog and cat breeds, ...

skull. Between 19 September 1932 and 13 July 1933 he served as the Minister of National Education. (''see''

7th government of Turkey The 7th government of Turkey (5 May 1931 – 1 March 1935) was a government in the history of Turkey. It is also called the ''sixth İnönü government''. Background Following the elections held on 4 May 1931, the former cabinet led by İsmet � ...

) During his brief service period he initiated university reforms and planned

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations ( tr, Anadolu Medeniyetleri Müzesi) is located on the south side of Ankara Castle in the Atpazarı area in Ankara, Turkey. It consists of the old Ottoman Mahmut Paşa bazaar storage building, and the Kurş ...

, an important museum 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 ...

. He is also known as the creator of daily student oath.

Death

While serving in the wars he had contracted tuberculosis. On 5 March 1934, he died in Ankara. He was laid to rest in Cebeci Asri Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and three children.

Legacy

A street in Ankara and one in Nazilli in Aydın Province are named after Reşit Galip. A primary schools one in

Zeytinburnu Zeytinburnu (literally, ''Olive Cape'') is a working-class neighbourhood, municipality (belediye) and district on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, on the shore of the Marmara Sea just outside the walls of the ancient city, beyond the fortres ...

, Istanbul and one in Çankaya, Ankara Çankaya school page
/ref> are also named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galip, Resit 1893 births 1934 deaths Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine alumni People from Rhodes Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery Ministers of National Education of Turkey 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Members of the 7th government of Turkey Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey Tuberculosis deaths in Turkey 20th-century Turkish physicians