Selim Rauf Sarper (14 June 1899,

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

– 11 October 1968,

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 ...

) was a

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diplomat and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1960–1962.

Early years

Selim Sarper was born on 14 June 1899 in Istanbul. He spent his youth years in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

, where he finished the high school in 1918, and attended

University of Berlin Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin (german: Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a German public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin. It was established by Frederick William III on the initiative o ...

to study Law. At the age of 24, The Turkish Republic was proclaimed in his home country. Returned home, he studied at

Ankara University, Law School The Ankara University, Law School ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi Hukuk Fakültesi formerly known ''Ankara Adliye Hukuk Mektebi'') is a faculty for law of the Ankara University in Turkey. History Ankara University, Law School, was founded as a par ...

. He then served as a teacher of French language in a high school at

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

in 1923 before he worked as a clerk at the

Independence Tribunal An Independence Tribunal ( tr, İstiklâl Mahkemesi, plural ''İstiklâl Mahkemeleri'') was a court invested with superior authority and the first were established in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence in order to prosecute those who we ...

in the early years of the Republican era. In 1927, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a translator.

Diplomatic career

Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh of Iran addressing the United Nations Security Council

In 1928, he was appointed as vice-consul in

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Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, in 1929 third secretary at the Turkish Embassy in

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

and two years later he was promoted to the post of second secretary at the same office. His further assignments were, Consul in

Komotini Komotini ( el, Κομοτηνή, tr, Gümülcine, bg, Комотини) is a city in the region of East Macedonia and Thrace, northeastern Greece. It is the capital of the Rhodope. It was the administrative centre of the Rhodope-Evros super-pr ...

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in 1933, Consul in Odessa in 1935, Consul in

Berlin Berlin ( , ) is the capital and largest city of Germany by both area and population. Its 3.7 million inhabitants make it the European Union's most populous city, according to population within city limits. One of Germany's sixteen constitue ...

in 1937 and Ambassador in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ro, București ) is the capital and largest city of Romania, as well as its cultural, industrial, and financial centre. It is located in the southeast of the country, on the banks of the Dâmbovița River, less than north of ...

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in 1939. In the 1940s, Sarper served as the Director of the governmental Press and Information Agency. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

years, he was responsible for the administration of the official propaganda and information. In 1944, Selim Sarper was appointed Turkey's Ambassador to Moscow, an important mission during the last years of World War II and the early years of the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

(1947-1991). According to President

İsmet İnönü Mustafa İsmet İnönü (; 24 September 1884 – 25 December 1973) was a Turkish army officer and statesman of Kurdish descent, who served as the second President of Turkey from 11 November 1938 to 22 May 1950, and its Prime Minister three tim ...

's judgement relating to a conversation between Sarper and

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secretar ...

's Minister of Foreign Affairs Molotov on 7 June 1945, Turkey, even remained neutral in the war, might have been under a territorial claim threat from the Soviet Union. Due to this context, Turkey subsequently positioned itself alongside the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. After the related official documents in the U.S. archives were made available to the public, it became clear that Sarper reported the subject of his conversation to the U.S. Ambassador

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986), better known as Averell Harriman, was an American Democratic politician, businessman, and diplomat. The son of railroad baron E. H. Harriman, he served as Secretary of Commerce un ...

, even before he notified his government. However, his report to Harriman does not mention any threat by the Soviet Union, and the memoirs of Molotov deny such an allegation. In 1946, Sarper became Ambassador to Italy in

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, in 1947 Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations and in 1957

Permanent Representative A permanent representative is a diplomat who is the head of a country’s diplomatic mission to an international organisation. Organizations that receive permanent representatives from their member states include the United Nations, the World Tr ...

of Turkey to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

Politics

On 28 May, the next day of the

1960 Turkish coup d'état The 1960 Turkish coup d'état ( tr, 27 Mayıs Darbesi) was the first Turkish coup d'état, coup d'état in the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. It took place on May 27, 1960. The coup was staged by a group of 38 young Turkish Armed Forces, Turkish m ...

, Selim Sarper, took United States Ambassador in Ankara

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to the coup leader General

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (; 13 October 1895 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish army general who became the List of Presidents of Turkey, fourth President of Turkey after a coup. Early life He was born in the city of Erzurum as the son of an Ottoman A ...

for a visit. Sarper was appointed the same day Minister of Foreign Affairs replacing

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (3 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the 6th president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the 3rd commander of the Turkish Naval Forces fr ...

in the draft cabinet list. Sarper entered later the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party ( tr, Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi, , acronymized as CHP ) is a Kemalist and social-democratic political party in Turkey which currently stands as the main opposition party. It is also the oldest political party ...

(CHP) running for a seat in the parliament at the 1961 general elections. He continued to serve at his post as Minister of Foreign Affairs until 16 February 1962. Revealed U.S. diplomatic documents show that during his term in the İnönü's coalition cabinet, Sarper made assessments to the U.S. Government and told high words about his own head of state like "That Gürsel was not a great brain". In the 1965 general elections, Sarper was re-elected into the parliament as a deputy from

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 ...

Illness and death

On 14 May 1968 Selim Sarper underwent a lung surgery the second time. He died on 11 October 1968 in Ankara; his body was transferred to Istanbul. He was survived by his wife Kamuran and daughters Ülker (Sarper) Kural and Ayşe (Sarper) Vanlı.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarper, Selim 1899 births Diplomats from Istanbul Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century diplomats Ambassadors of Turkey to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Turkey to Italy Permanent Representatives of Turkey to the United Nations Permanent Representatives of Turkey to NATO Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Deputies of Istanbul 1968 deaths Members of the 26th government of Turkey Members of the 24th government of Turkey Members of the 25th government of Turkey Members of the 12th Parliament of Turkey