Hüseyin Vasıf Çınar (1895–1935) was a Turkish educator, politician, journalist and diplomat.

Early years

He was born on

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, and ...

. He was of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

descend, and was the son of Abdullah Hulusi Bey, a son of Emir Bedirkhan, Emir of the Bohtan Emirate. In 1892 the Bedirkhan family were sent to exile in Crete by

Abdulhamid II Abdülhamid or Abdul Hamid II ( ota, عبد الحميد ثانی, Abd ül-Hamid-i Sani; tr, II. Abdülhamid; 21 September 1842 10 February 1918) was the sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 31 August 1876 to 27 April 1909, and the last sultan to ...

for their alleged influence in the murder of Ridvan Pasha. Most were later allowed to return to

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, ...

, other members of the family settled to Europe, Syria and Egypt where they married within the elite and the Royal circles. After highschool he studied law. Between 1915 and 1918 he served as a teacher with his close friend

Mustafa Necati Mustafa Necati, also known as Mustafa Necati Uğural (1894 - January 1, 1929) was a Turkish statesman in the early years of the Turkish Republic, who served as the Minister of National Education during the reform period. He died before the Turk ...

. After the occupation of İzmir on 15 May 1919 by the Greek army however, they went to

Balıkesir Balıkesir () is a city in Turkey and is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is located in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 338,936. Between 1341–1922, it was the capital of Karasi. History Close to mo ...

to publish a newspaper named ''İzmir'e Doğru'' ("Towards İzmir") to support the nationalistic resistance . They also founded a society named ''Red'i ilhak'' ("Opposing occupation").Biography page
/ref>

Politics

During the Republican era, he represented Saruhan (present Manisa) in the

3rd Parliament of Turkey The 3rd Grand National Assembly of Turkey existed from 2 September 1927 to 4 May 1931. There were 367 MPs in the parliament all of which were the members of the Republican People's Party (CHP). But later 15 of them issued from CHP to serve in the L ...

. His rhetoric was influential in the abolition of the caliphate. He also served in Independence tribunals. In the 2nd and 5th government of Turkey, he was the Minister of National Education. During his brief service in the 5th government, he was instrumental to carry the alphabet reform and nation's schools, which were started by his friend Nustafa Necati.

Diplomacy

He was one of the early diplomats of the Turkish Republic. He represented Turkey in Prague (1925–1927), Budapest (1928), Rome (1932–1934) and Moscow (1934–1935). He died on 2 June 1935, during his service in Moscow.

Legacy

A school in Istanbul is named after Vasıf Çınar. Çınar's essays published in the newspaper ''İzmir'e Doğru'' of 1919 were compiled by Tülay Alim Baran and published by the municipality of Balıkesir .Kitap Sihirbazı
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cinar, Vasif 1895 births 1935 deaths People from İzmir Ministers of National Education of Turkey 20th-century Turkish diplomats 20th-century Turkish journalists Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 2nd government of Turkey Members of the 5th government of Turkey Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Turkish schoolteachers Ambassadors of Turkey to Hungary Members of the 2nd Parliament of Turkey