Sıddık Sami Onar (November 11, 1897 – August 9, 1972) was a Turkish academic specialized in administrative law an the

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

Life

He 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 ...

to Melekper and Abdullah Sami. After graduating from

Vefa High School Vefa High School (, ), is one of the oldest and internationally renowned high schools in Turkey. The first ''Mülkiye Lisesi'' ( English: Non-military High School) training in Turkish language was ''Vefa Lisesi'' established in 1872 which forming ...

, he studied in the faculty of law in

(then known as ''Darülfünun'') . In 1925 he was appointed as a civil court judge in Istanbul. He also served as a part-time instructor in various schools. In 1933, he was appointed as the professor of administrative law. Next year he became the distinguished professor and the dean of the faculty. In 1946 the elected rectors system in Turkish Universities was adopted and Onar was elected as the first elected rector of the Istanbul University. With some pauses he kept this post till 1963.

In April 28 demonstrations

In 1960, shortly before the 1960 Turkish coup d'etat Sıddık Sami Onar was the rector of Istanbul University. On April 28 the students protested

Committee of Inquest Committee of Inquest () was a political committee in Turkey which is usually considered one of the major causes that led to the 1960 Turkish coup d'état. Background Democrat Party (DP) defeated the Republican People's Party (CHP) in the 1950 ge ...

, a new super-power committee established by the Democrat Party (DP) government. The police entered the university campus to arrest the students and Onar objected police operation, noting the autonomous status of the university. Although he spoke to

Namık Gedik Namık Gedik (1911–1960) was a Turkish physician and politician who served as the Ministry of the Interior (Turkey), minister of interior in the mid-1950s. He was a member of the Democrat Party (Turkey, 1946–1961), Democrat Party (DP) which w ...

, the

minister of Interior An interior minister (sometimes called a minister of internal affairs or minister of home affairs) is a cabinet official position that is responsible for internal affairs, such as public security, civil registration and identification, emergency ...

the police continued the operations and during the demonstrations he was wounded on the head. He was also dragged along by the police.Essay by Prof. Ahmet Saltık
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After the coup

Following the 1960 coup Professor Onar was appointed as the head of the Science Commmitte by the military rule to prepare the new constitution.Metin Toker:''Demokrasimizin İsmet Paşalı Yılları 1960–1961'', Bilgi Yayınevi, İstanbul,1991, p.26, pp182-184 However, later the committee was abolished . On October 28, 1960, when the military rule forced 147 academics to retire, Onar resigned from his post in the university to protest the operation. But soon the military rule convinced him to return to his former position.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Onar, Siddik Sami 1897 births 1972 deaths Istanbul University Faculty of Law alumni Academic staff of Istanbul University Vefa High School alumni