Writer (b.
1909, Karabağ / Caucasia - d. 6 December 1982, İstanbul). He was the son of
Ahmet Ağaoğlu, one of the writers during the Constitutional Monarchy period. He
used the pen name Samet Agayef. He attended the Ankara High School (1929) and
graduated from Ankara University, Faculty of Law (1932). He was given the title
of Doctor of Economics at Strasbourg University. When he returned to Turkey, he
worked at the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Commerce (1933-46).
Later, he worked as a lawyer. He is one of the founders of the Democratic
Party. He was the Manisa parliamentary deputy for the Democrat Party from 1950
until the 27 May revolution and served as a minister twice (Minister of
Employment and Minister of State). He was put on trial by the Revolution
Government and sentenced to life imprisonment in Yassıada and was pardoned five
years later.
His literary
life started during his university years. His first essay was published in Hep Gençlik (1930), the publishing organ of the Young Turk Literature
Association he had founded with Ahmet Muhip Dıranas and Behçet Kemal Çağlar. He
published his stories in Varlık (1931)
and wrote for the reviews Yücel, Şadırvan and Çığır. His political articles (1946-50) were published in Kuvvet and Kudret newspapers. He was renowned for his political memoirs and
research rather than his stories. Ağaoğlu, who wrote memoirs and travel books,
also published study and research works, as well. His stories featured those
inclined to commit crime and morbid and neurotic people. He attached importance
to psychological solutions with a Dostoyevsky style in his writing.
WORKS:
MEMOIR: Babamdan Hatıralar (Memories of My
Father, 1940), Babamın Arkadaşları (The
Friends of My Father, 1958), Aşina Yüzler
(Familiar Faces, 1965), Arkadaşım
Menderes (My Friend Menderes, 1968),
Marmara'da Bir Ada (An Island in the Marmara, 1972), Demokrat Parti'nin Doğuş ve Yükseliş Sebepleri (Reasons of the
Birth and Rise of Democrat Party, 1973),
İlk Köşe (The First Corner, 1980).
SHORT STORY: Strasbourg Hatıraları
(Memories of Strasbourg, 1945),
Zürriyet (Ancestry, 1950), Öğretmen Gafur (Teacher Gafur, 1953), Büyük Aile (Large Family, 1957), Hücredeki Adam (Man in The Cell, 1964), Katırın Ölümü (Death of the Mule,
1965), Bütün Öyküleri (All Stories,
six story books published between 1944-65: Strasbourg
Hatıraları-Memories of
Strasbourg, Zürriyet-Ancestry, Öğretmen Gafur-Teacher Gafur, Büyük Aile-Large Family, Hücredeki Adam-Man in the Cell, Katırın Ölümü-Death of the Mule).
RESEARCH: Kuva-yı Milliye Ruhu (Spirit of the
National Forces, 1944).
TRAVEL
LITERATURE: Sovyet Rusya İmparatorluğu (The
Empire of Soviet Russia, 1967).