Falih Rıfkı Atay (1894– 20 March 1971) was a Turkish journalist, writer and politician between 1923 and 1950.

Biography

Falih Rıfkı was the son of Halil Hilmi Efendi, an imam. He was educated in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

. Falih began his career as a journalist in the '' Tanin'', a

CUP A cup is an open-top used to hold hot or cold liquids for pouring or drinking; while mainly used for drinking, it also can be used to store solids for pouring (e.g., sugar, flour, grains, salt). Cups may be made of glass, metal, china, clay, ...

newspaper. He later became the private secretary of

Talat Pasha Mehmed Talaat (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha,; tr, Talat Paşa, links=no was an Ottoman politician and convicted war criminal of the late Ottoman Empire who served as its leader from 1913 t ...

, and during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

accompanied

Cemal Pasha Ahmed Djemal ( ota, احمد جمال پاشا, Ahmet Cemâl Paşa; 6 May 1872 – 21 July 1922), also known as Cemal Pasha, was an Ottoman military leader and one of the Three Pashas that ruled the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Djemal wa ...

in the Sinai and Palestine Campaign. After the war, he, with three other friends, founded the newspaper ''

Akşam ''Akşam'' (''Evening'') is a Turkish newspaper founded in 1918, owned by Zeki Yeşildağ's Türk Medya Grup (T Medya Yatırım San. ve Tic. AŞ.) since 2013. In 2013 it had a circulation of around 100,000. History ''Akşams founders in 1918 incl ...

'' supporting the

Turkish War of Independence The Turkish War of Independence "War of Liberation", also known figuratively as ''İstiklâl Harbi'' "Independence War" or ''Millî Mücadele'' "National Struggle" (19 May 1919 – 24 July 1923) was a series of military campaigns waged by th ...

. From 1919 to 1920 Falih Rıfkı was one of the contributors of '' Büyük Mecmua'' magazine which also supported the war of independence. On September 9th, 1922, he travelled to the liberated Izmir to visit Mustafa Kemal Atatürk with Yakup Kadri and arrived on the 13th of September just before the fire. Later, he became an

editor-in-chief An editor-in-chief (EIC), also known as lead editor or chief editor, is a publication's editorial leader who has final responsibility for its operations and policies. The highest-ranking editor of a publication may also be titled editor, managing ...

in the '' Hakimiyet-i Milliye''. He entered politics in 1923, and served as deputy of

Bolu Bolu is a city in Turkey, and administrative center of the Bolu Province. The population is 131,264 (2012 census). The city has been governed by mayor Tanju Özcan ( CHP) since local elections in 2019. It was the site of Ancient Claudiopolis ...

and later

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, maki ...

in the

parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

until the

1950 Turkish general election General elections were held in Turkey on 14 May 1950, using the multiple non-transferable vote electoral system.Dieter Nohlen, Florian Grotz & Christof Hartmann (2001) ''Elections in Asia: A data handbook, Volume I'', p238 The result was a landsl ...

. He was the author of more than 30 works. Falih Rıfkı Atay died on 20 March 1971 in Istanbul. He was interred there at

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery __NOTOC__ The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery ( tr, Zincirlikuyu Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground residing on the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of polit ...

Legacy

A nature park inside the

Belgrad Forest Belgrad Forest ( tr, Belgrad Ormanı) is a mixed deciduous forest lying adjacent to Istanbul, Turkey. It is named after the village next to the forest, settled by thousands of Serbs who were deported to the capital Constantinople from the city of ...

Sarıyer Sarıyer () is the northernmost district of Istanbul, Turkey, on the European side of the city. It consists of the neighbourhoods of Rumelifeneri, Tarabya, Yeniköy, İstinye, Emirgan and Rumelihisarı. Sarıyer also administers the Black Sea co ...

district of

Istanbul Province ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_in ...

was named in his honor in 2011.

Selected works

* ''Ateş ve Güneş'', (Fire and Sun), 1918, Memories of World War I in Syria and Palestine * ''Zeytindağı'' (Mount of Olives), 1932, Memories of World War I in Syria and Palestine * ''Yeni Rusya'' (New Russia), 1931, Travelbook * ''Çankaya'' (See

Çankaya Mansion The Çankaya Mansion (in Turkish: ''Çankaya Köşkü'') is the official residence of the vice president of Turkey, and previously the official residence of the president of Turkey from 1923 to 2014. The property is located in the Çankaya d ...

), 1952 and 1962, Memories of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk * Babanız Atatürk, 1955, Memories of Mustafa Kemal Ataturk

Joint works

* ''İzmir’den Bursa’ya,'' (From Izmir to Bursa), 1922, Greek Atrocities during the Greek Occupation of Western Anatolia, co-authors: Halide Edip, Yakup Kadri, Ruşen Eşref and Asım Us.

Notes

External links

20th-century Turkish journalists 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 1894 births 1971 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Deputies of Ankara Deputies of Bolu 20th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 3rd Parliament of Turkey Members of the 4th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 5th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 6th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 7th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 8th Parliament of Turkey Politicians from Istanbul Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians {{Turkey-journalist-stub