Ali Fuat Cebesoy (23 September 1882 – 10 January 1968) was a Turkish military officer who served in the Ottoman Army and then in the Turkish army and politician.

Early life

Ali Fuat was born on 23 September 1882 to father Ismail Fazil Pasha and mother Zekiye Hanım.Ayfer Özçelik, ''Ali Fuad Cepesoy'', Akçağ Yayınları, 1993, , p. 1. He was of German- Circassian descent, and also his maternal grandfather Mehmed Ali Pasha was of

Huguenot The Huguenots ( , ; ) are a Religious denomination, religious group of French people, French Protestants who held to the Reformed (Calvinist) tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, ...

- French descent. Ali Fuat was the grandson (on his mother's side) of Mushir Mehmet Ali PashaAli Fuat Cebesoy, ''Sınıf Arkadaşım Atatürk: Okul ve Genç Subaylık Hâtıraları'', Temel Yayınları, 2000, , p. 19. (Ludwig Karl Friedrich Detroit) who was the commander of the Danube Army (''Tuna Şark Ordusu'') during the Russo-Turkish war, participated in the

Congress of Berlin At the Congress of Berlin (13 June – 13 July 1878), the major European powers revised the territorial and political terms imposed by the Russian Empire on the Ottoman Empire by the Treaty of San Stefano (March 1878), which had ended the Rus ...

as one of three representatives of the Ottoman Empire and was killed on 7 September 1878Osman Selim Kocahanoğlu, "Bir Osmanlı Ailesi ve Ali Fuad Cebesoy", ''Ali Fuat Cebesoy'un Arşivinden Askeri ve Siyasi Belgeler'', Temel Yayınları, İstanbul, 2005, , p. 13. in Gjakovë (

Kosovo Kosovo, officially the Republic of Kosovo, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe with International recognition of Kosovo, partial diplomatic recognition. It is bordered by Albania to the southwest, Montenegro to the west, Serbia to the ...

) by Albanian

insurgent An insurgency is a violent, armed rebellion by small, lightly armed bands who practice guerrilla warfare against a larger authority. The key descriptive feature of insurgency is its asymmetric nature: small irregular forces face a large, well ...

s who were dissatisfied with the results of the Berlin Congress.

Military career

Ali Fuat attended the

Ottoman Military College The Ottoman Military College or Imperial Military Staff College or Ottoman Army War College ( or ), was a two-year military staff college of the Ottoman Empire. It was located in İstanbul. Its mission was to educate staff officers for the Ott ...

together with Kemal Atatürk, Kazım Karabekir, and Fethi Okyar amongst other notables of 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 ...

. Following he entered the War School in 1902, and graduated from the Ottoman War College in 1905 as a Staff

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

(''Erkân-ı Harp Yüzbaşısı''). Later he was assigned to the 3rd Rifle Battalion (''Üçüncü Nişancı Taburu''), the 28th Cavalry Regiment (''Yirmi Sekizinci Süvari Alayı'') based in

Beirut Beirut ( ; ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Lebanon. , Greater Beirut has a population of 2.5 million, just under half of Lebanon's population, which makes it the List of largest cities in the Levant region by populatio ...

under the command of Fifth Army based in

Damascus Damascus ( , ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in the Levant region by population, largest city of Syria. It is the oldest capital in the world and, according to some, the fourth Holiest sites in Islam, holiest city in Islam. Kno ...

, and later to 15th Artillery Regiment (''On Beşinci Topçu Alayı'') based in

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

under the command of Third Army as an intern. He joined the

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 ...

(membership number was 191). On 28 June he was assigned to the staff officer of the Third Army. And then he was promoted to the rank of Senior Captain and appointed to the area commander of Karaferye (present day:

Veria Veria (; ), officially transliterated Veroia, historically also spelled Beroea or Berea, is a city in Central Macedonia, in the geographic region of Macedonia, northern Greece, capital of the regional unit of Imathia. It is located north-nor ...

). On 9 January 1909 he was appointed to the military attaché in Rome, Italy. On 1 October 1911 he was appointed to the chief of the 1st department (chief of operations) of the Western Army.T.C. Genelkurmay Harp Tarihi Başkanlığı Yayınları, ''Türk İstiklâl Harbine Katılan Tümen ve Daha Üst Kademelerdeki Komutanların Biyografileri'', Genkurmay Başkanlığı Basımevi, Ankara, 1972, p. 154. On 20 February he was temporarily appointed to the chief of staff of the I Corps, VII Corps. And then he was appointed to the commander of a detachment that was formed to liberate İpek (present day:

Peć Peja or Peć, ), is the fifth most populous city in Kosovo and serves as the seat of the Peja Municipality and the District of Peja. It is located in the Rugova (region), Rugova region on the eastern section of the Accursed Mountains along the ...

