Mehmet Tekin Arıburun (October 3, 1903 – October 13, 1993) was a Turkish soldier and statesman. He was born in then-Ottoman territory of Ishtib, Kosovo Vilayet (today Štip, part of the

Republic of Macedonia North Macedonia, ; sq, Maqedonia e Veriut, (Macedonia before February 2019), officially the Republic of North Macedonia,, is a country in Southeast Europe. It gained independence in 1991 as one of the successor states of Yugoslavia. It ...

). He was the last (Acting) President to be born outside the territory of present-day Turkey. His father is Hüseyin Avni who was the commander of 57th Regiment in Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

. Hüseyin Avni Bey died in action in Arıburnu. Kaymakam Hüseyin Avni Bey

After Surname Law (Turkey) of 1935,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Rep ...

requested that he should take Arıburun as his surname to honour his late father. He graduated from the Turkish Military College in 1925. He was sent to United Kingdom in 1929 to attend flying courses. In 1935 he graduated from Turkish Military Academy. He became a Army general in 1959. He held the office of Chief Commander of

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force ( tr, ) is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known t ...

. After 1960 Turkish coup d'état he was forced into early retirement by the Junta. He started his political life and elected as senator in 1961. He became the chairman of Senate between November 19, 1970 - June 14, 1977. He was the acting

president of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Cumhurbaşkanı), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national governm ...

between March 28, 1973, and April 6, 1973, after

Cevdet Sunay Cevdet Sunay (; 10 February 1899 – 22 May 1982) was a Turkish politician and army officer, who served as the fifth President of Turkey from 1966 to 1973. Early life and career Sunay was born in 1899 in Trabzon, in the Ottoman Empire. Af ...

completed his seven-year term, until the election of

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (3 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the 6th president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the 3rd commander of the Turkish Naval Forces fr ...

. General Arıburun was a polyglot; he spoke English, German, French and Italian.https://www.hvkk.tsk.tr/ExCommander/Detail/hvkk?id=100&cmId=97 He represented

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

in many international meetings and conferences.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariburun, Tekin 1903 births 1993 deaths 20th-century presidents of Turkey People from Štip People from Kosovo vilayet Macedonian Turks Acting presidents of Turkey Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey) Turkish Military Academy alumni Army War College (Turkey) alumni Turkish Army generals Turkish Air Force generals Commanders of the Turkish Air Force