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Namık Gedik

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Namık Gedik
Minister of Interior
In office
22 December 1956 – 27 May 1960
PresidentCelal Bayar
Prime MinisterAdnan Menderes
In office
17 May 1954 – 10 September 1955
PresidentCelal Bayar
Prime MinisterAdnan Menderes
Succeeded byEthem Menderes
Personal details
Born1911
Trabzon, Ottoman Empire
Died29 May 1960 (aged 48–49)
Ankara, Turkey
Political partyDemocrat Party
SpouseMelahat Gedik
Children2
Alma materIstanbul University
OccupationPhysician

Namık Gedik (1911–1960) was a Turkish physician and politician who served as the minister of interior in the mid-1950s. He was a member of the Democrat Party (DP) which was the ruling party in the period 1950–1960. Kemal Karpat describes him as part of the "rising professionals" within the early DP leadership.[1] Gedik was arrested on 27 May 1960 immediately following the military coup along with his colleagues. Gedik committed suicide soon after his detention.

Early life and education

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Gedik hailed from a large family originated from Uşak.[1] He was born in Trabzon in 1911 when his father was serving there as a post officer.[2] He graduated from Kabataş High School in 1930 and received a bachelor's degree in medicine from Istanbul University in 1936.[2]

During his university studies Gedik was a member of the Turkish National Student Union.[3]

Career

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Following graduation Gedik began to work in Çine, Aydın, as a physician.[2] In 1942 he completed his speciality training in medicine at Haydarpaşa Hospital, Istanbul, and worked at different medical institutions in various cities until 1946 when he resigned from the medical career and was involved in the establishment of the DP.[4] He became a member of the Turkish parliament following the 1950 general election for Aydın and continued to serve in the parliament until 1960 winning a seat for Aydin in the general election in 1954 and in the next election in 1957.[2]

Gedik served as minister of interior in the cabinets led by Prime Minister Adnan Menderes.[5] Gedik was first appointed to the post on 17 May 1954,[6] and his term ended on 10 September 1955 when he resigned from the office due to the 6-7 September incident, known as Istanbul pogrom.[2][7] Ethem Menderes replaced Gedik in the post.[5] Gedik was appointed to the same post for a second time on 22 December 1956 and remained in office until 27 May 1960.[8] His both terms witnessed significant events, such as Istanbul pogrom and growing tensions with the Republican People's Party followers and other opposition forces.[1][5] Following the military coup on 27 May 1960 Gedik and other DP members were arrested.[9][10]

Personal life and death

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Gedik married Melahat Gedik, a judge, in 1937.[2] She joined True Path Party in the 1980s and served at the Turkish parliament representing Aydın.[4] She died in 1999.[4] Namık and Melahat Gedik had two children.[2][11] His son, Arda Gedik, died in September 2011.[12]

Namık Gedik committed suicide on 29 May 1960 throwing himself out of a fourth-floor window of the War College, Ankara, where he had been in custody after the military coup of 27 May.[9][11][13]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Kemal Karpat (2011). "Actors and Issues in Turkish Politics, 1950-1960: Prototypes and Stereotypes". International Journal of Turkish Studies. 17 (1–2): 119, 140. ProQuest 1284342710.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g "Who is Namık Gedik, Interior Minister?" (in Turkish). Ministry of Interior. Archived from the original on 17 September 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  3. ^ Joseph S. Szyliowicz (1970). "Students and Politics in Turkey". Middle Eastern Studies. 6 (2): 155. JSTOR 4282321.
  4. ^ a b c Turgut Dereli (30 November 2020). "DP'nin önemli politikacısı Dr. Namık Gedik Muğla'da Görev yapmıştı" [Dr. Namık Gedik, a leading DP politician, worked in Muğla]. Muğla Devrim (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 25 January 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  5. ^ a b c "60 yıl önce yaşadığımız 6-7 Eylül ayıbı hakkında, zamanın İçişleri Bakanı'nın verdiği ve yayınlanmayan yeminli ifade" [Unpublished sworn statement given by the Minister of Internal Affairs about the shameful September 6-7 events we lived 60 years ago]. Habertürk (in Turkish). 6 September 2015. Archived from the original on 1 December 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  6. ^ "Turkish Cabinet". The Times. No. 52934. Istanbul. 18 May 1954. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  7. ^ "Turkish minister resigns". The Times. No. 53323. Istanbul. 12 September 1955. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  8. ^ "Past ministers" (in Turkish). Ministry of Interior. Archived from the original on 22 October 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  9. ^ a b Geoffrey Lewis (September 1960). "Turkey: The End of the First Republic". The World Today. 16 (9): 384. JSTOR 40393271.
  10. ^ Zehra Aslan (28 May 2020). "Harp Okulu'ndan Yassıada'ya (2)" [From Military Academy to Yassıada (2)]. Independent Turkish (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 28 February 2021. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  11. ^ a b "Former Turkish Minister Leaps To Death". The Times. No. 54785. 31 May 1960. p. 10. Retrieved 19 March 2024.
  12. ^ Murat Bardakçı (26 September 2011). "Arda Gedik" (in Turkish). Archived from the original on 19 February 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2021.
  13. ^ Reuben Silverman (2021). "Show (and tell) trials: Competing narratives of Turkey's Democrat Party era". Turkish Studies. 23: 14. doi:10.1080/14683849.2021.1915143. S2CID 237989874.