Tunalı Hilmi

Abdullah Hilmi Tunalı (28 August 187126 July 1928) was a Turkish politician, member of the Chamber of Deputies, and later member of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey during the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd terms.

He was a politician and statesman who was among the leading figures of the Young Turks and Pan-Turkism movements. He was a reformist who, during his parliamentary terms, proposed progressive bills and motions that were the source of future reforms by Atatürk. In addition to his advocacy of the use of pure Turkish, he advocated the rights of women, peasants and workers.

Life

He was born in 1871 in Eski Cuma, today in Bulgaria. His mother was Rukiye Hanım, from the Hacıabdullah family, and his father was İsmail Efendi, a tobacco factory owner and reji tobacco expert, from the Kantacıoğulları family. He migrated to Istanbul with his family due to the Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878).

His time in education

After completing his primary and secondary education in different parts of Anatolia due to the duty of his father, who was the "provincial certificate authority", he graduated from Fatih Military High School and enrolled in Kuleli Military Medical High School. In this period, when secret societies against Abdul Hamid II's administration were intensified, he published the weekly newspaper "''Teşvik''" in handwriting and wrote articles against the administration. Although a journal gave him away, no evidence was found against him and no action was taken against him because he burned the newspapers.

He continued his education at Gülhane Training and Research Hospital. In this school, he founded the ''Mektepliler Cemiyet-i Hafiyesi'', which later merged with the Committee of Union and Progress. At the time, he was arrested for sending money to Ahmet Verdani, who was in Paris; He was released from prison after being pardoned.

Some members went into exile when the decision of exiling the leaders of the Union of Osmanli was taken in 1895, of which Hilmi was a member; Some of them did not comply with this decision and fled abroad. Tunalı Hilmi, who was in the last year of medicine, fled the country and settled in Geneva, Switzerland in 1895.

Life in Geneva

Tunalı Hilmi, whose medical education was left unfinished, continued his education in the pedagogy department of the University of Geneva. During this period, the ''"İttihad-i Osmani Cemiyeti"'' in Istanbul and the Young Turks in Europe were united under the name Committee of Union and Progress. Tunalı Hilmi established the Geneva branch of the Society.

Mizancı Murat, who was elected president at the extraordinary meeting of the Committee of Union and Progress in 1896, moved the center of the movement to Geneva in 1897. Tunalı Hilmi wrote regular articles for ''Mizan'' newspaper, published by Mizancı Murat, and ''Meşveret'' magazine, published by Ahmed Rıza Bey, who directed the Paris branch; He published brochures called ''Khutbe'' explaining the aims and objectives of the Young Turks. He also founded the "Ottoman Student Association" to help Turkish students studying in Europe and published a guidebook called "Education in Europe".

Ahmet Celalettin Pasha, appointed by the Sultan, travelled to Geneva in 1896 and called on the Young Turks to return to Istanbul and remained loyal to the Abdul Hamid II. Tunalı Hilmi, who accepted the Pasha's offer to buy the ''Khutbe'' booklets and newspapers, continued his work with the money he received and in 1896 he established the "Ottoman Revolution Party", a special branch within the Committee of Union and Progress.

The work of the Ottoman Revolution Party, which was in favor of fighting against armed action, accelerated the formation of new organizations in Young Turk circles. When these organizations emerged as a result of a denunciation in 1897, Sultan Abdul Hamid II, who exiled 78 Young Turks from Istanbul to Tripoli, sent Celalettin Pasha back to Geneva to meet with the Young Turks in Europe. This time, the President of the Association, In this newspaper, which he published together with İshak Sükûti and İshak Sükuti">İshak Sükûti and Abdullah Cevdet, Pan-Turkism">pan-Turkist