Soldier, diplomat (B. 1883, Çanakkale – Ö. 6 January
1972, Istanbul). His father was criminal cheif Hasan Rüştü Bey from Rhodes. He completed his primary and secondary education
in Skopje and Komotini.
When he was in Skopje High School he participated to a student movement,
then Aras came to Istanbul and completed Numune-i
Terakki School. After that he went to Beirut next to his father.
He went to a French School named Oliver here then he graduated from Beirut French
Medical School
where he get it by passing an exam in 1905. After his graduation he completed
his expertise in Paris then he began to work as
independent doctor in Trabzon.
After his family moved to Izmir,
he was assigned to Izmir Country Hospital Maternity Illness service. In 1907,
he met Mustafa Kemal in Thessaloniki
and became close friends, and then he entered politics.
In 1909 he attended central meeting of Union and Progress and took place among the party
members. After working as health inspector in Thessaloniki
for eighteen months he became a member of Meclis-i Umûr-i Tıbbiyye-i Mülkiyye
and Sıhhiyye-i Umûmiyye in Istanbul.
During the Balkan War (1912), he was appointed as the Head Doctor of Skopje Hilâl-i
Ahmer Hospital.
He worked as head doctor in Çanakkale
Hilâl-i Ahmer
Hospital. He resigned
when he was the general inspector of Health in 1914. He was a member of Higher
Health Institute in 1918. He went to Anatolia in 1919 and joined the War of
Independence; and was elected as Muğla deputy in 1920 after TGNA was opened in Ankara. He became the
member of Independence Court of Kastamonu. He was among the founders of Turkish
Communist Party in 1920 autumn. He went to Moscow
as ambassador by Ali Fuat Pasha (Cebesoy) delegation sent by TGNA Government to
USSR.
He was the Izmir
deputy between 1923 and 1939.
He became the Foreign Affairs Minister in the Ismet
Inonu cabinet established after March 4, 1925 Law on the Maintenance of Order.
He continued this duty in all the governments until the death of Ataturk. He
went to Russia
three times as the visitor of Foreign affairs commissary Litvinov. He conducted
meetings with Soviet leaders in Odesa (1926) and in Moscow (1930, 1937). He was appointed to the
London Embassy in 1939 and stayed in England for three and half years.
He was retired in 1943. He wrote articles in Istanbul press (especially in Tan newspaper) at the end of war. He
supported the establishment of Democrat Party. He was the Executive Board
President of Is Banka between 1952 and 1959.
He started to write columns as the head writer of İttihad and Sedad newspapers published by Union
and Progress Society. His poem named “Ninni”
was published in İctihad newspaper
(1913). His speeches during his duty as Foreign Affairs Minister were compiled
by Numan Menemencioğlu and published as a book. He wrote the article “Foreign Policy of Turkey” (Lapolitigue
Exterieure de la Turguie) in the Dictionary
of Diplomacy (Dictionnaire Diplomatigue) published by International
Diplomacy Academy.
WORKS:
Lozan’ın
İzlerinde On yıl (His speeches compiled by
Numan Menemencioglu, 1937, French version; 10 Ans Surles Traces de Lausanne), Görüşlerim
(selections from his articles in the press, 2 volumes, 1945 and 1963).
REFERENCE:
TBMM Albümü 1920-1991 (1991), TDOE – TDE Ansiklopedisi 1 (2002), İhsan Işık
(TEKAA, 2009).