Sultanzade Ali Bey (; 29 September 1921 – 2 December 1971) also Ali Akoğlu, was a Turkish military pilot. He was the son of Naciye Sultan and
Enver Pasha
İsmâil Enver (; ; 23 November 1881 – 4 August 1922), better known as Enver Pasha, was an Ottoman Empire, Ottoman Turkish people, Turkish military officer, revolutionary, and Istanbul trials of 1919–1920, convicted war criminal who was a p ...
.
Early life
Sultanzade Ali Bey was born on 29 September 1921 in
Berlin
Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...
, Germany. His father was Ismail Enver Pasha, son of Ahmed Bey and Ayşe Dilara Hanım, and his mother was Naciye Sultan, daughter of Şehzade Selim Süleyman and Ayşe Tarzıter Hanım. He has two older sisters, Mahpeyker Hanımsultan and Türkan Hanımsultan. He had a younger maternal half-sister, Rana Hanımsultan, from his mother's second marriage to Mehmed Kamil Bey, younger brother of Ali's father. At time of his birth, his family was residing in Germany. His father left for Russian SSR her family remained there. Ali was born after his father left and never met him, because Enver died in Russia shortly after. After Enver death in 1922, his family returned to Istanbul. At the exile of the imperial family in March 1924, Ali and his family settled in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France
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, and later in
Nice
Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionNesliÅŸah Sultan, Hanzade Sultan and Necla Sultan on every Sunday. In 1939, a special law was passed for Ali and his siblings, which allowed them to return to Turkey. The law was effective on 25 May 1939, after which Ali and his sisters returned to Istanbul. During
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, his sisters went to Switzerland to their mother, however he chose to remain in Istanbul, to continue his studies.
Ali was enrolled into Galatasaray High School where he studied for a year. Following his education at the college, he joined the military academy in 1939, following the footsteps on his father, and graduated from the academy in the winter of 1941 due to the
World War II
World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
. Ali also studied at the Turkish Aeronautical Association and practiced parachuting there. In 1942, Ali travelled to England to complete his undergraduate education, and acquired his aviation training there, he returned to Turkey in 1944. Ali also served in the Turkish Air Force until 1956. He was able to speak English, French, German and Italian. He also served as a fire assistant in
London
London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...
, England.
Personal life and death
Ali married Perizad Abedin, the daughter of Abidin Daver, a prominent journalist and politician in 1948. On 15 September 1955, she gave birth to the couple's only child, a daughter Arzu Enver in
Naples
Naples ( ; ; ) is the Regions of Italy, regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 908,082 within the city's administrative limits as of 2025, while its Metropolitan City of N ...
, Italy (she married Arslan Sadikoglu and had a son, Burak). In 1964, the couple divorced and then Ali married a foreign woman named May Britt and went to live in
Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...
.
Ali died on 2 December 1971 at the age of fifty due to a mountain accident in Australia.