Orhan Öztrak (1914–1995) was a Turkish jurist and politician who served as the minister of interior and the minister of customs and monopolies. He was a member of the Parliament and of the Senate.

Early life and education

He was born in

Malkara Malkara () is a municipality and district of Tekirdağ Province, Turkey. Its area is 1,243 km2 (the largest in Tekirdağ Province), and its population is 50,988 (2022). It is located at 55 km west of Tekirdağ and 190 km from Ist ...

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 ...

, in 1914. He hailed from a family of which members are politicians and bureaucrats. His father was Mustafa Faik Öztrak who was the minister of interior. His brother, Adnan Öztrak, was the first director general of the

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: ) is the national public broadcasting, public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio broadcaster in Turkey. Before the introductio ...

between 1964 and 1971. His younger brother İlhan Öztrak served as the minister of state. Orhan Öztrak obtained a law degree from Ankara University. He received his Ph.D. in law from the

University of Neuchâtel The University of Neuchâtel (UniNE) is a French-speaking public research university in Neuchâtel, Switzerland. The university has four faculties (schools) and more than a dozen institutes, including arts and human sciences, natural sciences, ...

Career and activities

After working as a district governor Öztrak was elected to the Parliament in the 1957 general election for the Republican People's Party (CHP) from Tekirdağ. 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 ...

on 27 May 1960 a

Constituent Assembly A constituent assembly (also known as a constitutional convention, constitutional congress, or constitutional assembly) is a body assembled for the purpose of drafting or revising a constitution. Members of a constituent assembly may be elected b ...

was formed. Öztrak was the Tekirdağ representative for the CHP at the Assembly from 6 January 1961 to 15 October 1961. He worked as a member of the CHP Central Administrative Board and was the party's deputy general secretary. He was named as the minister of customs and monopolies to the

cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furniture * Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers * Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets * Filin ...

led by

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 ...

on 25 June 1962. Öztrak was appointed minister of interior to the same cabinet on 26 December 1963, replacing İlyas Seçkin in the post. Öztrak's tenure ended on 20 February 1965 when Hakkı Akdoğan was named as the minister of interior. Öztrak was part of the group led by

Turhan Feyzioğlu Turhan Feyzioğlu (1922 – 24 March 1988) was a Turkish academic and a politician. Early life He was born in Kayseri. After finishing the primary school in Kayseri, he attended Galatasaray High School and later studied at Istanbul University ...

in the CHP who argued in 1965 that the concept of the left of center was a way to make a distinction between the CHP followers and the followers of the Workers' Party of Turkey. Öztrak resigned from the CHP on 30 April 1967 and was involved in the establishment of the

Reliance Party Republican Reliance Party () was a former party in Turkey. Background The Republican People's Party (CHP) which is usually credited as the founder of the Turkish Republic in 1923 was the oldest party in Turkey. The ideology of the party was Kem ...

. Later he was made its general secretary. He was a representative of Turkey at the

European Parliament The European Parliament (EP) is one of the two legislative bodies of the European Union and one of its seven institutions. Together with the Council of the European Union (known as the Council and informally as the Council of Ministers), it ...

from 17 April 1970 to 28 January 1971. Öztrak served as minister of customs and monopolies in the

led by

Süleyman Demirel Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...

between 1975 and 1977. Öztrak was a senator from Tekirdağ from 1975 to 1980.

Personal life and death

Öztrak was married and had two children, including Faik Öztrak, a member of the CHP. Öztrak died on 30 December 1995.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Oztrak, Orhan 1914 births 1995 deaths Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni Deputies of Tekirdağ University of Neuchâtel alumni Members of the Constituent Assembly of Turkey Members of the 11th Parliament of Turkey Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish political party founders Government ministers of Turkey Ministers of the interior of Turkey Republican Reliance Party politicians Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey) Members of the 27th government of Turkey Members of the 39th government of Turkey Members of the 28th government of Turkey