Emine Mevhibe İnönü (September 22, 1897 – February 29, 1992) was the First Lady of Turkey from November 11, 1938, until May 27, 1950, during the

presidency A presidency is an administration or the executive, the collective administrative and governmental entity that exists around an office of president of a state or nation. Although often the executive branch of government, and often personified b ...

of her husband

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 ...

Early years

She was born on September 22, 1897, at Süleymaniye neighborhood of

Fatih Fatih () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 15 km2, and its population is 368,227 (2022). It is home to almost all of the provincial authorities (including the mayor's office, police headquarters, metro ...

district 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 ...

. Her father died of

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

as she was three years old. Shortly later, her sibling also died. Following the losses in the family, Mevhibe's mother moved with her to the grandfather's house, where she was raised then on. She left the secondary school after the first grade due to the family's decision. She married on April 13, 1917, to Mustafa İsmet, an officer of the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

in the rank of

colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

(). 21 days later, her husband left for the front at the

Middle Eastern theatre of World War I The Middle Eastern theatre of World War I saw action between 30 October 1914 and 30 October 1918. The combatants were, on one side, the Ottoman Empire, with some assistance from the other Central Powers; and on the other side, the British Em ...

to return home only after the conclusion of

Armistice of Mudros The Armistice of Mudros () ended hostilities in the Middle Eastern theatre between Ottoman Turkey and the Allies of World War I. It was signed on 30 October 1918 by the Ottoman Minister of Marine Affairs Rauf Bey and British Admiral Somerset ...

on October 30, 1918. The couple's first son was born in 1919. Mustafa İsmet went in 1920 to

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

to join 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 ...

. As being the spouse of an officer, who was sentenced to death by the Ottoman administration for his involvement in the national resistance, Mevhibe moved together with her family members to her husband's hometown

Malatya Malatya (; ; Syriac language, Syriac ܡܠܝܛܝܢܐ Malīṭīná; ; Ancient Greek: Μελιτηνή) is a city in the Eastern Anatolia region of Turkey and the capital of Malatya Province. The city has been a human settlement for thousands of y ...

, and remained there in the years of the struggle. Her son İzzet died in 1921 during that time. The family settled in

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

shortly after its re-capture by the Turkish troops on September 9, 1922. During the

negotiations Negotiation is a dialogue between two or more parties to resolve points of difference, gain an advantage for an individual or Collective bargaining, collective, or craft outcomes to satisfy various interests. The parties aspire to agree on m ...

of the

Treaty of Lausanne The Treaty of Lausanne (, ) is a peace treaty negotiated during the Lausanne Conference of 1922–1923 and signed in the Palais de Rumine in Lausanne, Switzerland, on 24 July 1923. The treaty officially resolved the conflict that had initially ...

that lasted eleven weeks from November 1922, she accompanied her husband in Switzerland, who was the head of the Turkish delegation. In 1924, she mothered her second son Ömer. That year, she moved into Pembe Köşk in Ankara, which her husband purchased newly. The mansion became their home until 1975. In 1926, their third son Erdal, and then in 1930 the couple's daughter Özden was born. Mevhibe İnönü visited several places including

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

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

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

as the prime minister's spouse. In 1934, the

Surname Law The Surname Law () of the Republic of Turkey is a law adopted on 21 June 1934, requiring all citizens of Turkey to adopt the use of fixed, hereditary surnames. Prior to 1934, Turkish families in the major urban centres had names by which they were ...

came into effect. Mustafa İsmet and his family members received the family name İnönü in honor of the

First First most commonly refers to: * First, the ordinal form of the number 1 First or 1st may also refer to: Acronyms * Faint Images of the Radio Sky at Twenty-Centimeters, an astronomical survey carried out by the Very Large Array * Far Infrared a ...

and

Second Battle of İnönü The Second Battle of İnönü () was fought between March 23 and April 1, 1921 near İnönü, Eskişehir, İnönü in present-day Eskişehir Province, Turkey during the Greco-Turkish War (1919–22), also known as the western front of the larg ...

, he was a victorious commander of.

First lady

Following the death of

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 ...

on November 10, 1938, the founder and the first president of the Turkish Republic, İsmet İnönü was elected president the next day. Mevhibe İnönü moved then as the second first lady into

Çankaya Köşkü Çankaya may refer to: * Çankaya District, a district and municipality of Ankara Province, Turkey * Çankaya, Ankara (neighbourhood), a neighbourhood in Çankaya District, Ankara Province, Turkey * Çankaya, İzmir, a neighbourhood in Konak dist ...

, the official presidential residence, where she stayed until May 27, 1950.

Personal interests

She was known as a polite and elegant woman. She co-founded in 1928 "Yardımsevenler Derneği" (Association of Humanists) and in 1949 "Türk Kadınlar Birliği" (Union of Turkish Women). In 1983, she and her children set up a foundation in honor of their late family father İsmet İnönü. She became the first chairperson of the board of trustees of the İnönü Foundation.

Later years

Mevhibe İnönü lost on December 25, 1973, her husband, who played a long and important role in the Turkish politics. On July 20, 1991, she was hospitalized in the military hospital GATA in Ankara, where she died on February 29, 1992. She was laid to rest at the Cebeci Asri Cemetery in Ankara.

Family

Mevhibe married Ismet Inönü on 13 April 1916 and widowed on 25 December 1973. They had three sons and a daughter:TC Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, ''Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri'' , Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972. * Izzet Inönü (1919 - 1921) * Ömer Inönü (1924 - 2 March 2004). He married Engin Ögelman on 4 September 1952 and had two sons, Hayri and Eren Inönü. * Erdal Inönü (6 June 1926 - 31 October 2007). Politician and physician. He married Sevinç Sohtorik in 1957. * Özden Inönü (b. 7 February 1930). She married

Metin Toker Metin Toker (1924 – 18 July 2002) was a Turkish journalist and writer. Life He was born in Istanbul. After finishing Galatasaray High School, he studied French philology at Istanbul University graduating in 1948. He then went to France to stu ...

on 9 February 1955 and had two daughters and a son: Nurperi, Ayşe Gülsün and Güçlü Toker.

Gallery

File:Inonu ailesi.jpg, Mevhibe with her husband and their three survived children, from left Ömer, Özden and Erdal. File:Mevhibe İnönü, Cebeci Asri Mezarlığı - 2023 Temmuz 1.jpg, Grave of Mevhibe İnönü in Cebeci Asri Cemetery, Ankara