Hasan Nusret Fişek (21 November 1914 in

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

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 ...

- 3 November 1990 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 ( ...

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 ...

) was a Turkish physician and

Minister of Health A health minister is the member of a country's government typically responsible for protecting and promoting public health and providing welfare spending and other social security services. Some governments have separate ministers for mental heal ...

Early years

Nusret Hasan Fişek was born in

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

to Hayrullah Fişek, a commander at 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 ...

, and Mukaddes on November 21, 1914. He had a brother, A. Hicri Fişek. He was registered 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 ...

. After finishing Kabataş High School in 1932, he studied Medicin at

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 1938, he graduated with honors. He began his specialization study in

Bacteriology Bacteriology is the branch and specialty of biology that studies the Morphology (biology), morphology, ecology, genetics and biochemistry of bacteria as well as many other aspects related to them. This subdivision of microbiology involves the iden ...

at the same university. In 1946, he became a specialist in

Biomedicine Biomedicine (also referred to as Western medicine, mainstream medicine or conventional medicine)

and

Food chemistry Food chemistry is the study of chemical processes and interactions of all biological and non-biological components of foods. The biological substances include such items as meat, poultry, lettuce, beer, milk as examples. It is similar to biochemi ...

(

Biochemistry Biochemistry, or biological chemistry, is the study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms. A sub-discipline of both chemistry and biology, biochemistry may be divided into three fields: structural biology, enzymology, a ...

). Fişek obtained a

Doctor of Medicine A Doctor of Medicine (abbreviated MD, from the Latin language, Latin ) is a medical degree, the meaning of which varies between different jurisdictions. In the United States, and some other countries, the ''MD'' denotes a professional degree of ph ...

title from

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

in 1952. Nusret Fişek married Perihan Rukiye in 1940 (died 2007), who gave birth to two sons, Kurthan (1942-2012), and A. Gürhan (1951-2017).

Professional career

In 1955, Fişek became assistant professor for Biochemistry. He was promoted to full professor of Public Health in 1966. He gained international success for his scientific works on

tetanus toxoid Tetanus vaccine, also known as tetanus toxoid (TT), is a toxoid vaccine used to prevent tetanus. During childhood, five doses are recommended, with a sixth given during adolescence. After three doses, almost everyone is initially immune, but ...

. He established biochemistry labs and contributed to their improvement. In 1960, still head of the Public Health School, he was appointed undersecretary at the Ministry of Health, and served at this position until 1965. During this time period, he acted also as the minister's placeholder for a while. In 1963, Fişek took the post of the head of the newly established Institute of

Community Medicine Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals". Analyzing the de ...

Hacettepe University Hacettepe University () is a public research university in Ankara, Turkey. It was established on 8 July 1967. It is ranked first among the Turkish universities by University Ranking by Academic Performance in 2021. The university has two main c ...

. From 1983 on, Fişek served six years long as the chairman of the Union of Turkish Physicians. He was member of many professional organizations at domestic and international level. He is the author of a number of scientific publications also in foreign languages.

Death

Nusret Hasan Fişek died in Ankara on November 3, 1990. He was laid to rest at the Cebeci Asri Cemetery in Ankara.

Honors

* ''150th Anniversary Award'' by Michigan University for his works on

Demography Demography () is the statistical study of human populations: their size, composition (e.g., ethnic group, age), and how they change through the interplay of fertility (births), mortality (deaths), and migration. Demographic analysis examine ...

, *

Fellow of the Royal College of Physicians The Royal College of Physicians of London, commonly referred to simply as the Royal College of Physicians (RCP), is a British professional membership body dedicated to improving the practice of medicine, chiefly through the accreditation of ph ...

(FRCP) for his works on Socialiaztion of Health. * ''TUBİTAK Bilim ve Hizmet Ödülü (1993)'' by

Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey The Scientific and Technological Research Institution of Turkey (, TÜBİTAK) is a national agency of Turkey whose stated goal is to develop "science, technology and innovation" (STI) policies, support and conduct research and development, and to ...

for his works on Demography and Socialization of Health.

Legacy

Awards Named After Him

* The Chamber of Physicians in Istanbul established the "Prof. Dr. Nusret H. Fişek Public Health Service Promotion Award" in his honor. It is bestowed every year to persons or organizations, which contributed to basic public health service. * Turkish Medical Association established the "Prof. Dr. Nusret H. Fişek Public Health Science and Service Awards" since 1991.

Places Named After Him

Schools

* A vocational high school in Ankara for health science * A study center in Ankara

Avenues

Adıyaman Adıyaman () is a city in southeastern Turkey. It is the administrative centre of Adıyaman Province and Adıyaman District. Its population is 267,131 (2021). The inhabitants of the city are mostly Turkish and Kurdish. The city was one of the ...

, Tut İlçesi, Reşadiye Mah. (since 1970, the only one not posthumous) * Ankara, Sıhhiye *

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

, Seyhan *

Tekirdağ Tekirdağ () is a city in northwestern Turkey. It is located on the north coast of the Sea of Marmara, in the region of East Thrace. The city forms the urban part of the Süleymanpaşa district, with a population of 186,421 in 2022. Tekirdağ ...

, Çorlu, Muhittin Mah.

Streets

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 ...

, Alsancak *

Denizli Denizli is a city in Aegean Region, Aegean Turkey, and seat of the province of Denizli Province, Denizli. The city forms the urban part of the districts Merkezefendi and Pamukkale, Denizli, Pamukkale, with a population of 691 783 in 2024. Denizl ...

, Saltak *

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

, Odunpazarı, Batıkent

Sağlık Ocakları

* Ankara, Çankaya, Yıldız * İzmir, Balçova, Onur Mah. * İzmir, Balçova, Evka-1 *

Manisa Manisa () is a city in Turkey's Aegean Region and the administrative seat of Manisa Province, lying approximately 40 km northeast of the major city of İzmir. The city forms the urban part of the districts Şehzadeler and Yunusemre, with ...

Salihli Salihli is a municipality and district of Manisa Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,359 km2, and its population is 165,182 (2023). The ancient Lydian capitals of Sardes and Daldis are located within Salihli. Geography The city of Salihli, whic ...

Parks

* Ankara, Batıkent

Busts

* Ankara,

(on two halls)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fisek, Nusret 1914 births People from Sivas Kabataş Erkek Lisesi alumni Istanbul University Faculty of Medicine alumni 20th-century Turkish physicians Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Turkish civil servants Turkish public health doctors Academic staff of Hacettepe University Ministers of health of Turkey 1990 deaths Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery