Cemal Gürsel (13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish military officer and politician who was the president of Turkey, serving from 1960 to 1966 after taking power in a coup d'état.

Early life

Gürsel was born in the town of Hınıs in the Erzurum Vilayet as the son of an Ottoman Army officer, Abidin Bey, and the grandson of Ibrahim (1821–1895) and the great-grandson of Hadji Ahmed (1788–1860). After the elementary school in Ordu and the military middle school in Erzincan, he graduated from the Kuleli military high school in Istanbul. He was a popular figure and was therefore nicknamed "Cemal Ağa" (Cemal the Notable) since his childhood school years and onwards all his life. Gürsel served in the Army for 45 years. During World War I, he participated in the Battle of Çanakkale in Dardanelles, Gallipoli as a lieutenant with the First Battery of the 12th Artillery Regiment in 1915 and received the War Medal. He later fought at the Palestine and Syria fronts in 1917 and became a prisoner of war by the British while suffering malaria during his command of the 5th Battery of the 41st Regiment on 19 September 1918. Gürsel was kept as a prisoner of war in Egypt until 6 October 1920. During his presidency much later, when interviewed by the foreign press as to why he had not learned English during his captivity, he somewhat regretfully recalled that he was so frustrated to be a captive, he protested and studied French in the British camp instead.

After his release, Cemal Gürsel returned to Anatolia to re-join Mustafa Kemal subsequent to Erzurum Congress and took part in all the western front campaigns in the Turkish War of Independence between 1920 and 1923. He was promoted for gallantry in the First Division excelling in the battles of Second Inönü, Eskişehir and Sakarya, and was later awarded the Medal of Independence by the first Parliament for his combat service in the Final Offensive.

Gürsel was married, in 1927, to Melahat, the daughter of the chief engineer on the Ottoman cruiser Hamidiye. From this marriage, a son Özdemir was born. The couple adopted two daughters named Hatice and Türkan.

Legacy

He tried to place emphasis on the need for a well-educated youth and a hard-working population with high standards of ethics in Atatürk's tradition (commentary by Imran Oktem, Chief Supreme Court Justice – Yargitay, 1966). Erzurum Cemal Gürsel Stadium and some schools and streets were named after him. The developments during his term were described as the "Turkish Revolution" which was celebrated annually on 27 May as the Constitution Day until 1981. In 2002, a commemorative coin was released for the same. In 2008, the movie Cars of the Revolution was released in his memory.

Notes

See also

  • 1962 attempted coup in Turkey

References

  • Song of The Pharaohs — The Kings of the East and the West
  • Analysis of political scene on 26 May 1960, research article (in Turkish)
  • General Gursel hosting HM Queen Elizabeth's first visit to Turkey, Ankara, 1961
  • 1960–1962 Landmarks of Turkish History
  • 1963–1966 Landmarks of Turkish History
  • The full translated text of Cemal Gursel's letter The research copy of the Turkish original
  • Cemal Gursel's Memorandum Revealed
  • His video and photographs at the President's Web Page
  • Cemal Gursel with Vice President Lyndon Johnson in Ankara, 1962 (Anatolian Agency Album)
  • 60's video montage
  • U.S. Presidential Messages search Cemal Gursel
  • Text of Ankara Agreement
  • His photos in LIFE Magazine
  • Cyprus, 1964. Video footage of massacres and offensives against Turkish Community
  • Cable from US Embassy reflecting collective efforts of Cemal Gursel, Ismet Inonu and his entire cabinet and Gen Cevdet Sunay to stop executions