İbrahim Refik Saydam (8 September 1881 – 8 July 1942) was a Turkish physician, politician and the fourth

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 ...

, serving from 25 January 1939 until his death on 8 July 1942."Prime Ministers of the Turkish Republic"
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Biography

Saydam was born 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 ...

in 1881 as the son of Hacı Ahmet Efendi of

Çankırı Çankırı, historically known as Gangra (Greek language, Greek: Γάγγρα), is a city in Turkey, about northeast of Ankara. It is situated about 800 m (2500 ft) above sea level. It is the seat of Çankırı Province and of Çankır ...

. After completing primary and secondary education in Fatih Military Junior High School, he entered to Military School of Medicine in 1899. He went on a training course at Gülhane as of graduating with the rank of doctor captain on 4 November 1905. He was assigned as a doctor at Maltepe Military Hospital and Feshane Factory between the years 1907-1910 and improved his expertise in military camps and hospitals by being sent to Germany in 1910. He was then sent to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

from 1910 to 1912 to train and study as part of an Ottoman initiative to reform the army through the selection of officers via competition. Saydam stayed in this program until he was ordered back to the Ottoman Empire. He was a medic in the

Ottoman Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire () was the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire. It was founded in 1299 and dissolved in 1922. Army The Military of the Ottoman Empire can be divided in five main periods. The foundation era covers the years ...

during the dissolution of the empire. He created a medicine to cure

typhus Typhus, also known as typhus fever, is a group of infectious diseases that include epidemic typhus, scrub typhus, and murine typhus. Common symptoms include fever, headache, and a rash. Typically these begin one to two weeks after exposu ...

, which was used largely by the

Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...

. Saydam was one of the key people of the Independence War. He landed at

Samsun Samsun is a List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, city on the north coast of Turkey and a major Black Sea port. The urban area recorded a population of 738,692 in 2022. The city is the capital of Samsun Province which has a population of ...

with Mustafa Kemal (later named: Atatürk) in 1919 to start the resistance in

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

. He was known as a reformist while he was the Prime Minister. Just three years after his death, the one-party period came to an end in Turkey.

Political life

Saydam became the vice-president of the Department of Health of the Ministry of War on 1 December 1913 and was promoted to the rank of major on 1 June 1915. Meanwhile, he established the Institute of Bacteriology and his vaccines against epidemics and especially typhus had been effective. After the truce, he assigned to the order of 9th Army Inspectorship and passed to Anatolia along with Mustafa Kemal as the health inspector of the army, soon named as the 3rd Army Inspectorship, on 15 May 1919. He attended to Erzurum and Sivas Congresses, came to Ankara with the delegation committee and joined to the opening ceremony of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey with the elections held for the first term as the deputy of Bayazıt on 23 April 1920. He was elected as the Minister of Health in the Council of Ministers under the presidency of Fevzi Pasha, as the Minister of Health and Social Relief upon the resignation of Adnan, and resigned from ministry suggesting his sickness on 14 December 1921. Being elected as Istanbul deputy, he officiated as the Minister of Health under the cabinet of Ismet Pasha in 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 5th sessions. After the death of Atatürk, at the Second Bayar Government formed on 11 November 1938, Saydam performed as the Minister of Interior and was assigned as the general secretary of 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 ...

. He was appointed to Prime Ministry of the 11th and 12th government of Turkey by President

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 ...

as Istanbul Deputy at the 6th session elections on 25 January 1939. During this duty, he died in

on 8 July 1942 and was 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 ( ...

. Endeavoring to extend the health services and establishing health facilities, especially the Hıfzıssıha Foundation which is today known with his name, at the period of his health ministry, he also tried to protect the nation from the negative impacts of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

during the period of prime ministry. He was never married. File:İsmet İnönü ve Refik Saydam, 1939.jpg, Ismet Inonu and Refik Saydam, 1939 File:Refik Saydam, Cebeci Asri Mezarlığı - 2023 Temmuz.jpg, Grave of Refik Saydam at Cebeci Asri Cemetery

References

Sources

* Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritages and Museums

External links

Biography

Political life

See also

References

Sources

External links