) and Yakova (present day:

Đakovica Gjakova or Đakovica, ) and Đakovica ( sr-Cyrl, Ђаковица, ) is the sixth largest city of Kosovo and seat of the Gjakova Municipality and the District of Gjakova, Gjakova District. According to the 2024 census, the municipality of Gjakov ...

) from Albanian insurgents.

Balkan Wars

On 24 June he was dispatched to Europe for the preparation of the transfer of arms and ammunition to Tripoli Vilayet. On 29 September he was appointed to the chief of staff of the

İşkodra Corps The Scutari Corps, Işkodra Corps or Shkodër Corps of the Ottoman Empire ( Turkish: ''İşkodra Kolordusu'') was one of the corps under the command of the Ottoman Western Army. It was formed in Scutari (present day: Shkodër) area during the Fi ...

. He also participated in the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

. He became the chief of staff of the Yanya Corps, and on 11 November he was appointed to the deputy commander of the 23rd Division (''Yirmi Üçüncü Fırka''), replacing ''Mirliva'' Djevad Pasha. On 12 December, when the Greek offensive commanded by Konstantinos Sapountzakis was launched, he planned to retreat in an orderly fashion, but panic amongst the ranks led to the defeat of his division. In the defense line of Bizani he was severely wounded in the thigh, but continued to direct artillery fire whilst on a stretcher. On 6 March 1913 he and his forces surrendered following the instruction of Esad Pasha ( Battle of Bizani). He was then transferred to a hospital in

Kifissia Kifisia or Kifissia (also Kephisia or Cephissia; , ) is a municipality and one of the most affluent northern suburbs in the Athens agglomeration, Attica, Greece, mainly accessed via Kifissias Avenue, running all the way from central Athens up to ...

, a suburb of

Athens Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

, to receive medical treatment.

World War

On 15 January 1914 he was appointed to the chief of staff of the VIII Corps. After Kress von Kressenstein was appointed the chief of staff of this corps, replacing Ali Fuat, he was promoted to the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (''Kaymakam''), and on 19 September he was appointed to the commander of the 25th Division. In January 1915, he participated in the First Suez Offensive. On 7 January he and his division left Birüssebi (present day:

Beersheba Beersheba ( / ; ), officially Be'er-Sheva, is the largest city in the Negev desert of southern Israel. Often referred to as the "Capital of the Negev", it is the centre of the fourth-most populous metropolitan area in Israel, the eighth-most p ...

) for the desert and arrived at the front of the

Suez Canal The Suez Canal (; , ') is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, Indo-Mediterranean, connecting the Mediterranean Sea to the Red Sea through the Isthmus of Suez and dividing Africa and Asia (and by extension, the Sinai Peninsula from the rest ...

, but the Ottoman forces couldn't pass the canal and retreated. He and his division went back to Gaza on 20 January 1915. After the Gallipoli Campaign was launched, the 25th Division was dispatched to the Gallipoli Front on 24 May 1915, and started to arrive there on 2 June 1916. His division entered to the order of the XVII Corps of the First Army and deployed in the Bulair- Saros area. On 20 January 1916 he was appointed to the commander of the 14th Division. At first, his division was intended for use in the Second Suez Offensive and sent to Maallaha, but because of the Russian offensive, his division instead came under the command of the Second Army under Ahmed Izzet Pasha, and on 27 June were sent back from the Rayak station to

Aleppo Aleppo is a city in Syria, which serves as the capital of the Aleppo Governorate, the most populous Governorates of Syria, governorate of Syria. With an estimated population of 2,098,000 residents it is Syria's largest city by urban area, and ...

and dispatched to Diyârbekir.Ayfer Özçelik, ''Ali Fuad Cepesoy'', pp. 18–19. On 30 September he was promoted to commander of the 5th Division and in January he became the chief of staff of the Seconde Army. On 12 January 1917 he returned to the Sina-Palestine Front and in April he became the deputy commander of the Sina-Palestine Front. On 30 June 1917 he became the commander of the XX Corps. He then fought in the Battle of Jerusalem in which the Ottomans lost the city of

Jerusalem Jerusalem is a city in the Southern Levant, on a plateau in the Judaean Mountains between the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean and the Dead Sea. It is one of the List of oldest continuously inhabited cities, oldest cities in the world, and ...

