Cahit Talas (1917 – 14 October 2006) was a Turkish academic who was the dean of

Ankara University Ankara University ( tr, Ankara Üniversitesi) is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the formation of the republic in 1923. The university has 40 vo ...

's Faculty of Political Science for two terms. He served as the minister of labor between 1960 and 1961. He is known for being the pioneer of social politics in Turkey.

Early life and education

Talas was born in

Trabzon Trabzon (; Ancient Greek: Tραπεζοῦς (''Trapezous''), Ophitic Pontic Greek: Τραπεζούντα (''Trapezounta''); Georgian: ტრაპიზონი (''Trapizoni'')), historically known as Trebizond in English, is a city on the B ...

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire, * ; is an archaic version. The definite article forms and were synonymous * and el, Оθωμανική Αυτοκρατορία, Othōmanikē Avtokratoria, label=none * info page on book at Martin Luther University) ...

, in 1917. After his secondary education he started his university education at the Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University in 1935 and graduated in 1938. Following his graduation he was sent by the

Ministry of Finance A ministry of finance is a part of the government in most countries that is responsible for matters related to the finance. Lists of current ministries of finance Named "Ministry" * Ministry of Finance (Afghanistan) * Ministry of Finance and ...

to France to pursue his doctorate studies in 1938, but he could not complete his education due to the outbreak of World War II and had to return to Turkey in 1940. Talas restarted his doctorate studies in 1943 and received his Ph.D. from the

University of Geneva The University of Geneva (French: ''Université de Genève'') is a public research university located in Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded in 1559 by John Calvin as a theological seminary. It remained focused on theology until the 17th centur ...

in 1947. The title of his thesis was ''La Legislation du Travail Industriel en Turquie'' (french: Industrial Labor Legislation in Türkiye). Talas reported later that Anthony Babel and

Edgard Milhaud Edgard Milhaud (14 April 1873 – 4 September 1964) was a French professor of economics, a militant socialist, and a promoter and theoretician of social economy. Life Isaac Edgard Milhaud was born on 14 April 1873 in Nîmes, Gard, France. His p ...

, his professors at the University of Geneva, affected his selection of this topic.

Career and activities

Talas worked at the Ministry of Finance and then at the

Ministry of Labor The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...

where he worked as research council rapporteur until 1953 when he joined the Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University. The same year he was promoted to associated professor and to full professor in 1958. He first taught social economics course at the Faculty. Talas was named as the minister of labor to the

first cabinet First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: * World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

of President

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

announced on 28 May 1960. The cabinet was formed immediately after the

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

of 27 May 1960 which ended the rule of Democrat Party. Talas was reappointed to the same post in 1961 to the second cabinet of Cemal Gürsel. Talas held the post for one year and returned to his teaching post at Ankara University. During his ministerial post Talas signed the

European Social Charter The European Social Charter is a Council of Europe treaty which was opened for signature on October 18, 1961 and initially became effective on February 26, 1965, after West Germany had become the fifth of the 13 signing nations to ratify it. ...

on behalf of Turkey. He also played a significant role in the inclusion of the

right to strike Strike action, also called labor strike, labour strike, or simply strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal of employees to Labor (economics), work. A strike usually takes place in response to grievance (labour), employee grievance ...

in the new Constitution of Turkey. Talas served as the dean of the Faculty of Political Science for two terms: from 1960 to 1961 and from 1970 to 1971. Following the 1971 memorandum he was arrested and imprisoned for a while along with other leading academics from Ankara University, including

Mümtaz Soysal Osman Mümtaz Soysal (15 September 1929 – 11 November 2019) was a Turkish professor of constitutional law, political scientist, politician, human rights activist, ex-prisoner of conscience, senior advisor, columnist, and author. Soysal served ...

and Bahri Savcı. Talas retired from university in 1983. Talas was a member of the Republican People's Party. He was also involved in the formation of the

Social Democracy Party The name Social Democratic Party or Social Democrats has been used by many political parties in various countries around the world. Such parties are most commonly aligned to social democracy as their political ideology. Active parties Fo ...

in 1983 after his retirement. He was member of various associations and foundations, including Turkish Human Rights Association, Turkish Cooperative Association, Turkish Economic Association,

Atatürkist Thought Association The Atatürkist Thought Association ( tr, Atatürkçü Düşünce Derneği; ADD) is a secularist organization that espouses the ideas of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey. It was founded by Hıfzı Veldet Velidedeoğlu, Muammer ...

and History Foundation.

Work and views

Talas published many books and articles in Turkish and in French. He was among the contributors of the ''

Forum Forum or The Forum (plural forums or fora) may refer to: Common uses *Forum (legal), designated space for public expression in the United States *Forum (Roman), open public space within a Roman city **Roman Forum, most famous example *Internet ...

'' magazine. For Talas the goal of the 1960 coup was to reestablish social justice in order to transform the Turkish society. He was one of the supporters of the right to strike in Turkey and published many articles on this issue in various newspapers. He argued that increasing worker wages has positive effects on industrial development. He also regarded the collaboration between employers and employees as one of the prerequisites of the economic development.

Death

Talas died of heart failure at his home in Ankara on 14 October 2006. After the ceremony at the Faculty of Political Sciences and funeral prayers in the

Kocatepe Mosque The Kocatepe Mosque ( tr, Kocatepe Camii) is the largest mosque in Ankara, Turkey. It was built between 1967 and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kızılay, and its size and prominent situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost a ...

he was buried in the

Karşıyaka Cemetery The Karşıyaka Cemetery ( tr, Karşıyaka Mezarlığı) is a modern burial ground located at İvedik neighborhood in Yenimahalle district of Ankara, Turkey. Administered by the Metropolitan Municipality, it is the biggest cemetery in Ankara. Ma ...

on 17 October.

Legacy

An annual prize in social politics was inaugurated by the Faculty of Political Science at Ankara University in 2012 in memory of Cahit Talas.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Talas, Cahit 20th-century Turkish non-fiction writers 20th-century Turkish economists 20th-century scholars 1917 births 2006 deaths Academic staff of Ankara University Members of the 24th government of Turkey Members of the 25th government of Turkey Ministers of Labour and Social Security of Turkey People from Trabzon Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish academic administrators University of Geneva alumni Burials at Karşıyaka Cemetery, Ankara Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni Turkish prisoners and detainees Social Democracy Party (Turkey) politicians Turkish political party founders