Ferit Sadi Melen (2 November 1906 – 3 September 1988) was a Turkish
civil servant
The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil service personnel hired rather than elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leadership. A civil service offic ...
, politician and
Prime Minister of Turkey
The prime minister of Turkey, officially the prime minister of the Republic of Turkey (), was the head of government of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey from 1920 to 2018, who led a political coalition in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, Tu ...
.
Biography
After graduating from high school in
Bursa
Bursa () is a city in northwestern Turkey and the administrative center of Bursa Province. The fourth-most populous city in Turkey and second-most populous in the Marmara Region, Bursa is one of the industrial centers of the country. Most of ...
, he obtained a degree in finance from the School of Political Science at
Ankara University
Ankara University () is a public university, public research university in Ankara, the capital of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in Turkey after the History of the Republic of Turkey, formation of the Turkish republ ...
in 1931. Ferit Melen entered the state service right after his graduation, and was sent to
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
,
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, for an internship at the Ministry of Finance there. After one year, he returned home and worked in several services of the Ministry of Finance as an inspector. In 1943, he was promoted to general director in the ministry.
Ferit Melen entered politics as a deputy from
Van Province from 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 ...
(''Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi,'' CHP) following the 1950 general election. After the end of the legislative term, he did not run for the parliament in the 1954 election, and he returned to his profession to work as a
chartered accountant. He practiced until his retirement in 1959. In 1957, he was elected once again to the parliament as deputy from Van.
Ferit Melen was minister of finance in the two cabinets of
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 ...
between 25 June 1962 and 20 February 1965 in the
27th and
28th governments without affiliation to the parliament. He left his party CHP along with 47 other colleagues to co-found on 12 May 1967 "Güven Partisi" GP ("Reliance Party"), which was renamed
Republican Reliance Party (''Cumhuriyetçi Güven Partisi'', CGP) after merging with "Cumhuriyetçi Parti" CP ("Republican Party") on 28 February 1973.
He served as minister of national defense in the cabinet of
Nihat Erim from 26 March 1971 to 22 May 1972. Following the resignation of Nihat Erim, he was appointed prime minister of a military-approved coalition government that lasted until 15 April 1973. Between 31 March 1975 and 21 June 1977, he served a second time as minister of national defense in the cabinet of
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel (; 1 November 1924 – 17 June 2015) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, engineer, and statesman who served as the List of Presidents of Turkey, 9th President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He previously serv ...
.
In the time from 7 June 1964 to 14 October 1979, Ferit Melen was a member of the senate representing Van Province. On 12 July 1980, he was appointed again senator that ended on 12 September 1980 with the
military coup. Ferit Melen was elected to
Turkish Grand National Assembly in the
1983 elections as a candidate of the
Nationalist Democracy Party (MDP).
The
Van airport was renamed after him.
In 2002, his son Mithat Melen, a former high ranked civil servant and academic, tried to enter politics with the
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party, or alternatively translated as Nationalist Action Party (, MHP), is a Turkish Far-right politics, far-right, ultranationalism, ultranationalist Political parties in Turkey, political party. The group is often de ...
(MHP).
See also
* Biyografi.info
''Biography of Ferit Melen''
*
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Melen, Ferit
1906 births
1988 deaths
20th-century prime ministers of Turkey
People from Van, Turkey
Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians
Republican Reliance Party politicians
Nationalist Democracy Party politicians
Ministers of national defence of Turkey
Ministers of finance of Turkey
Deputies of Van
Members of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey)
Turkish civil servants
Ankara University Faculty of Political Sciences alumni
Members of the 27th government of Turkey
Members of the 28th government of Turkey
Members of the 34th government of Turkey
Members of the 35th government of Turkey
Members of the 39th government of Turkey
Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery