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 species; as well as the ...

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

, and Prime Minister of Turkey from 1949 to 1950.

Biography

Günaltay was born 1883 in the Kemaliye town of the Vilayet of Mamuret-ul-Aziz,

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. He was a graduate of Vefa High School, Istanbul. After finishing the Teacher's College, he was educated in physics at the University of Lausanne in

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. 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, a prominent ideologue of Pan-Turkism. Influenced by him, he began to carry out research on Turkish history. In 1914, he was appointed professor of the history of Turks and

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

ic tribes at the Faculty of Letters of Istanbul University. The same year began to publish articles in the journal, '' İslam Mecmuası'', which was sponsored by the Committee of Union and Progress. 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 as deputy of Bilecik Province from the Committee of Union and Progress, 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 , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

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

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

and Rumelia". After the foundation of the Republic of Turkey in 1923, he entered Turkish Grand National Assembly as deputy of Sivas Province from the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(), serving for 27 years until 1950. Between 1950 and 1954, he represented Erzincan Province in the parliament. After Prime Minister Hasan Saka's resignation, Günaltay was appointed by President İsmet İnönü to form his cabinet on 16 January 1949 that lasted until Adnan Menderes's Democratic Party took over the government on 22 May 1950, following the general 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 Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...

, after its Faculty of Divinity was closed in 1933. Günaltay died on 19 October 1961 in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

due to

prostate cancer Prostate cancer is the neoplasm, uncontrolled growth of cells in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system below the bladder. Abnormal growth of the prostate tissue is usually detected through Screening (medicine), screening tests, ...

, shortly after he was elected to the Senate to represent Istanbul Province (but before he could take his seat). He was laid to rest next to his daughter's grave in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

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

External links

* * Biyografi.net
''Biography of Şemsettin Günaltay''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Gunaltay, Semsettin 1883 births 1961 deaths 20th-century prime ministers of Turkey 20th-century Turkish historians People from Kemaliye Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Deputies of Sivas Deputies of Erzurum Turkish Islamists Academic staff of Istanbul University University of Lausanne alumni Members of the 18th government of Turkey Vefa High School alumni