Faik Ali Ozansoy (10 March 1876 – 1 October 1950) was a Turkish politician, poet, and educator. He was the younger brother of

Süleyman Nazif Süleyman Nazif (;‎ 29 January 1870 – 4 January 1927) was a Turkish poet and a prominent member of the CUP. He mastered Arabic, Persian, and French languages and worked as a civil servant during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid II. He c ...

, an eminent man of letters and prominent member of the Committee for Union and Progress. Faik Ali was one of the foremost poets and writers of the

Servet-i Fünun ''Servet-i Fünun'' (; ) was an avant-garde journal published in the Ottoman Empire and later in Turkey. Halit Ziya Uşaklıgil, Halit Ziya (Uşaklıgil) and the other writers of the "New Literature" () movement published it to inform their reade ...

and Fecr-i Âti literary period. During World War I, Ozansoy served as the governor of

Kütahya Kütahya (; historically, Cotyaeum or Kotyaion; Ancient Greek, Greek: Κοτύαιον) is a city in western Turkey which lies on the Porsuk River, at 969 metres above sea level. It is the seat of Kütahya Province and Kütahya District. In 19 ...

. Ozansoy is especially known for having saved the lives of thousands of Armenians during the

Armenian genocide The Armenian genocide was the systematic destruction of the Armenians, Armenian people and identity in the Ottoman Empire during World War I. Spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP), it was implemented primarily t ...

. Due to protecting the life of Armenian Christians, Ozansoy was known as the "governor of the infidels" by his contemporaries. On 24 April 2013, the day of remembrance for the Armenian Genocide, various prominent figures of both the Armenian and Turkish community visited his grave to pay tribute.

Early life

Faik Ali Ozansoy, who was originally named Mehmet Faik, was born on 10 March 1876 in

Diyarbakır Diyarbakır is the largest Kurdish-majority city in Turkey. It is the administrative center of Diyarbakır Province. Situated around a high plateau by the banks of the Tigris river on which stands the historic Diyarbakır Fortress, it is ...

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 ...

. He was born into a family that was known for their poetic skill. His father, Saîd Paşa, was a renowned historian of Diyarbakır. His father was of Kurdish origin belonging to the Zirqanid Tribe, while his mother, Ayşe Hanim, was a daughter of a prominent member of the Turkish

Akkoyunlu Akkoyunlu can refer to: * Akkoyunlu, Başmakçı * Akkoyunlu, Çermik * Akkoyunlu, Çobanlar * the Turkish name for Aq Qoyunlu The Aq Qoyunlu or the White Sheep Turkomans (, ; ) was a culturally Persianate society, Persianate,Kaushik Roy, ''M ...

tribe. Ozansoy had two sisters and a brother named

, who was a famous Turkish poet and politician.

Armenian genocide

During the

, Ozansoy served as governor of the

Kütahya Province Kütahya Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in the Aegean Region, Aegean region of Turkey. Its area is 11,634 km2, and its population is 580,701 (2022). In 1990, Kütahya had a population of 578,000. The neighboring provinces a ...

. When orders of deportations reached Ozansoy, he refused to carry them out. His brother, Suleyman Nazif, insisted in a letter that he not "participate in this event, watch out for our family's honor." Meanwhile, while many Armenians were being deported through Kutahya and onto further destinations, Ozansoy protected them and provided shelter. He was then invited to

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 ...

(now

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

) to explain his actions towards the Armenians. Memoirist

Stepan Stepanian Stepan Stepanian (1866–1915) was an Armenian Revolutionary Federation member and politician in the Ottoman Empire. He was among the participants in the 1907 Fourth General Congress that decided ARF participation in the Iranian Constitution ...

describes his encounter with

Talaat Pasha Mehmed Talât (1 September 187415 March 1921), commonly known as Talaat Pasha or Talat Pasha, was an Ottoman Young Turk activist, revolutionary, politician, and convicted war criminal who served as the leader of the Ottoman Empire from 191 ...

: While Ozansoy was in the capital negotiating with Talaat, the chief of police in Kutahya, Kemal Bey, took advantage of Ozansoy's absence and forced many Armenians in the province to convert to Islam. As a result, many of the Armenians converted to save themselves from deportation. Upon returning to Kutahya, Ozansoy was upset over the mass conversions. He immediately removed Kemal Bey from his post and reassessed the situation by asking the Armenians of Kutahya whether they wished to remain Muslim. All, with the exception of one, decided to stay Christian. In the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide, Ozansoy refused a gift of gratitude from the Armenians consisting of 500 gold pieces and instead had the gold spent for the relief efforts of the Armenian refugees. The funds were used to establish a soup kitchen and a school. Ali Faik assigned Stepan Stepanyan as the first principal of the school.

Later life

After World War I ended and with the establishment of the

Republic of Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

, Faik Ali Ozansoy continued working as a politician, then moved to Istanbul where he became the mayor of the

Üsküdar Üsküdar () is a municipality and district of Istanbul Province, Turkey. Its area is 35 km2, and its population is 524,452 (2022). It is a large and densely populated district on the Anatolian (Asian) shore of the Bosphorus. It is border ...

and

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 ...

districts in the city. During

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 ...

's government, he was appointed as the undersecretary for the

Ministry of Foreign Affairs In many countries, the ministry of foreign affairs (abbreviated as MFA or MOFA) is the highest government department exclusively or primarily responsible for the state's foreign policy and relations, diplomacy, bilateral, and multilateral r ...

. In March 1919, he served as a governor for the

Diyarbakır Province Diyarbakır Province (; ; ) is a province and metropolitan municipality in southeastern Turkey. Its area is 15,101 km2, and its population is 1,804,880 (2022). The provincial capital is the city of Diyarbakır. The Kurdish majority province ...

for a few months. He returned to Istanbul where he became a French teacher at the ''Mulkiye Mektep'' School. He also wrote for the women's magazine '' Süs'' between 1923 and 1924. He served as an undersecretary for the Interior Ministry from 1930 to 1932. He died on 1 October 1950 and is buried at the

Zincirlikuyu Cemetery The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery () is a modern burial ground in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here. The ce ...

in Istanbul.

Literary work and journalism

Some of Ozansoy's notable poems include: *Fani Teselliler (1908) *Temasil (1912) *Elhan-ı Vatan (1915) He was among the contributors of ''

Mehâsin ''Mehâsin'' (Ottoman Turkish: ''Virtues'') was a monthly women's magazine which was published in the Ottoman Empire between 1908 and 1909. It was one of the publications started in the aftermath of the Young Turk Revolution and was subtitled as ...

'', a women's magazine which was started in the aftermath of the

Young Turk Revolution The Young Turk Revolution (July 1908; ) was a constitutionalist revolution in the Ottoman Empire. Revolutionaries belonging to the Internal Committee of Union and Progress, an organization of the Young Turks movement, forced Sultan Abdul Hamid II ...

in 1908.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ozansoy, Faik Ali 1876 births People from Diyarbakır Turkish poets Turkish politicians People of the Armenian genocide Turkish educators 1950 deaths Burials at Zincirlikuyu Cemetery Witnesses of the Armenian genocide

Early life

Armenian genocide

Later life

Literary work and journalism

See also

References