Kara Vâsıf Bey (1880 – December 5, 1931), later known as Mustafa Vasıf Karakol, was 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 ...

, and a politician of the

Republic 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 ...

. He was one of the founding members of the

Karakol society The Karakol society (), also known Guard Society, was a Turkish clandestine intelligence organization that fought on the side of the Turkish National Movement during the Turkish War of Independence. Formed in November 1918, it refused to merge its ...

and his family took the surname "Karakol" after his death.Türk Parlamento Tarihi Araştırma Grubu, ''Türk Parlamento Tarihi: Millî Mücadele ve TBMB I. Dönem 1919-1923 - I. Dönem Milletvekillerin Özgeçmişleri'', III. Cilt, Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi Vakfı Yayınları, Ankara, 1995, , pp. 891-893.

Early life

He traveled around the empire in early childhood due to his father civil service appointments. He eventually enlisted in the Military Academy in 1898. He was an officer in the

Action Army The Action Army (), also translated as the Army of Action or Operation Army, was a rebellion force formed by elements of the Ottoman Army sympathetic to the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) during the 31 March Incident, sometimes referred to ...

which suppressed the

31 March Events Pre-1600 * 307 – After divorcing his wife Minervina, Constantine marries Fausta, daughter of the retired Roman emperor Maximian. * 1146 – Bernard of Clairvaux preaches his famous sermon in a field at Vézelay, urging ...

rebellion. He resigned from the army in 1916.Turkiye Ansiklopedisi, 3 (1974)

Political career

He was one of the founding and most active member of the Karakol Society, which was established as an underground resistance organization in reaction to

occupation of Istanbul The occupation of Istanbul () or occupation of Constantinople (12 November 1918 – 4 October 1923), the capital of the Ottoman Empire, by United Kingdom, British, France, French, Italy, Italian, and Greece, Greek forces, took place in accordan ...

at the end of WWI. After numerous military leaders moved to Anatolian hinterland to launch the War of Independence, he was the key link to them and represented Association for the Defence of National Rights of Anatolia and Rumelia. He was elected to the last and 4th Ottoman Parliament as representative of

Sivas Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.İl Beledi ...

. Eventually he was arrested by the occupation authorities and imprisoned at

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 his return, he was again elected to the 1st

TBMM 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 Constitut ...

from Sivas. He was arrested in 1926 with suspicion of participating in the attempt (

İzmir plot In 1926, the Turkish police arrested dozens of people, including ex-ministers, lawmakers and governors, accused of plotting to assassinate Mustafa Kemal, the first president of Turkey, on 14 June 1926 in İzmir. The assassination was planned to ...

) on life of Ataturk. Eventually he was cleared of all charges and freed. Later in life he was involved in private business.

Medals and decorations

* Medal of Independence with Green Ribbon

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karakol, Mustafa Vasif 1880 births 1931 deaths People from 'Asir Province Ottoman Military Academy alumni Ottoman Military College alumni Ottoman Army officers Ottoman military personnel of the Balkan Wars Ottoman military personnel of World War I Turkish people of the Turkish War of Independence Malta exiles Deputies of Sivas Progressive Republican Party (Turkey) politicians Recipients of the Medal of Independence with Green Ribbon (Turkey)

Early life

Political career

Medals and decorations

See also

Sources