Ahmet Emin Yalman (14 May 1888 – 19 December 1972) was a Turkish

Sabbatean The Sabbateans (or Sabbatians) are a variety of Jewish followers, disciples, and believers in Sabbatai Zevi (1626–1676), an Ottoman Jewish rabbi and Kabbalist who was proclaimed to be the Jewish Messiah in 1666 by Nathan of Gaza. Vast ...

(crypto-jew) journalist, publisher, professor and influential policy-advisor in the Republic of Turkey. He was a liberal and opposed the spread of the

Nazi Nazism (), formally named National Socialism (NS; , ), is the far-right politics, far-right Totalitarianism, totalitarian socio-political ideology and practices associated with Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party (NSDAP) in Germany. During H ...

ideology in his home country.

Early life and education

Ahmet Emin Yalman was born into a Dönmeh family in 1888 in

Thessaloniki Thessaloniki (; ), also known as Thessalonica (), Saloniki, Salonika, or Salonica (), is the second-largest city in Greece (with slightly over one million inhabitants in its Thessaloniki metropolitan area, metropolitan area) and the capital cit ...

, at that time part of the

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 ...

. His early education was diverse and he attended several schools in Thessaloniki, amongst them a primary school with

influences, then the military middle school where his father Osman Tefviq Bey was the teacher of

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

. Following some difficulties Yalman ran into with his teachers, his father decided to enroll him into the German school in Selanik.Abdullah Saçmali. (2015). p.13 In 1903, as his father was employed in the Ottoman Press directorate in

Constantinople Constantinople (#Names of Constantinople, see other names) was a historical city located on the Bosporus that served as the capital of the Roman Empire, Roman, Byzantine Empire, Byzantine, Latin Empire, Latin, and Ottoman Empire, Ottoman empire ...

(present-day Istanbul), he attended the

Deutsche Schule Istanbul Deutsche Schule Istanbul (, shortened as DSI), with formal Turkish language, Turkish name Özel Alman Lisesi () or İstanbul Alman Lisesi () or simply Alman Lisesi () is a Private school, private international high school in the Beyoğlu district o ...

Beyoğlu Beyoğlu (; ) is a municipality and Districts of Turkey, district of Istanbul Province, Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 9 km2, and its population is 225,920 (2022). It is on the European side of Istanbul, Turkey, separated from the o ...

where he learned German and English. Following his graduation, Yalman began to work as a translator for the newspaper ''

Sabah Sabah () is a States and federal territories of Malaysia, state of Malaysia located in northern Borneo, in the region of East Malaysia. Sabah has land borders with the Malaysian state of Sarawak to the southwest and Indonesia's North Kalima ...

'' as well as the Ottoman Government. He also attempted to study law at the Darülfünun in Istanbul, but was not able to finish his schooling there.Abdullah Saçmali. (2015). p.14 From 1911 onwards, Yalman studied political science at

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

, from where he earned a Ph.D in 1914.

Professional career

After Yalman returned to Istanbul, he worked with Ziya Gökalp at the Darülfünun and was a journalist for the newspaper ''Tanin''. For ''Tanin,'' he covered the

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

from the various battle fronts in which the

German Empire The German Empire (),; ; World Book, Inc. ''The World Book dictionary, Volume 1''. World Book, Inc., 2003. p. 572. States that Deutsches Reich translates as "German Realm" and was a former official name of Germany. also referred to as Imperia ...

was involved. Following his return to Istanbul, he established the newspaper ''Vakit'' in October 1917. In 1919, due to his opposition to the government of

Damat Ferid Pasha " Damat" Mehmed Adil Ferid Pasha ( ;‎ 1853 – 6 October 1923), known simply as Damat Ferid Pasha, was an Ottoman liberal statesman, who held the office of Grand Vizier, the ''de facto'' prime minister of the Ottoman Empire, during two ...

