Selim Rauf Sarper (14 June 1899,

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 ...

– 11 October 1968,

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 ( ...

) was a Turkish diplomat and politician. He served as Minister of Foreign Affairs between 1960 and 1962.

Early years

Selim Sarper was born on 14 June 1899 in Istanbul. He spent his youth years in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, where he finished the high school in 1918, and attended

University of Berlin The Humboldt University of Berlin (, abbreviated HU Berlin) is a public research university in the central borough of Mitte in Berlin, Germany. The university was established by Frederick William III on the initiative of Wilhelm von Humbol ...

to study law. At the age of 24, The Turkish Republic was proclaimed in his home country. Returned home, he studied at Ankara University, Law School. He then served as a teacher of French language in a high school at

Adana Adana is a large city in southern Turkey. The city is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the northeastern shores of the Mediterranean Sea. It is the administrative seat of the Adana Province, Adana province, and has a population of 1 81 ...

in 1923 before he worked as a clerk at the Independence Tribunal in the early years of the Republican era. In 1927, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a translator.

Diplomatic career

Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh of Iran addressing the United Nations Security Council

In 1928, he was appointed vice-consul in

Odessa ODESSA is an American codename (from the German language, German: ''Organisation der ehemaligen SS-Angehörigen'', meaning: Organization of Former SS Members) coined in 1946 to cover Ratlines (World War II aftermath), Nazi underground escape-pl ...

Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

, in 1929 third secretary at the Turkish Embassy in

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

and two years later he was promoted to the post of second secretary at the same office. His further assignments were, Consul in Komotini,

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

in 1933, Consul in Odessa in 1935, Consul in

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 ...

in 1937 and Ambassador in

Bucharest Bucharest ( , ; ) is the capital and largest city of Romania. The metropolis stands on the River Dâmbovița (river), Dâmbovița in south-eastern Romania. Its population is officially estimated at 1.76 million residents within a greater Buc ...

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

in 1939. In the 1940s, Sarper served as the Director of the governmental Press and Information Agency. During the

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 ...

years, he was responsible for the administration of the official propaganda and information. In 1944, Selim Sarper was appointed Turkey's Ambassador to Moscow, an important mission during the last years of World War II and the early years of the

Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...

(1947-1991). According to 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 ...

's judgement relating to a conversation between Sarper and

Stalin Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Dzhugashvili; 5 March 1953) was a Soviet politician and revolutionary who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until Death and state funeral of Joseph Stalin, his death in 1953. He held power as General Secret ...

's Minister of Foreign Affairs Molotov on 7 June 1945, Turkey, even remained neutral in the war, might have been under a territorial claim threat from the Soviet Union. Due to this context, Turkey subsequently positioned itself alongside the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. After the related official documents in the U.S. archives were made available to the public, it became clear that Sarper reported the subject of his conversation to the U.S. Ambassador

W. Averell Harriman William Averell Harriman (November 15, 1891July 26, 1986) was an American politician, businessman, and diplomat. He was a founder of Harriman & Co. which merged with the older Brown Brothers to form the Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. investment ...

, even before he notified his government. However, his report to Harriman does not mention any threat by the Soviet Union, and the memoirs of Molotov deny such an allegation. In 1946, Sarper became Ambassador to Italy in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, in 1947 Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations and in 1957 Permanent Representative of Turkey to

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...

Politics

On 28 May, the next day of the

1960 Turkish coup d'état The 1960 Turkish coup d'état (), also known as the 27 May Revolution ( or ''27 Mayıs Devrimi''), was the first coup d'état in the Republic of Turkey. It took place on 27 May 1960. The coup was staged by a group of 38 young Turkish military ...

, Selim Sarper, took United States Ambassador in Ankara Fletcher Warren to the coup leader General

Cemal Gürsel Cemal Gürsel (9 June 1894 – 14 September 1966) was a Turkish military officer and politician who was the fourth president of Turkey, serving from 1960 to 1966 after taking power in a coup d'état. Early life Gürsel was born in the town ...

for a visit. Sarper was appointed the same day Minister of Foreign Affairs replacing Fahri Korutürk in the draft cabinet list. Sarper entered later 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 ...

(CHP) running for a seat in the parliament at the 1961 general elections. He continued to serve at his post as Minister of Foreign Affairs until 16 February 1962. Revealed U.S. diplomatic documents show that during his term in the İnönü's coalition cabinet, Sarper made assessments to the U.S. Government and told high words about his own head of state like "That Gürsel was not a great brain". In the 1965 general elections, Sarper was re-elected into the parliament as a deputy from

Istanbul Province 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 ...

Illness and death

On 14 May 1968 Selim Sarper underwent a lung surgery for the second time. He died on 11 October 1968 in Ankara; his body was transferred to Istanbul. He was survived by his wife Kamuran and daughters Ülker (Sarper) Kural and Ayşe (Sarper) Vanlı.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarper, Selim 1899 births Diplomats from Istanbul Humboldt University of Berlin alumni Ankara University Faculty of Law alumni 20th-century Turkish diplomats Ambassadors of Turkey to the Soviet Union Ambassadors of Turkey to Italy Permanent representatives of Turkey to the United Nations Permanent representatives of Turkey to NATO Ministers of foreign affairs of Turkey Deputies of Istanbul 1968 deaths Members of the 26th government of Turkey Members of the 24th government of Turkey Members of the 25th government of Turkey Members of the 12th Parliament of Turkey

Early years

Diplomatic career

Politics

Illness and death

See also

References