Ziya Hurşit Bey (; 1892 – July 14, 1926) was one of the first

Grand National Assembly of Turkey The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by ...

deputies A legislator, or lawmaker, is a person who writes and passes laws, especially someone who is a member of a legislature. Legislators are often elected by the people, but they can be appointed, or hereditary. Legislatures may be supra-nati ...

. He was executed in 1926 for attempting to assassinate

Mustafa Kemal Mustafa () is one of the names of the Islamic prophet Muhammad, and the name means "chosen, selected, appointed, preferred", used as an Arabic given name and surname. Mustafa is a common name in the Muslim world. Given name Moustafa * Moustafa A ...

. Ziya Hurşit was born in the town of

Çamlıhemşin Çamlıhemşin, formerly Vice, ( or ; ka, ვიჯა ''Vija'' ) is a small town in Rize Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is the seat of Çamlıhemşin District.Rize Province Rize Province () is a province of northeast Turkey, on the eastern Black Sea coast between Trabzon and Artvin. The province of Erzurum is to the south. Its area is 3,835 km2, and its population is 344,016 (2022). The capital is the city of R ...

in 1892.Hakkı Uyar, ''Tek Parti Dönemi ve Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi'', Boyut Kitapları, 1998,
p. 188.
/ref> He was a member of Kurdoğlu family. He was educated on

ship construction Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation that traces i ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

Gdańsk Gdańsk is a city on the Baltic Sea, Baltic coast of northern Poland, and the capital of the Pomeranian Voivodeship. With a population of 486,492, Data for territorial unit 2261000. it is Poland's sixth-largest city and principal seaport. Gdań ...

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 ...

. He participated in

Erzurum Congress Erzurum Congress () was an assembly of Turkish Revolutionaries held from 23 July to 4 August 1919 in the city of Erzurum, in eastern Turkey, in accordance with the previously issued Amasya Circular. The congress united delegates from six easter ...

Trabzon Trabzon, historically known as Trebizond, is a city on the Black Sea coast of northeastern Turkey and the capital of Trabzon Province. The city was founded in 756 BC as "Trapezous" by colonists from Miletus. It was added into the Achaemenid E ...

delegate. He fought in

Turkish War of Independence , strength1 = May 1919: 35,000November 1920: 86,000Turkish General Staff, ''Türk İstiklal Harbinde Batı Cephesi'', Edition II, Part 2, Ankara 1999, p. 225August 1922: 271,000Celâl Erikan, Rıdvan Akın: ''Kurtuluş Savaşı tarih ...

as a

volunteer Volunteering is an elective and freely chosen act of an individual or group giving their time and labor, often for community service. Many volunteers are specifically trained in the areas they work, such as medicine, education, or emergency ...

. He took part in the 1st

Lazistan Lazistan or Lazeti (; ka, ლაზეთი, Lazeti, or ჭანეთი ''Ç'aneti''; ) is a historical and cultural region of the Caucasus and Anatolia; the term was primarily used during Ottoman rule in the region. Traditionally inhabited b ...

deputy. He had been a member of the

Yozgat Yozgat is a city in the Central Anatolia Region of Turkey. It is the seat of Yozgat Province and Yozgat District.Independence Court An Independence Tribunal (, plural ''İstiklâl Mahkemeleri'') was a court invested with superior authority and the first were established in 1920 during the Turkish War of Independence in order to prosecute those who were against the system of ...

for a period of time. However, his views differed from

's. He was unable to be elected as deputy to the 2nd Assembly. On June 16, 1926, he was arrested for planning an

assassination Assassination is the willful killing, by a sudden, secret, or planned attack, of a personespecially if prominent or important. It may be prompted by political, ideological, religious, financial, or military motives. Assassinations are orde ...

against

İzmir İzmir is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara. It is on the Aegean Sea, Aegean coast of Anatolia, and is the capital of İzmir Province. In 2024, the city of İzmir had ...

. According to evidence, those who acted with Ziya Hurşit, including Gürcü Yusuf, Laz İsmail, and Çopur Hilmi, planned to shoot Mustafa Kemal dead in front of Kemeraltı prison. Ziya Hurşit and his accomplices, taking advantage of chaos caused, would embark on the boat of the

Cretan Crete ( ; , Modern Greek, Modern: , Ancient Greek, Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the List of islands by area, 88th largest island in the world and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, fifth la ...

Şevki Bey, which was waiting in the

dock The word dock () in American English refers to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore). In British English, the term is not used the same way as in American Engl ...

, by a car waiting in the Yemiş

bazaar A bazaar or souk is a marketplace consisting of multiple small Market stall, stalls or shops, especially in the Middle East, the Balkans, Central Asia, North Africa and South Asia. They are traditionally located in vaulted or covered streets th ...

and flee to

Chios Chios (; , traditionally known as Scio in English) is the fifth largest Greece, Greek list of islands of Greece, island, situated in the northern Aegean Sea, and the List of islands in the Mediterranean#By area, tenth largest island in the Medi ...

. However, at the last moment, as a consequence of Şevki Bey's confession and incriminating of the others, Ziya Hurşit and his friends were captured. It was understood that behind the

was a group in the Progressive Republican Party, an opposition party in the

Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( ), usually referred to simply as the GNAT or TBMM, also referred to as , in Turkish, is the unicameral Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives by the Turkish Consti ...

. The party was closed down. Ziya Hurşit and his accomplices were sentenced to death, and on July 14, 1926, he was executed with 13 other men, including Laz İsmail, Gürcü Yusuf, Çopur Hilmi, Şükrü Bey, "Ayıcı" Arif, and İsmail Canbulat.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hursit, Ziya 1892 births 1926 deaths Turkish people of the Turkish War of Independence People executed by Turkey by hanging Executed Turkish people People executed for treason against Turkey 20th-century executions for treason

See also

References