Emel Korutürk (née Cimcoz; 1915 – 12 March 2013) was a Turkish painter and a former First Lady of Turkey.

Early years

She was born in 1915 as Emel Cimcoz, the fourth child of Salah Cimcöz and his wife Hasene Hanim. During her early childhood her father was exiled by the

Allies of World War I The Allies or the Entente (, ) was an international military coalition of countries led by the French Republic, the United Kingdom, the Russian Empire, the United States, the Kingdom of Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the Central Powers ...

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

. After her primary education, she studied at

Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul Lycée Notre Dame de Sion Istanbul () is a French private high school located in the Harbiye, Şişli neighbourhood of Istanbul, Turkey. It was founded in 1856. The high school was established in the Ottoman Empire as a missionary school for gir ...

, a prestigious school for girls. She took private art lessons by Fikret Mualla, but he was fired in 1936 after a violent argument with her father. Following her high school years in

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

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 ...

, she graduated from Güzel Sanatlar Akademisi, which is now

Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University Mimar Sinan Fine Arts University (, or MSGSÜ) is a public art university in Istanbul, Turkey. The university's campus is located in the Fındıklı, Beyoğlu. The university was established in 1882 under the leadership of Osman Hamdi Bey. Hi ...

, in 1936. During her academy years, she was congratulated by

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

, the first president of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, for her talent in art in 1933. After academy, she worked together with Turkish painter İbrahim Çallı.

Family life

In 1944 she married

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (15 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish people, Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the sixth president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the List of commanders of the ...

, a naval officer. The couple had two sons and a daughter, Osman,

Selah (; ) is a word used 74 times in the Hebrew Bible. Its etymology and precise meaning are unknown, though various interpretations are given. It is probably either a liturgical-musical mark or an instruction on the reading of the text, with the m ...

and Ayşe. Between 1960 and 1977 Fahri Korutürk was the commander of the

Turkish Naval Forces The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

. After his retirement from the navy in 1960, he was appointed as Turkish ambassador to the

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

(1960–1964) and later to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

(1964–1965). In 1968 Fahri Korutürk was elected as the

senate A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

member by the president who had the right to name 15 members of the Turkish senate. In 1973, he was elected as the 6th

president President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television *'' Præsident ...

of Turkey. Thus Emel Korutürk became the first lady of the country. In 1980 Fahri Korutürk's term as the president ended and in 1987 he died. Emel Korutürk lived another 26 years and died on 13 March 2013 in Istanbul.

Her contributions to art

During her term as the first lady, she concentrated on promoting Turkish painting. She was instrumental in presidential receptions to Turkish artists. She also supported the foundation of the Ankara State Art and Sculpture Museum which would be a model for other such museums. In this museum, she began collecting 34 paintings of Turkish artist Fikret Mualla. Her painting "Gratitude to Gazi" (referring to "Atatürk") is also exhibited in the museum.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Korutürk, Emel 1915 births 2013 deaths Painters from Istanbul Turkish women painters First ladies of Turkey Academy of Fine Arts in Istanbul alumni