, Yalman was exiled for three months to Kutahya by the order of the Sultan

Mehmed VI Mehmed VI Vahideddin ( ''Meḥmed-i sâdis'' or ''Vaḥîdü'd-Dîn''; or /; 14 January 1861 – 16 May 1926), also known as ''Şahbaba'' () among the Osmanoğlu family, was the last sultan of the Ottoman Empire and the penultimate Ottoman Cal ...

. In 1920, he was exiled again, this time by the British Occupation forces for his support of the Ottoman

Committee of Union and Progress The Ottoman Committee of Union and Progress (CUP, also translated as the Society of Union and Progress; , French language, French: ''Union et Progrès'') was a revolutionary group, secret society, and political party, active between 1889 and 1926 ...

(CUP). Yalman was released in 1921 and joined the forces of the Ankara government around

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

.Abdullah Saçmali. (2015). p.15 Atatürk sent him to cover the several battle fronts in the

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

. In 1923, he founded the newspaper '' Vatan.'' Following this he became a fierce critic of

Kemalist Kemalism (, also archaically ''Kamâlizm'') or Atatürkism () is a political ideology based on the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder and first president of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey.Eric J. Zurcher, Turkey: A Modern History. Ne ...

Government, especially of

Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...

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 ...

who demanded the imposition of the law for the restoration of order during the Sheikh Said rebellion. Due to this opposition, Yalman had to stand trial in front of the Independence Tribunals and was banned from journalistic activities until 1936. During this period, he involved in business and became a representative of various American companies. When he was allowed to resume his journalistic activities he worked for the '' Tan'' newspaper. In 1940, Yalman was able to reestablish the ''Vatan.'' In 1952, a nationalist student attempted to murder him but the assault failed and the student was sentenced to twenty years in prison. In the end of the Menderes era, he was imprisoned and condemned to over one-year imprisonment, but was released after the military coup of 1960.Abdullah Saçmali. (2015). p.16 He died on 19 December 1972 in Istanbul.

Work and awards

Yalman was the founder, and for many years the editor, of the influential

Turkish nationalist Turkish nationalism () is nationalism among the people of Turkey and individuals whose national identity is Turkish people, Turkish. Turkish nationalism consists of political and social movements and sentiments prompted by a love for Turkish cu ...

newspaper ''Vatan''. He was also one of the founders of the

Liberal International Liberal International (LI) is a worldwide organization of liberalism, liberal political parties. The political international was founded in Oxford in 1947 and has become the pre-eminent network for liberal and progressive democratic parties aim ...

in 1947 and the

International Press Institute International Press Institute (IPI) is a global organisation dedicated to the promotion and protection of press freedom and the improvement of journalism practices. The institution was founded by 34 editors from 15 countries at Columbia Universit ...

in 1950. He published three books in English, one in German, and more than ten in Turkish, including a four volume autobiography. Titles include ''The Development of Modern Turkey as Measured by Its Press'' (1914), ''An Experiment in Clean Journalism'' (1950), ''Turkey In My Time'' (1956), and ''Turkey in the World War'' (1930). Yalman received numerous awards, including the Golden Pen of Freedom of the International Federation of Newspaper Publishers in 1961 and The Gold Medal of the British

Institute of Journalists The Chartered Institute of Journalists is a professional association for journalists and is the senior such body in the UK and the oldest in the world. History The ''Chartered Institute of Journalists'' was proposed during a meeting in Manchest ...

References

External links

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* {{DEFAULTSORT:Yalman, Ahmet Emin 1888 births 1972 deaths Sabbateans 20th-century journalists from the Ottoman Empire Writers from Thessaloniki 20th-century Turkish journalists Turkish newspaper publishers (people) Deutsche Schule Istanbul alumni Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Columbia Graduate School of Arts and Sciences alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Malta exiles Turkish non-fiction writers Turkish people of Jewish descent 20th-century writers from the Ottoman Empire 20th-century Turkish businesspeople 20th-century newspaper founders Survivors of terrorist attacks