Businessman,
politician, the founder of first aircraft factory (B.1886, Divriği/Sivas – D.13 November 1957, Istanbul). His father was Mühürzade Ömer
Bey, and his mother was Ayşe Hanım. Since his father died while he was three
years old, he was raised by his mother. He was appointed to the teacher
assistantship due to his success in Divriği Ottoman Junior High School. In
1903, he passed the public service exam of Ziraat Bank and started working there
as an official first and then in the treasury. At the same time, he attended
the Evening School.
In 1918, he resigned from the financial auditor duty and
entered into cigarette paper production. He started the production of first
Turkish cigarette paper at a small store, and named it as Turkish Glory. In
1923, he took charge of the building construction of 2nd Grand National
Assembly of Turkey. Then, by managing the constructions of Karabük Iron and
Steel Plant buildings, Sivas - Erzurum Railway Line, a private wooden aircraft factory, and a pilot school of
aircraftman, he showed a great success. Atatürk gave him the surname of Demirağ
in 1934 because of these successes. Later, he founded the first aircraft
factory in Turkey and constructed a large airspace area.
After the project of Bosphorus Bridge was not approved by
Atatürk, Demirdağ experienced a great disappointment. However, he became the
first railway contractor by obtaining the railway tender. It took him only a
year to complete the railway between Samsun, Erzurum, Sivas, Erzincan, and
Afyon-Dinar. Next, he
constructed the aviation school and raised 290 pilots, and he became the first
domestic parachute manufacturer of Turkey. When the first aircraft manufactured by his
plant crashed and the pilot died during a flight between Istanbul and Divriği
in 1941, the aircraft workshop was closed down.
In 1945, he entered into the politics and founded the Milli Kalkınma Party. This party was the
first opponent party founded during the transition to the multi-party system in
the History of the Republic. Between 1954 and 1957, he entered the Grand
National Assembly of Turkey as an independent deputy from the list of Democracy Party.
Known
with his entrepreneurship, Nuri Demirağ prepared the initial plans of Turkish
cities and villages. He constructed a cellulose plant in Izmit, a cement plant
in Sivas and the wholesale market place building in Istanbul. He was engaged with various issues such as desertification,
agriculture, animal breeding, energy, dams, bridges, and harbors. He was a
liberal in his business life and a conservative in his private life. During a
period he worked with Adnan Menderes and hosted Abdullah Gül with whom he was
know to be a close friend, too, in the intellectual meetings held in his home.
Three books were written about Demirağ, who was a father of
eight children from his marriage to Mesude Hanım.
ABOUT HIM: Büyük Larousse Glossary and Encyclopedia / Milliyet-Volume
6
1. Ali
Can Sekmeç, 10. Yıl Marşına
İlham Verdiler, Yeni Aktüel Magazine, Issue 184
2. ^
Abdülkadir Gül, Osmanlı Devletinde Kuraklık ve Kıtlık, Uluslararası Sosyal Araştırmalar
Magazine, Volume 2/9 Fall 2009
3. ^
Semih İncegöz, Türkiye’nin İlk Uçak Fabrikasını Kuran Adam Nuri Demirağ Aksiyon
Magazine, 15.06.1996, Issue:80
4. ^
Hayallerden Gerçekler Yapan Adam: Nuri Demirağ, Çelebice Magazine, Aralık 2009,
Issue 20
5. ^ Yrd. Doç. Dr. İsmail Yıldırım,
Atatürk Dönemi Demiryolu Politikasına Bir Bakış, Atatürk Araştırma Merkezi
Magazine, Issue 35, Volume: 12, July 1996
6. ^ Yusuf Demir, 72 yıl önce yaptık
ama…, Gazetevatan, 30.05.2010
1 Ziya Şakir; Uçak Sanayiimiz ve Nuri
Demirağ, Istanbul,1947, pg.38.
2 Fatih M. Dervişoğlu; Nuri Demirağ,
Ötüken Neşriyat, Istanbul, 2007, pg.73.
3 H.Nadir Bıyıkoğlu; Türk Havacılık
Sa¬nayii. SSM Publication, Ankara, 1991. pg.ll.
4 H.Nadir Bıyıkoğlu; "Vecihi
Hürkuş ve ilk Türk Uçağı". 2023 magazine. September 2008, pg.72.
5 H.Nadir Bıyıkoğlu: a.g.e., pg.91.
6 Tuncay Deniz; Türk Uçak Üretimi.
Temmuz 2004, pg.30
7 Fatih M. Dervişoğlu: a.g.e..pg.95.
8 Tansel Akalın- Nadir Bıyıkoğlu: Türk
Savunma Sanayii Tarihi. Ankara, 2007. pg.135.
9 A. Nuri Yüksel: "Havacılık
Sanayi Üs¬tüne Düşünceler". Ocak Magazine, May 1973. pg.56.