to the British. After the Armistice of Mudros was signed, he concurrently became the deputy commander of Seventh Army, replacing Mustafa Kemal. After the Seventh Army was abolished, he transferred the headquarters of the XX Corps from

Syria Syria, officially the Syrian Arab Republic, is a country in West Asia located in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Levant. It borders the Mediterranean Sea to the west, Turkey to Syria–Turkey border, the north, Iraq to Iraq–Syria border, t ...

to Ereğli, then to

Konya Konya is a major city in central Turkey, on the southwestern edge of the Central Anatolian Plateau, and is the capital of Konya Province. During antiquity and into Seljuk times it was known as Iconium. In 19th-century accounts of the city in En ...

and to

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

War of Independence

Ali Fuat Pasha organized the resistance in Western Turkey against the Greek

invasion An invasion is a Offensive (military), military offensive of combatants of one geopolitics, geopolitical Legal entity, entity, usually in large numbers, entering territory (country subdivision), territory controlled by another similar entity, ...

and thus actually started the National Independence War. He contributed to the resistance forces against the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

army that had begun to occupy Western

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. He signed Amasya Protocol and at the end of the Sivas Congress in 1920, he was appointed as the general commander of the National Forces by the Board of Representatives. The presence of him and his army in

is the reason behind Atatürk's choice of this city as the center of

. The same year, he was elected as a deputy at the First Parliament. He was appointed ambassador to Moscow, Soviet Russia in 1921, as he had quarrels with

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 was appointed by Atatürk as the Commander of the Western Front although İnönü had failed against Greek invasion at Kutahya-Altıntas in 1921. By personally negotiating with

Vladimir Lenin Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov ( 187021 January 1924), better known as Vladimir Lenin, was a Russian revolutionary, politician and political theorist. He was the first head of government of Soviet Russia from 1917 until Death and state funeral of ...

and

Joseph Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

in Moscow, he signed the Treaty of Moscow (1921), along the lines of the Brest-Litovsk Peace Treaty, as the representative of the

government, which provided financial and military support from Russia to the Turkish Independence War, in exchange for ceding the right to Batum, then controlled by the Georgian Republic, to the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

government. After finishing his duty as an ambassador, he was elected as the second spokesman of the

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

Political life

After the declaration of the Turkish Republic, he became a deputy. In this new era of his political career, he joined the founders of the opposition party, the Progressive Republican Party, and he was elected as the general secretary of the party in 1924. During the rebellion of Shaikh Said, the Law on the Maintenance of Order was affected and the Progressive Republican Party was closed down. Ali Fuat Cebesoy was arrested with the accusations of participating in the attempt of assassination against Atatürk and was taken to

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. He was tried at the İzmir Independence Court and was acquitted in 1926. He retired with the title of general. He stayed away from politics for four years between 1927 and 1931. In 1931, he returned to politics and was elected as a deputy representing

. He served as the deputy for Konya and

Eskişehir Eskişehir ( , ; from 'old' and 'city') is a city in northwestern Turkey and the capital of the Eskişehir Province. The urban population of the city is 821 315 (Odunpazari + Tebebasi), with a metropolitan population of 921 630. The city is l ...

until 1950. He also served as Minister of Public Works from 1939 to 1943, Minister of Transportation (1943–1946) and as the president of the Parliament in 1948. He was an independent candidate of the Democratic Party from

in the first democratic elections of the Turkish history held on 14 May 1950, and he was elected with a landslide. In the following years, he was elected as a deputy from İstanbul and served in the parliament for ten more years between 1950 and 1960. After the military coup on 27 May 1960, he was initially arrested by the junta with the rest of the Democratic Party MPs but later set free. After this experience he quit politics for good. In accordance with his will, he was buried in the backyard of a

mosque A mosque ( ), also called a masjid ( ), is a place of worship for Muslims. The term usually refers to a covered building, but can be any place where Salah, Islamic prayers are performed; such as an outdoor courtyard. Originally, mosques were si ...

near Geyve train station, where the first shots of the

were fired, when he died at the age of 86. However, his remains were moved to the Turkish State Cemetery in

, after the military coup of 1980. File:Orbay, Atatürk and Cebesoy.jpg, Mustafa Kemal is holding a meeting with Ali Fuat Cebesoy and Rauf Orbay during the Sivas Congress (September 1919) File:Commanders of the Independence War (Turkey).JPG, Commanders of Turkish Army during the

File:Terakkiperver Cumhuriyet.jpg, Founders of the Progressive Republican Party, 1924, in front of the Haydarpaşa Terminal