Ahmet Tahtakılıç (1909–2000) was a Turkish lawyer and politician. He served as a member of the

Parliament In modern politics and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

, senator and held various cabinet posts in the early 1960s. He started his political career in the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946. After being part of right-wing political parties he became a member of 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 ...

(CHP) in 1973. He was among the founders of Human Rights Association which was established in 1986.

Early life and education

He was born in Bozkış village of Uşak in 1909. His father, İbrahim Bey, was a representative of the

Kuva-yi Milliye The Kuva-yi Milliye (; 'National Forces' or 'Nationalist Forces') were irregular Turkish militia forces active in the early period of the Turkish War of Independence. These irregular forces emerged after the occupation of the parts of Turkey by t ...

forces in Alaşehir and Uşak 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 ...

and served at the Parliament following the establishment of Turkey. Ahmet was a graduate of Darülfünun, precursor of

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

, where he received a degree in law in 1930.

Career and activities

Following his graduation Tahtakılıç joined the Ministry of Interior and worked in various capacities, including district governor. He also worked as a lawyer before he was elected as deputy from Kütahya for the DP in 1946. He became a member of the DP's General Administrative Board in 1947. He was among those who were fired from the DP in March 1948 due to their opposition. The others included

Yusuf Kemal Tengirşenk Yusuf Kemal Bey (17 July 1878 – 15 April 1969) was a Turkish civil servant, politician and academic. His birth name was Yusuf Kemal. After the Turkish Surname Law in 1934, he assumed the surname Tengirşenk. Early life He was born in Boyabat ...

Enis Akaygen Enis Akaygen (1881–1956) was a Turkish diplomat, politician and a self-taught economist. Biography He was born in Plovdiv in 1881. He was named as the ambassador of Turkey to the Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. ( ...

, Emin Sazak, Ahmet Oğuz, and Hasan Dinçer. Tahtakılıç became a member of the Nation Party shortly after his dismissal and served as the general secretary of the party. When the Nation Party was closed, he cofounded the

Republican Nation Party The Republican Nation Party (, CMP) was a right-wing Turkish political party. History The party was founded by the members of the Nation Party, which was closed by the court on 27 January 1954. Osman Bölükbaşı founded the Republican Nation ...

in February 1954 and was elected as its chairman. Tahtakılıç was the minister of labour in the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

formed following the military coup in May 1960. The cabinet was led by Cemal Gürsel who headed the military intervention, and Tahtakılıç held the post from 5 January 1961 to 3 March 1961. In the same cabinet he also served as minister of education between 2 March 1961 and 20 November 1961. Tahtakılıç was a member of the

Constituent Assembly of Turkey The Constituent Assembly of Turkey (), also called the Chamber of Deputies, existed from 6 January 1961 to 24 October 1961. It was established by the military rule of 1960 Turkish coup d'état. About half of the members were appointed by the milita ...

which lasted between 6 January 1961 and 24 October 1961 and was the representative of the

Republican Villagers Nation Party The Republican Villagers Nation Party (, CKMP), alternatively translated Republican Peasants' Nation Party, was a political party in Turkey. Fusions The party was founded after the fusion of two smaller nationalist parties. One of these partie ...

. He was elected as a deputy from Uşak in the 1961 general elections. He left the Republican Nation Party in 1966. He joined the CHP in 1973. The same year he was elected as senator from Uşak and served at the Senate until 1980. Following the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

on 12 September 1980 Tahtakılıç retired from politics and worked as a lawyer. He was a cofounder of the Human Rights Association which was established in 1986. He published his memoirs with the title ''Dönüşü Olmayan Yol'' () in 1989.

Personal life and death

Tahtakılıç was married and had four children. Tahtakılıç died on 13 December 2000.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tahtakılıç, Ahmet 20th-century Turkish lawyers 20th-century Turkish non-fiction writers 1909 births 2000 deaths People from Uşak Members of the 12th Parliament of Turkey Deputies of Kütahya Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Ministers of labour and social security of Turkey Ministers of national education of Turkey Members of the 25th government of Turkey Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1960) politicians Nation Party (Turkey, 1948) politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Republican Villagers Nation Party politicians Turkish political party founders Turkish human rights activists Members of the Constituent Assembly of Turkey Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey)