 | |
| Born | 1881 (1881) |
| Died | 3 October 1963(1963-10-03) (aged 81–82) |
| Buried | |
| Allegiance |  Ottoman Empire Turkey |
| Service years | Ottoman Empire: 1899–1919 Turkey: 13 July 1919 – 8 December 1926 |
| Rank | Major general |
| Commands | Division of the intelligence of the headquarters of theFourth Army, 10th Division, 3rd Division, 11th Division, Inspector of the Rear Area of Jerusalem, 53rd Division,XXII Corps (deputy),XX Corps,Gendarmerie General Command,III Corps Minister of the Interior,Southern Part of the Western Front, Minister of Interior, Minister of National Defense, Representative of the TBMM government in Istanbul |
| Conflicts | Italo-Turkish War Balkan Wars First World War Turkish War of Independence |
| Other work | Member of theGNAT (İzmir) Member of the GNAT (Istanbul) |
Refet Bele (1881[2] – 3 October 1963), also known asRefet Bey[3][4][5] orRefet Pasha was aTurkish military commander. He served in theOttoman Army and theTurkish Army, where he retired as a general.
He was born to aTurkish family inSelanik,Ottoman Empire (modern Thessaloniki,Greece) in 1881. He took the surname Bele because of his grandfather who was originally fromByala/Bele,Bulgaria. Because of the troubles in theBalkans his family moved first toIstanbul but settled later back to Thessaloniki when he was an infant. He studied in theOttoman Military College, enrolled in the army and became a member of theCommittee of Union and Progress. He took part in theItalo-Turkish War (1911) and then in theFirst Balkan War (1912–1913) in which his hometown was lost to the Greeks.
He took part inWorld War I where he fought in the rank of aLieutenant Colonel under the command ofKress von Kressenstein in theBattle of Romani where the Ottoman forces were defeated.[6] In thePalestine front and during theSecond battle of Gaza he served with distinction. First refusing a surrender and then successfully organizing the withdrawal of the Ottoman and German forces with their weaponry.[7] Nevertheless, Bele was blamed together withIsmet (Inönü) for the defeat of the Ottomans byErich Von Falkenhayn.[8] After the British advance in 1918 he was cut off by his troops but managed to reach the Ottoman base atTyre 75 miles north, after traveling one week through British lines.[9] He did not speak English but because he moved at night and responded to questions with saluting and riding on a walk he avoided being captured.[9] He returned to Istanbul after theArmistice of Mudros in 1918.
While in Istanbul, most of Anatolia began to be occupied by foreign powers, the Greeks landed atİzmir in 1919. In response to the occupation he decided to join theTurkish nationalist movement and crossed over to Anatolia to organize resistance and join theTurkish War of Independence which was being led byAtatürk. He took part in theAmasya Circular of 1919 and then also in theErzurum Congress,Alaşehir Congress andSivas Congress. He later served as minister and later as commander at the Western Front against the Greek armies. He put down several local revolts against the Ankara government.However he had several political disputes withAtatürk and became out of favor. He was tried in court but acquitted of theattempted assassination of Atatürk in 1926. In 1926 he retired from the army and parliament deputy. In his later life he took several different occupations including a second deputy time. He died in Istanbul in 1963.
Rafet (Refet) Bey
Refet Pasha is the most powerful personality in Mustapha Kemal's government and has complete control over Mustapha Kemal himself.
Rafet Bey (= General Rafet Bele).
Media related toRefet Bele at Wikimedia Commons
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