Mehmet Tekin Arıburun (3 October 1903 – 13 October 1993) was a Turkish soldier and statesman. He was born in then-Ottoman territory of Ishtib, Kosovo Vilayet (today Štip, part of

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

). He was the last (Acting) President to be born outside the territory of present-day Turkey. His father is Hüseyin Avni who was the commander of 57th Regiment in Gallipoli Campaign in 1915 during

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 ...

. Hüseyin Avni Bey died in action in Arıburnu. After

Surname Law (Turkey) The Surname Law () of the Republic of Turkey is a law adopted on 21 June 1934, requiring all citizens of Turkey to adopt the use of fixed, hereditary surnames. Prior to 1934, Turkish families in the major urban centres had names by which they were ...

of 1935,

Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Mustafa Kemal Atatürk ( 1881 – 10 November 1938) was a Turkish field marshal and revolutionary statesman who was the founding father of the Republic of Turkey, serving as its first President of Turkey, president from 1923 until Death an ...

requested that he should take Arıburun as his surname to honour his late father. He graduated from the Turkish Military College in 1925. He was sent to United Kingdom in 1929 to attend flying courses. In 1935 he graduated from Turkish Military Academy. He became an Army general in 1959. He held the office of Chief Commander of

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

. After

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 ...

he was forced into early retirement by the Junta. He started his political life and elected as senator in 1961. He became the President of the Turkish Senate between 19 November 1970 and 14 June 1977. He was the acting

president of Turkey The president of Turkey, officially the president of the Republic of Türkiye (), is the head of state and head of government of Turkey. The president directs the executive branch of the national government and is the commander-in-chief of the ...

between 28 March 1973, and 6 April 1973, after

Cevdet Sunay Ahmet Cevdet Sunay (10 February 1899 – 22 May 1982) was a Turkish politician and military officer who served as the fifth president of Turkey from 1966 to 1973. Early life and career Sunay was born in 1899 in the village of Ataköy nea ...

completed his seven-year term, until the election of

Fahri Korutürk Fahri Sabit Korutürk (15 August 1903 – 12 October 1987) was a Turkish people, Turkish admiral, diplomat and politician who was the sixth president of Turkey from 1973 to 1980. Before his presidency, he served as the List of commanders of the ...

. General Arıburun was a polyglot; he spoke English, German, French and Italian. He represented Turkey in many international meetings and conferences.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:Ariburun, Tekin 1903 births 1993 deaths 20th-century presidents of Turkey People from Štip People from Kosovo vilayet Macedonian Turks Acting presidents of Turkey Presidents of the Senate of the Republic (Turkey) Turkish Military Academy alumni Army War College (Turkey) alumni Turkish Army generals Turkish Air Force generals Commanders of the Turkish Air Force