The National Security Service ( tr, Milli Emniyet Hizmeti, MEH, but known as MAH) was the governmental intelligence organization of

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

between 1926 and 1965, when it was replaced by the National Intelligence Organization ( tr, Millî İstihbarat Teşkilâtı, MİT).MAH
official MİT web site It was established at a time when

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, or Mustafa Kemal Pasha until 1921, and Ghazi Mustafa Kemal from 1921 until 1934 ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal, revolutionary statesman, author, and the founding father of the Rep ...

was purging Committee of Union and Progress elements, including the

Karakol society The Karakol society ( tr, Karakol Cemiyeti), was a Turkish clandestine intelligence organization that fought on the side of the Turkish National Movement during the Turkish War of Independence. Formed in November 1918, it refused to merge itself ...

and

Teşkilât-ı Mahsûsa The Special Organization ( ota, تشکیلات مخصوصه, ''Teşkilât-ı Mahsusa'', or ) was a paramilitary organization in the Ottoman Empire known for its key role in the commission of the Armenian genocide. Originally organized under the M ...

("Special Organization") intelligence organizations. The first director of the MAH was

Şükrü Âli Ögel Şükrü Âli Ögel (1886–1973) was a Turkish career officer, politician and the first director of the former Turkish governmental intelligence agency Milli Emniyet Hizmeti (MAH) (National Security Service), the predecessor of Milli İstihbarat T ...

(1886–1973). During

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

, Turkey saw increased

espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information ( intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tang ...

by British,

Soviet The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen national ...

, and German operatives and sympathizers. The MAH learned that

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

would not attempt to invade Turkey, allowing the İnönü administration to resist mounting Allied pressure to declare war on Germany. The MAH received financial support from the CIA.

Notes

* The early Turkish government named the organization MAH, without expanding the acronym, so unauthorized persons would not be able to guess what the organization was responsible for. This gave rise to incorrect

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

s such as ''Millî Amale Hizmeti'' and ''Millî Asayiş Hizmeti''.

References

External links

Atatürk ve Milli Amale Hizmet
Mehmet Eymür (MİT official) Turkish intelligence agencies Defunct government agencies of Turkey {{Turkey-mil-stub