Celal Tevfik Karasapan (1899–1974) was a Turkish diplomat and politician who served as the director of National Security between 1959 and 1960 and minister of press, broadcasting and tourism between 1962 and 1963. He was the ambassador of Turkey to Syria, Libya and

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in the 1950s.

Early life and education

He was born in

Medina Medina, officially al-Madinah al-Munawwarah (, ), also known as Taybah () and known in pre-Islamic times as Yathrib (), is the capital of Medina Province (Saudi Arabia), Medina Province in the Hejaz region of western Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, ...

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 1899. After completing his primary and secondary education, he worked as a teacher at the reserve officer training camp from 1916 to 1918. He fought in the

War of Independence Wars of national liberation, also called wars of independence or wars of liberation, are conflicts fought by nations to gain independence. The term is used in conjunction with wars against foreign powers (or at least those perceived as foreign) ...

and was captured by the Greeks in 1920. His military service ended in 1923. He went to Paris where he received a degree in journalism in 1927 and a degree in diplomacy in 1928 from Paris School of Social Sciences.

Career and activities

On his return to the country, he worked at Türkiye İş Bankası, the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

, and the General Directorate of Security. He was the consul general in Hatay and then in Jerusalem between 1938 and 1942. He was the undersecretary of the Turkish embassies in Tehran and in Belgrade. He served as the consul general in Aleppo in 1946. In 1950, he was named as the director general of personnel department at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He was ambassador of Turkey to Syria in 1952. Next he was the ambassador of Turkey to Libya in 1953. His last diplomatic post was the ambassador of Turkey to Romania which he held in 1957. He also served as undersecretary of National Security, precursor of the

National Intelligence Organization loction 39°54'25.0"N 32°39'59.3"E The National Intelligence Organization (), also known by its Turkish language, Turkish initials MIT or MİT, or colloquially as the Organization (), is an intelligence agency of the Turkish government tasked ...

, in 1959 and served in the post for eight months until 1960 when he retired from public post. Karasapan was elected as a senator from Afyon for the Republican Villagers Nation Party on 15 October 1961 and served at the Senate until 5 June 1966. He was the representative of Turkey at the

Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) is the parliamentary arm of the Council of Europe, a 46-nation international organisation dedicated to upholding human rights, democracy and the rule of law. The Assembly is made up of ...

from 16 January 1962 to 1 September 1962. Karasapan was appointed the minister of press, broadcasting and tourism to the cabinet headed by

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 ...

on 25 June 1962. His tenure ended in 1963. He resigned from the Republican Villagers Nation Party and joined the Justice Party. Karasapan established a monthly magazine entitled ''Orta Doğu'' () in 1961 which he also edited. He published books on foreign policy.

Personal life and death

Karasapan was married and had two children with his wife Nevzat. Their daughter, Sevinç, was married to

Mümtaz Soysal Osman Mümtaz Soysal (15 September 1929 – 11 November 2019) was a Turkish professor of constitutional law, political scientist, politician, human rights activist, ex-prisoner of conscience, senior advisor, columnist, and author. Soysal serve ...

. Karasapan died in Ankara on 9 June 1974.

Awards

He was the recipient of the Medal of Independence which was awarded by Mustafa Kemal to him following his release by the Greek forces.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Karasapan, Celal Tevfik 20th-century Turkish diplomats 1899 births 1974 deaths Ambassadors of Turkey to Romania People of the National Intelligence Organization (Turkey) Directors of intelligence agencies Ambassadors of Turkey to Syria Ambassadors of Turkey to Libya Ministers of tourism of Turkey Recipients of the Medal of Independence (Turkey) Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey) Republican Villagers Nation Party politicians Justice Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 27th government of Turkey People from Medina Turkish magazine founders 20th-century Turkish non-fiction writers