Refik Koraltan (1889 – 17 June 1974) was a Turkish politician, having served as the Speaker 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 ...

(TBMM) from 22 May 1950 to 27 May 1960.

Biography

Koraltan was born in Divriği, Sivas Province, in 1889, the son of Ali Bey, a local leading citizen. Although he was known as Refik Koraltan, the name on his birth record was Bekir Refik. After completing the primary and middle education in Divriği, Koraltan studied at Istanbul Mercan High School. He graduated from Istanbul Faculty of Law in 1914.

Political career

Koraltan entered public service as an assistant prosecutor and became the Attorney General of Karaman in 1915. He was assigned as police inspector on 2 March 1918, and charged as Chief of Police of

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

on 29 May 1918. During this duty, he facilitated the establishment of the "Society of Defence of the National Rights to counteract the Pontus-Greek Organizations" that started to appear after the end of

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. He was elected in the TBMM as the Deputy of

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 ...

in 1920 and reelected from the same city for three more terms. He served as Governor of Bursa Province from 1939 to 1942.Bursa Gazeteciler Cemiyeti
VALİ (Bursa valileri)
/ref> He served briefly as governor of Konya Province before returning to the parliament six more terms. In 1946, he quit from the CHP and formed the Democratic Party together with Celal Bayar, Adnan Menderes and

Mehmet Fuat Köprülü Mehmet Fuat Köprülü (December 5, 1890 – June 28, 1966), also known as Köprülüzade Mehmed Fuad, was a highly influential Turkish sociologist, Turkologist, scholar, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister of the Rep ...

. Finally, he served as the Speaker of the TBMM from 22 May 1950 until 27 May 1960. During the Yassıada trials, Koraltan was convicted of political charges and imprisoned. He was released under an amnesty in 1966. Koraltan died on 17 June 1974 in

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 ...

, and is buried in

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 ( ...

Personal life

Koraltan was married with four children.

References

Sources

* Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritages and Museums {{DEFAULTSORT:Koraltan, Refik 1889 births 1974 deaths People from Divriği Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1960) politicians Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Turkish civil servants Turkish jurists Deputies of Konya Speakers of the Parliament of Turkey Governors (Turkey) Governors of Bursa Deputies of Mersin Burials at Cebeci Asri Cemetery Grand Crosses 1st class of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany People convicted in the Yassıada trials