Fevzi Lütfi Karaosmanoğlu (1900–1978) was a Turkish landowner, politician, writer and journalist. He was a member of the Parliament for three times in the 1950s and in the early 1960s. He briefly served as the minister of state and minister of interior in the cabinets formed by the Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. Throughout his political career Karaosmanoğlu was part of various political parties.

Early life and education

He was born in Manisa in 1900.

His family ''His Family'' is a novel by Ernest Poole published in 1917 about the life of a New York widower and his three daughters in the 1910s. It received the first Pulitzer Prize for the Novel in 1918. Plot introduction ''His Family'' tells the story ...

was an influential local dynasty in the region, and the members of the family were ayans, landowners and leaders based in

Salihli Salihli is a municipality and district of Manisa Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,359 km2, and its population is 165,182 (2023). The ancient Lydian capitals of Sardes and Daldis are located within Salihli. Geography The city of Salihli, whic ...

. He obtained a degree in agriculture from Halkalı Higher Agriculture School in Istanbul in 1922. During his studies he published articles in '' Dergâh'' and ''Yeni Mecmua'' magazines.

Career and activities

Following his graduation he continued to write for various publications, including ''Resimli Gazete'' and ''Son Telgraf'' which was started by him and Sadri Ethem, Hüseyin Avni, Suphi Nuri İleri in 1924. In ''Son Telgraf'' he had a column entitled "Değil mi?" (). He supported the Progressive Republican Party which was formed in 1924. Due to his opposition to 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) and the regime he was tried at the Independence Tribunal of Elazığ for three months and was found not guilty on 13 September 1925. Following this incident he briefly wrote for the ''Güneş'' newspaper and ended his journalistic activity. He returned to his hometown in 1927 and was involved in agriculture in his farm in Salihli, Manisa, until the 1940s. Karaosmanoğlu continued to criticize the single-party government through his articles in '' Vatan'' during the World War II period. He became a member of the Democrat Party (DP) and ran for a seat from Manisa in the 1946 general election, but did not win the election. He was elected as a member of the DP's executive board in the first congress held in January 1947. Karaosmanoğlu became a deputy from Manisa for the DP in the 1950 general election. He was made a minister of state to the cabinet led by

Adnan Menderes Ali Adnan Ertekin Menderes (; 1899 – 17 September 1961) was a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister of Turkey between 1950 and 1960. He was one of the founders of the Democrat Party (DP) in 1946, the fourth legal opposition party of ...

in 1950. He was in charge of the implementation of the Marshall aid. His tenure ended on 9 March 1951. Karaosmanoğlu was appointed minister of interior on 2 December 1951, but he resigned from office on 2 April 1952. He won his seat in the

general election A general election is an electoral process to choose most or all members of a governing body at the same time. They are distinct from By-election, by-elections, which fill individual seats that have become vacant between general elections. Gener ...

held on 2 May 1954. He was dismissed from the DP in October 1955 as a result the conflicts between him and Prime Minister Adnan Menderes. Karaosmanoğlu had been criticizing both Menderes and President

Celâl Bayar Mahmut Celâlettin "Celâl" Bayar (16 May 1883 – 22 August 1986) was a Turkish economist and politician who was the third president of Turkey from 1950 to 1960. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey from 1937 to 1939. Bayar ...

due their "dictatorial tendencies". Nearly twenty-eight DP members were also removed from the party on the same date. Karaosmanoğlu and other former DP politicians established the Liberty Party, and he was elected as its chairman on 22 December 1955. He was one of the signatories of a declaration issued on 4 September 1957 which demanded the detailed inclusion of the fundamental rights and freedoms in the constitution, the establishment of a

Constitutional Court A constitutional court is a high court that deals primarily with constitutional law. Its main authority is to rule on whether laws that are challenged are in fact unconstitutional, i.e. whether they conflict with constitutionally established ru ...

and the adoption of the

bicameral system Bicameralism is a type of legislature that is divided into two separate assemblies, chambers, or houses, known as a bicameral legislature. Bicameralism is distinguished from unicameralism, in which all members deliberate and vote as a single ...

. The other signatories of the statement included

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the second List of Presidents of Turkey, president of Turkey from 1938 to 1950, and as its Prime Minister of Turkey, pr ...

Turgut Göle Turgut Göle (1913–2002) was a Turkish politician from the Republican People's Party (CHP) and served at the Parliament and also, at the Senate. He left the CHP and joined the Republican Reliance Party in 1967. Before his political career he w ...

, Fuat Arna, Kasım Gülek, Enver Güreli, Ahmet Bilgin, İbrahim Öktem and Nurettin Ardıçoğlu. Karaosmanoğlu was a deputy candidate for the party from Istanbul in the 1957 general election, but he did not win a seat. Next year the Liberty Party members, including Karaosmanoğlu, joined the CHP. He was elected to the CHP's council in the 14th congress on 12 January 1959 with the highest number of votes. 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 27 May 1960 a

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

was formed. Karaosmanoğlu was a representative of the CHP at the Assembly in 1961. He was elected as a deputy from Manisa for the CHP in the 1961 general election. He resigned from both the CHP and the Parliament on 4 March 1962 as a result of his conflicts with the CHP leadership. He later supported the Justice Party.

Views

Karaosmanoğlu argued that a democratic regime should be established instead of the bureaucratic mentality and government. In response to the demands of religious groups about the establishment of canonical legislation "to mingle religious and worldly affairs" in Turkey he reported in May 1951 that not the faith of Turkish people, but their Turkish character should be supported. He was serving as minister of interior when he made this statement.

Death

Karaosmanoğlu died in Istanbul on 22 October 1978.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karaosmanoglu, Fevzi Lutfi 1900 births 1978 deaths People from Manisa People from Aidin vilayet Progressive Republican Party (Turkey) politicians Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1960) politicians Liberty Party (Turkey) politicians Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Justice Party (Turkey) politicians Ministers of state of Turkey Ministers of the interior of Turkey Members of the 19th government of Turkey Members of the 20th government of Turkey Members of the 9th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 10th Parliament of Turkey Members of the Constituent Assembly of Turkey Members of the 12th Parliament of Turkey Deputies of Manisa Turkish political party founders Leaders of political parties in Turkey Turkish newspaper founders Turkish landowners Turkish columnists 20th-century Turkish journalists