Mustafa Reşit Galip (1893 – 5 March 1934) was a Turkish politician in the early years of the Turkish Republic. By profession, he was a medical doctor.

Early years

He was born in the Sanjak of Rhodes (now an island of

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, then a part of the

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 ...

) in 1883. His father was Galip, a judge and his mother was Münevver. He completed his elementary education in

Rhodes Rhodes (; ) is the largest of the Dodecanese islands of Greece and is their historical capital; it is the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, ninth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea. Administratively, the island forms a separ ...

. According to his granddaughter Feyhan Oran, when Rhodes was occupied by

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

he escaped to

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 ...

where he finished his highschool education. Then, he travelled to

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 ...

to study medicine. During the

Balkan War The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Greece, Serbia, Montenegro and Bulgaria declared war upon the Ottoman Empire and defeated it, in the ...

and the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he voluntarily served in the fronts. In 1917 he graduated from the medicine school of

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 ...

. Although he briefly served as an assistant in the faculty, he later on moved to Tavşanlı (a town in West

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 participate in 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 ...

. Towards the end of the war, he was appointed as the official doctor in

Mersin Mersin () is a large city and port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of Mediterranean Region, Turkey, southern Turkey. It is the provincial capital of the Mersin Province (formerly İçel). It is made up of four district governorates ...

. In 1925 he was elected as an MP from

Aydın Province Aydın Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of southwestern Turkey, located in the Aegean Region. Its area is 8,116 km2, and its population is 1,148,241 (2022). T ...

.Biography page
/ref>

In politics

He was always interested in politics. In İzmir and Istanbul he published bulletins and in Mersin he wrote in a local newspaper as the chief editor. While serving as an MP, he was elected a member of the Independence Tribunals. In 1930s he served as the charter member of two associations which were supported by

Kemal Atatürk Kemal may refer to: ;People * Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, a Turkish politician and the first president of Turkey * Kemal (name), a Turkish name ;Places * Kemalpaşa, İzmir Province, Turkey * Mustafakemalpaşa, Bursa Province, Turkey ;See also *"Kema ...

, the founder of Turkish Republic;

Turkish Language Association The Turkish Language Association (, TDK) is the List of language regulators, regulatory body for the Turkish language, founded on 12 July 1932 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and headquartered in Ankara, Turkey. The Institution acts as ...

and

Turkish Historical Society The Turkish Historical Society (; TTK) is a research society studying the history of Turkey and the Turkish people, founded in 1931 by the initiative of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, with headquarters in Ankara, Turkey. It has been described as "the Ke ...

. He later on became the president of Turkish Language Association. During his speech at the First Turkish History Congress in 1932, he claimed that the

Sumerians Sumer () is the earliest known civilization, located in the historical region of southern Mesopotamia (now south-central Iraq), emerging during the Chalcolithic and early Bronze Ages between the sixth and fifth millennium BC. Like nearby Elam ...

, the

Ancient Egyptians Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower ...

or the

Ancient Greeks Ancient Greece () was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity (), that comprised a loose collection of culturally and linguistically re ...

where originally of Turkish origin. One of the dubious evidences he presented for this claim was that the Egyptian

Amun Amun was a major ancient Egyptian deity who appears as a member of the Hermopolitan Ogdoad. Amun was attested from the Old Kingdom together with his wife Amunet. His oracle in Siwa Oasis, located in Western Egypt near the Libyan Desert, r ...

priests were of Turkish race due their

brachycephalic Brachycephaly (derived from the Ancient Greek '' βραχύς'', 'short' and '' κεφαλή'', 'head') is the shape of a skull shorter than average in its species. It is perceived as a cosmetically desirable trait in some domesticated dog and ...

skull. Between 19 September 1932 and 13 July 1933 he served as the Minister of National Education. (''see'' 7th government of Turkey) During his brief service period he initiated university reforms and planned

Museum of Anatolian Civilizations The Museum of Anatolian Civilizations () is located on the south side of Ankara Castle in the Atpazarı area in Ankara, Turkey. It consists of the old Ottoman Mahmut Paşa bazaar storage building, and the Kurşunlu Han. Because of Atatürk's ...

, an important museum 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 ( ...

. He is also known as the creator of daily student oath.

Death

While serving in the wars he had contracted tuberculosis. On 5 March 1934, he died in Ankara. He was laid to rest in Cebeci Asri Cemetery. He was survived by his wife and three children.

Legacy

A street in Ankara and one in

Nazilli Nazilli is municipality and district of Aydın Province, Turkey. Its area is 691 km2, and its population is 162,737 (2022). It is the second-largest city in Aydın Province, after the city of Aydın. It is east of Aydın, on the road to D ...

in Aydın Province are named after Reşit Galip. A primary schools one in

Zeytinburnu Zeytinburnu (literally, ''Olive Cape'') is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 12 km2, and its population is 292,616 (2022). It is a working-class area on the European side of Istanbul, T ...

, Istanbul and one in Çankaya, Ankara Çankaya school page
/ref> are also named after him.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Galip, Resit 1893 births 1934 deaths Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Istanbul University Cerrahpaşa Faculty of Medicine alumni People from Rhodes Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery Ministers of national education of Turkey 20th-century deaths from tuberculosis Members of the 7th government of Turkey Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey Tuberculosis deaths in Turkey 20th-century Turkish physicians