Refik Saydam
Dr. Refik Saydam (1881, Istanbul - July 8, 1942, Istanbul) was the 4th Prime Minister of the Republic of Turkey from 25 January 1939 to 8 July 1942.[1]
Biography
He was born in İstanbul in 1881 and is the son of Hacı Ahmet Efendi of Çankırı. After completing primary and secondary education in Fatih Military Junior High School, he entered to Military School of Medicine in 1899. He went on training course at Gülhane as of graduating with the rank of doctor captain on November 4, 1905. He was assigned as doctor at Maltepe Military Hospital and Feshane Factory between the years 1907-1910 and improved his expertise on military camps and hospitals by being sent to Germany in 1910.
He was part of the special organisation for the extermination of Christian Armenians in the Ottoman Empire, Teşkilât-ı Mahsûsa.
He was a medic in the Ottoman Army during the dissolution of the empire. He created a medicine to cure typhus, which was used largely by the Central Powers.
He was one of the key people of the Independence War. He landed at Samsun with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in 1919 to start the resistance in Anatolia. He was known as a reformist while he was the Prime Minister. Just four years after his death, the single party period came to an end in Turkey.
Political Life
He became the Vice-president of the department of Health of the Ministry of War on December 1, 1913 and was promoted to the rank of major on June 1, 1915. Meanwhile, he established the Institute of Bacteriology and his vaccines against epidemics and especially typhus had been effective. After the truce, he assigned to the order of 9th Army Inspectorship, and passed to Anatolia along with Mustafa Kemal Pasha as the health inspector of the army, soon named as the 3rd Army Inspectorship, on May 15, 1919. He attended to Erzurum and Sivas Congresses, came to Ankara with the delegation committee and joined to the opening ceremony of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey with the elections held for the 1st term as the deputy of Bayazıt on April 23, 1920. He was elected as the Minister of Health in the Council of Ministers under the presidency of Fevzi Pasha, as the Minister of Health and Social Relief upon the resignation of Dr. Mr. Adnan, and resigned from ministry suggesting his sickness on December 14, 1921.
Being elected as İstanbul deputy, he officiated as the Minister of Health under the cabinet of İsmet Pasha in 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th sessions.
After the pass away of Atatürk, at the Second Bayar Government formed on November 11, 1938, he performed as the Minister of Interior and assigned as the general secretary of the Peoples Republican Party. He was appointed to Prime Ministry by President İsmet İnönü as İstanbul Deputy at the 6th session elections on January 25, 1939.
He refused the entrance of 780 Romanian Jewish refugees on the 'Struma'. The ship was sunk in February 1942 after a journey of several months on the Black Sea.
During this duty, he died in İstanbul on July 8, 1942 and buried in Ankara.
Endeavoring to extent the health services and establishing health facilities, especially the Hıfzıssıha Foundation which is today known with his name, at the period of his health ministry, he also tried to protect the nation from the negative impacts of the World War 2 during the period of prime ministry. He never married.
See also
References
- ^ "Prime Ministers of the Turkish Republic", All about Turkey
