Namık Gedik (1911–1960) was a Turkish physician and politician who served as the

minister of interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

in the mid-1950s. He was a member of the Democrat Party (DP) which was the ruling party in the period 1950–1960.

Kemal Karpat Kemal Karpat (15 February 1924, Babadag Tulcea, Romania – 20 February 2019, Manchester, New Hampshire, United States) was a Romanian- Turkish naturalised American historian and professor at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. Early life ...

describes him as part of the "rising professionals" within the early DP leadership. Gedik was arrested on 27 May 1960 immediately 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 ...

along with his colleagues. Gedik committed suicide soon after his detention.

Early life and education

Gedik hailed from a large family originated from

Uşak Uşak () is a city in the interior part of the Aegean Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Uşak Province and Uşak District.Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

in 1911 when his father was serving there as a post officer. He graduated from

Kabataş High School Kabataş may refer to: * Kabataş, Beyoğlu, a quarter in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey ** Kabataş (Istanbul Metro), a funicular railway station * Kabataş, Çine, a village in Aydın Province, Turkey * Kabataş, Kemaliye, a village in Erz ...

in 1930 and received a bachelor's degree in medicine from

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

in 1936. During his university studies Gedik was a member of the

Turkish National Student Union Turkish National Student Union (Turkish language, Turkish: Millî Türk Talebe Birliği; MTTB) was a Nationalism, nationalist and later Islamism, Islamist organization in Turkey. It was Turkish nationalist from 1946 to 1960s, Turkish–Islamic synt ...

Career

Following graduation Gedik began to work in

Çine Çine is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 820 km2, and its population is 48,466 (2022). It is from the city of Aydın, on the road to Muğla. History Throughout the ages this area has ...

, Aydın, as a physician. In 1942 he completed his speciality training in medicine at Haydarpaşa Hospital, Istanbul, and worked at different medical institutions in various cities until 1946 when he resigned from the medical career and was involved in the establishment of the DP. He became a member of the Turkish parliament following the 1950 general election for Aydın and continued to serve in the parliament until 1960 winning a seat for Aydin 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 ...

in 1954 and in the next election in 1957. Gedik served as minister of interior in the cabinets led by

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

. Gedik was first appointed to the post on 17 May 1954, and his term ended on 10 September 1955 when he resigned from the office due to the 6-7 September incident, known as

Istanbul pogrom The Istanbul pogrom, also known as the Istanbul riots, were a series of state-sponsored anti-Greek mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The pogrom was orchestrated by the governing Democrat ...

. Ethem Menderes replaced Gedik in the post. Gedik was appointed to the same post for a second time on 22 December 1956 and remained in office until 27 May 1960. His both terms witnessed significant events, such as Istanbul pogrom and growing tensions with 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 ...

followers and other opposition forces. Following the military coup on 27 May 1960 Gedik and other DP members were arrested.

Personal life and death

Gedik married Melahat Gedik, a judge, in 1937. She joined

True Path Party The True Path Party (, DYP) was a centre-right political party in Turkey, active from 1983 to 2007. For most of its history, the party's central figure was Süleyman Demirel, a former Prime Minister of Turkey who previously led the Justice Part ...

in the 1980s and served at the Turkish parliament representing Aydın. She died in 1999. Namık and Melahat Gedik had two children. His son, Arda Gedik, died in September 2011. Namık Gedik committed suicide on 29 May 1960 throwing himself out of a fourth-floor window of the War College, Ankara, where he had been in custody after the military coup of 27 May.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gedik, Namık 20th-century Turkish physicians 1911 births 1960 suicides 1960 deaths Ministers of the interior of Turkey Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine alumni Deputies of Aydın Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1960) politicians Istanbul pogrom Turkish politicians who died by suicide Members of the 9th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 10th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 11th Parliament of Turkey Kabataş Erkek Lisesi alumni Suicides by jumping in Turkey