Ahmet İsvan (1923–2017) was a leftist Turkish politician. He served as the

mayor of Istanbul The mayor of Istanbul is the head of the Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality. The mayor is elected popularly every five years. Nuri Aslan has served as interim mayor of Istanbul since 26 March 2025. This article covers the Ottoman Empire to the ...

between 1973 and 1977. He was among the pioneers of the

municipal socialism Municipal socialism is a type of socialism that uses local government to further socialist aims. It is a form of municipalism in which its explicitly socialist aims are clearly stated. In some contexts the word "municipalism" was tainted with t ...

in Turkey.

Early life and education

İsvan was born in Istanbul in 1923. His father was a bureaucrat working in the state-owned

Sümerbank Sümerbank was a Turkish bank and Industrial sector, industrial holding company established in 1933 and originally owned by the Turkish state, now part of Oyak Bank. On 11 January 2002, Oyak Bank acquired Sümerbank and the combined bank is now kn ...

. He was a graduate of

Robert College The American Robert College of Istanbul ( or ), often abbreviated as Robert or RC, is a Selective school, highly selective, Independent school, independent, mixed-sex education, co-educational, Education in Turkey#Private schools, private Second ...

where he first met Bülent Ecevit, future leader of the

Republican People's Party The Republican People's Party (RPP; , CHP ) is a Kemalism, Kemalist and Social democracy, social democratic political party in Turkey. It is the oldest List of political parties in Turkey, political party in Turkey, founded by Mustafa Kemal ...

(CHP). İsvan, Bülent Ecevit and his wife Rahşan were all 1944 graduates of Robert College. İsvan studied

agronomy Agronomy is the science and technology of producing and using plants by agriculture for food, fuel, fiber, chemicals, recreation, or land conservation. Agronomy has come to include research of plant genetics, plant physiology, meteorology, and ...

in the USA.

Career and activities

İsvan bought a farm in

Taşköprü, Yalova Taşköprü (literally "stone bridge") is a coastal town (''belde'') in Çiftlikköy District of Yalova Province, Turkey. Its population is 4,271 (2022). Taşköprü is situated on a peninsula. It is from Çiftlikköy on the Turkish state highwa ...

, after his studies. He joined the CHP's Yalova organization. From the early 1970s he became active in the CHP's Istanbul organization. In the 1973 local election he was elected as the mayor of Istanbul from CHP, replacing Fahri Atabey in the post. Bülent Ecevit asked him to run for the office. Isvan took 56.12% of votes in the election. Isvan's tenure ended in December 1977 since he lost the pre-election carried out before the

local elections Local may refer to: Geography and transportation * Local (train), a train serving local traffic demand * Local, Missouri, a community in the United States Arts, entertainment, and media * ''Local'' (comics), a limited series comic book by Bria ...

. He was replaced by

Aytekin Kotil Aytekin Kotil (1934–1992) was a Turkish social democratic politician. He was the mayor of Istanbul being a pioneer in the municipal socialism in Turkey. He was also a member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Turkish Parliament. Early l ...

, a fellow CHP member, in the post. Isvan established the Istanbul People’s Bread during his term as mayor to sell cheap but quality bread to those in need in the city. In 1977 Isvan and other CHP mayors, including Ankara mayor Vedat Dalokay and İzmit mayor Erol Köse issued a declaration on the municipal socialism. Following the

military coup A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

on 12 September 1980 İsvan was arrested and imprisoned for 27 months. The reason for his arrest was his alleged role in the 1 May demonstrations organized by the DISK, a leftist confederation of trade unions. It is reported by David Barchard that Isvan had been tortured in the prison. After his release from the prison İsvan involved in agricultural activities at his farm in Taşköprü. Later he joined the Social Democratic Populist Party, being a member of its council. In the party İsvan was part of the left-wing faction alongside Seyfi Oktay and Cevdet Selvi.

Personal life and death

İsvan met his future wife, Reha, while studying at Robert College. They married in 1950 when he returned to Turkey following his graduation from the California University. They had three children. İsvan died in Istanbul on 1 May 2017. Funeral prayers for him were performed at the

Teşvikiye Mosque The Teşvikiye Mosque () is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. History The mosque was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque t ...

, Istanbul, and he was buried in Taşköprü next to his wife who had died on 8 May 2013.

Work

İsvan was the author of several books including ''Başkent gölgesinde İstanbul'' (Turkish: ''Istanbul in the shadow of the capital'') published by İletişim Publications in 2002 and ''Köprüler gelip geçmeye. Tarımda bir modernleşme'' (Turkish: ''Bridges to come and go. Modernization in agriculture'') published in 2009.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:İsvan, Ahmet 1923 births 2017 deaths 20th-century mayors of places in Turkey Politicians from Istanbul Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Mayors of Istanbul Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey) politicians Robert College alumni Turkish prisoners and detainees Turkish farmers 21st-century Turkish writers