Turhan Feyzioğlu (1922 – 24 March 1988) was a
Turkish academic and a politician.
Early life
He was born in
Kayseri
Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...
. After finishing the primary school in Kayseri, he attended
Galatasaray High School
Galatasaray High School (, ), established in Istanbul in 1481, is the oldest and Selective school, highly selective high school in Turkey. It is also the second-oldest Turkish educational institution after Istanbul University, which was establi ...
and later studied 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 ...
Law School. After post graduate studies at the
University of Oxford
The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...
, he returned to
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 ...
and became a faculty at
Ankara University
Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
.
In 1947, he obtained his Ph.D. from
Ankara University
Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
with a thesis entitled "''Judicial Supervision of the Conformity of Laws to the Constitution in Turkey and Other Countries''." During this period, he also translated
Friedrich Hayek
Friedrich August von Hayek (8 May 1899 – 23 March 1992) was an Austrian-born British academic and philosopher. He is known for his contributions to political economy, political philosophy and intellectual history. Hayek shared the 1974 Nobe ...
’s ''
The Road to Serfdom''.
During his tenure as an associate professor in the years 1953-1954, he was sent by the
Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University to France and England for research. During this period, he worked at the
École Nationale d'Administration
The (; ENA; ) was a French ''grande école'', created in 1945 by the then Provisional Government of the French Republic, provisional chief of government Charles de Gaulle and principal co-author of the Constitution of France, 1958 Constitution M ...
in France. In 1955, at the age of 33, he was promoted to the rank of professor and was elected as the dean of the
Faculty of Political Sciences of Ankara University. He also began writing in the bulletin of his school. His articles however irritated the
Democrat Party government and he had to resign. Although in 1960–1961 term he briefly returned to academics and served as the rector of
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University (commonly referred to as METU; in Turkish language, Turkish, ''Orta Doğu Teknik Üniversitesi'', ODTÜ) is a prestigious public university, public Institute of technology, technical university located in Ankara, ...
(METU) 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 ( ...
, his main area of interest was politics.
[Law news ](_blank)
/ref>
Politics in CHP
In 1957 he went into politics and became a member of 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 ...
(CHP). In the same year he was elected as the MP from Sivas
Sivas is a city in central Turkey. It is the seat of Sivas Province and Sivas District.[İl Beledi ...]
. In 1960 (during his service in METU) he also served in the constituent assembly and was appointed as the minister of education
An education minister (sometimes minister of education) is a position in the governments of some countries responsible for dealing with educational matters. Where known, the government department, ministry, or agency that develops policy and deli ...
in Cabinet Gürsel I.
In the elections held in 1961, he was elected as the MP from Kayseri
Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...
, his home. He served in the two governments of 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 ...
In the first he served as state minister () and in the second as deputy prime minister
A deputy prime minister or vice prime minister is, in some countries, a Minister (government), government minister who can take the position of acting prime minister when the prime minister is temporarily absent. The position is often likened to th ...
.[Official page of Prime minister](_blank)
Turhan Feyzioğlu was one of the major figures of the party. But beginning by 1965, Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit (; 28 May 1925 – 5 November 2006) was a Turkish politician, statesman, poet, writer, scholar, and journalist. He served as the Prime Minister of Turkey four times between 1974 and 2002. He served as prime minister in 197 ...
the secretary general of the party who had the support of 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 ...
began to challenge his authority in the party. Turhan Feyzioğlu actively opposed the policy termed "left of center" (), advocated by Bülent Ecevit.
Politics in Reliance Party
On 12 May 1967 Turhan Feyzioğlu and his 47 followers in the parliamentary group broke away from CHP to form a new party named Reliance Party.[Türkiye'nin 75 Yılı, Tempo Yayınları, Istanbul, 1998] Feyzioğlu became the chairman of the new party. On 29 January 1971, the party was renamed as National Reliance Party and on 4 May 1973, Republican Party, another party also issued from CHP, merged to Nationalistic Reliance Party. After merging, the party was renamed as Republican Reliance Party. Turhan Feyzioğlu continued as the chairman of Republican Reliance Party.
Politics in Republican Reliance Party
Republican Reliance Party continued up to 1980 and Turhan FeyzioÄŸlu continued to be an MP from Kayseri
Kayseri () is a large List of cities in Turkey, city in Central Anatolia, Turkey, and the capital of Kayseri Province, Kayseri province. Historically known as Caesarea (Mazaca), Caesarea, it has been the historical capital of Cappadocia since anc ...
. Although his party was losing support, Feyzioğlu served two times as deputy prime minister in coalition governments; in 1975 in 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 ...
's cabinet and in 1978 Bülent Ecevit’s cabinet.
Family life
Turhan Feyzioğlu married to Leyla Cıngıllıoğlu. Their daughter Saide (1950-1969) married Mehmet Buçukoğlu, but she died two hours after bearing a son, Metin, on 7 July 1969. Metin was adopted by his grandparents and took the surname Feyzioğlu. He became a professor of criminal law and was elected President of Turkish Bars Association
The Turkish Bars Association (correctly, the Union of Turkish Bar Associations) or ''Türkiye Barolar Birliği'' (TBB) has been established in 1969 and is an organisation for Turkish lawyers, uniting over 70,000 lawyers in 79 Turkish bar associat ...
in May 2013.
Death
After 1980, he withdrew from political life. Turhan FeyzioÄŸlu died at the age of 66 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 ( ...
on 24 March 1988.
Books
The following list includes the books authored by FeyzioÄŸlu. Of these, five are written in Turkish and one in French.
* ''Kanunların Anayasaya Uygunluğunun Kazai Murakabesi'' (1951)
* ''Demokrasiye ve Diktatörlüğe Dair'' (1957)
* ''Devlet Adamı Atatürk'' (1963)
* ''Atatürk ve Milliyetçilik''
* ''Türk Millî Mücadelesinin ve Atatürkçülüğün Temel İlkelerinden Biri Olarak Millet Egemenliği''
* ''Atatürk Yolu''
* ''Un Liberateur et un Modernisateur Genial Kemal Atatürk''
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Feyzioglu, Turhan
1922 births
1988 deaths
20th-century prime ministers of Turkey
People from Kayseri
Galatasaray High School alumni
Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni
Academic staff of Ankara University
Deputy prime ministers of Turkey
Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians
Turkish non-fiction writers
Ministers of national education of Turkey
Rectors of Middle East Technical University
Deputies of Sivas
Deputies of Kayseri
Leaders of political parties in Turkey
Republican Reliance Party politicians
Members of the 26th government of Turkey
Members of the 27th government of Turkey
Members of the 39th government of Turkey
Members of the 42nd government of Turkey
Members of the 25th government of Turkey
Turkish expatriates in the United Kingdom
Turkish political party founders