General Fahri Belen’in Hayatı, Siyasi Faaliyetleri ve Eserleri (1892-1975)*
Belgi Dergisi, 2020
Collection summary
A Turkish-language scholarly article examining the life, political activities and writings of General Fahri Belen (1892-1975), whose career spanned the late Ottoman Empire and the Turkish Republic.
Published in Belgi Dergisi, this article traces the biography of Fahri Belen, a soldier and politician born in Bolu, from his service in the Balkan War and on the Caucasus and Gallipoli fronts to his republican-era politics and military historical writing. The abstract notes his World War I service on the Caucasus front but makes no explicit reference to the 1918 Army of Islam campaign. It offers indirect biographical and historiographical context for the collection.
The source's own abstract
ri Belen has been a respected commander and politician who was born in Bolu in the late Ottoman Empire and has lived during the transition period from the Ottoman Empire to the Republic of Turkey, has witnessed the single-party republic period of the country and has also played an active role in after the transition to multi-party system. Although the name of Fahri Belen is mentioned as “Mehmet Fahrettin Belen” in the population records; After Surname Law issued by the Republic of Turkey in 1934, with the decision of the court, he changed the name "Fahrettin" to "Fahri" and got the surname "Belen". His first military mission was to join the Balkan War, where he participated in the defense of Ioannina Castle, during the war, he was captured with his troops, and was held captive in Greece for a while. When World War I started, he first served on the Caucasian Front, and then continued his service on the Çanakkale Front. He was injured as a result of hitting the leg of a shrapnel piece around the Seddülbahir Front during the Çanakkale War. He was rewarded with 4 years of seniority hike, warfare and concession medals for his success in the Battle of Çanakkale. He played an important role in the Western Front, where he served during the War of Independence; In the Commander-in-Chief Battle, he served as the chief of staff in the 23rd division, which cut the escape line of the Greek army and received the Greek army residues. This division, which he headed, achieved great success in the War of Independence by capturing the General Commander of the Greek Army, General Nikolaos Trikupis. After the war of Indepence, inside the military; he took part in many military missions such as General Staff Operation Branch Directorate, Head of Border Detection Commission in the East, Head of Delegation Organizing Turkish-Russian Water Contracts, Turkish Delegation Military Consultancy at the Limitation of Weapons Conference in Geneva, Commanders of Regiment and Brigade. He retired on April 6, 1950 while he was serving as the President of the Military Supreme Court II. After his military life ended, he decided to participate in politics and took the first political step as a candidate for parliamentary candidate from Democrat Party in Çanakkale and Bolu. He won the election in both cities but preferred to perform his parliamentary duty from his hometown, Bolu. He served as a deputy in the 9th (22 May 1950-12 March 1954) and 10th (14 May 1954-12 September 1957) periods of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, and also he had a short period of being the Minister of Public Works (22 May 1950 - 28 October 1950) at the 9th term. He resigned from the Democratic Party before the 1957 election, did not join any political party a while, continued his political life by joining the Republican People's Party after the Democrat Party in April 1960. He served in the Constituent Assembly, which was established as a result of the coup on May 27, 1960.
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