Hasan Esat Işık (21 October 1916 – 2 July 1989) was a Turkish

diplomat A diplomat (from ; romanization, romanized ''diploma'') is a person appointed by a state (polity), state, International organization, intergovernmental, or Non-governmental organization, nongovernmental institution to conduct diplomacy with one ...

and

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 ...

Biography

Hasan Esat Işık was born 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 ...

. His father was Mehmet Esat, a well known physician. After graduating from

Galatasaray High School Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...

and Ankara University Faculty of Law, he held various positions in

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. He served as the Permanent Representative of the European Office in

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

in 1952, and as Ambassador to

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

from 1962 to 1973. Following the military coup of 27 May 1960 which ended the rule of Democrat Party (DP) Işık, Oğuz Gökmen and Semih Günver who were close to Fatin Rüştü Zorlu, minister of foreign affairs in the DP cabinet, were dismissed from the Ministry. When they were cleared of all charges as a result of the investigations, they were appointed to new positions, and Işık was named as the ambassador of Turkey to Belgium. In 1965, Işık was appointed the

minister of foreign affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and foreign relations, relations, diplomacy, bilateralism, ...

in the 29th cabinet of Turkey (AP-CKMP-YTP-MP) of Prime Minister

Suat Hayri Ürgüplü Ali Suat Hayri Ürgüplü (13 August 1903 – 26 December 1981) was a Turkish politician who served a brief term as Prime Minister of Turkey in 1965. He was also the last Prime Minister to be born outside the territory of present-day Turkey, be ...

. He was not a member of the

Turkish Grand National Assembly The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

when he was appointed to this post. After leaving the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, he was elected as a member of Parliament for

Bursa Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...

from CHP in the

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

and 1977 elections. He was appointed Minister of National Defense in the 37th, 40th and 42nd cabinet of Turkey. He left the ministry on 16 January 1979. Hasan Esat Işık was also the deputy secretary general of the CHP. He was among those who were banned from politics for 5 years by the new constitution following the 1980 coup d'etat. Işık died 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 ( ...

on 2 July 1989 at the age of 72.

References

External links

* , - , - , - 1916 births 1989 deaths Politicians from Istanbul Ministers of foreign affairs of Turkey Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 29th government of Turkey Members of the 37th government of Turkey Members of the 40th government of Turkey Members of the 42nd government of Turkey Galatasaray High School alumni Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni Ambassadors of Turkey to Belgium Ambassadors of Turkey to France Ambassadors of Turkey to Russia Recipients of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany {{Turkey-politician-stub