Kâzım Özalp (17 February 1882 – 6 June 1968) was a Turkish military officer, politician, and one of the leading figures in 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 ...

Biography

Born in Köprülü (now Veles,

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

), in the Kosovo Vilayet of the

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 ...

. Kâzım Fikri graduated from the

Ottoman Military College The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College ( or ), was a two-year military staff college of the Ottoman Empire. It was located in İstanbul. Its mission was to educate staff officers for the Ott ...

in 1902 and completed the College of War in 1905. Kâzım Özalp was involved in the 31 March Incident in 1909. He was a military commander of the Ottoman forces during the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

. In 1917, he was promoted to the rank of the colonel during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was one of the military commanders who organized resistance groups against the occupation of Izmir by Greek forces. During the

, he fought at several fronts. In 1921, Kâzım Özalp was promoted to the rank General for his success at the

Battle of Sakarya The Battle of the Sakarya (), also known as the Battle of the Sangarios (), was an important engagement in the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922). The battle went on for 21 days from August 23 to September 13, 1921, close to the banks of the Sakar ...

. After the Kurdish Sheikh Said Rebellion was subdued, he contributed to the Report for Reform of the East, which advised to establish Inspectorates General in the eastern provinces 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 ...

and crush the Kurdish rebels in the region. Already a member of the first term of the parliament of the newly established Republic as an MP from

Balıkesir Province Balıkesir Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean Sea, Aegean. Its area is 14,583 km ...

, Kâzım Fikri served as the Minister of Defense in several cabinets from 1921 to 1925, and later from 1935 to 1939. He was elected Speaker of the Turkish Grand National Assembly from 1924 to 1935. In 1950, he was elected to the parliament as an MP from Van Province. He retired from active politics in 1954. He was rumored to have been a

Bektashi Bektashism (, ) is a tariqa, Sufi order of Islam that evolved in 13th-century western Anatolia and became widespread in the Ottoman Empire. It is named after the wali, ''walī'' "saint" Haji Bektash Veli, with adherents called Bektashis. The ...

possibly because of his opposition to the decision to close Bektashi centers ( Tekke). Kâzım Özalp wrote his memoirs in his book ''Milli Mücadele'' ("National Struggle"). He died on 6 June 1968 in Ankara. His remains were transferred to the Turkish State Cemetery.

References

Who is who

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ozalp, Kazim 1882 births 1968 deaths People from Veles Municipality People from Kosovo vilayet Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Ministers of national defence of Turkey Government ministers of Turkey Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey Deputies of Balıkesir Deputies of Van Ottoman Army officers Turkish Army generals Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish military personnel of the Greco-Turkish War (1919–1922) Malta exiles Turkish people of Albanian descent Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Military College alumni Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Red-Green Ribbon (Turkey) Burials at Turkish State Cemetery Members of the 1st government of Turkey Members of the 2nd government of Turkey Members of the 8th government of Turkey Members of the 9th government of Turkey Members of the 10th government of Turkey Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey Turkish nationalists

Biography

See also

References

External links