Münir Ertegun | |
|---|---|
 Ertegun in 1942 | |
| 2nd Ambassador of Turkey to the United States | |
| In office 1934–1944 | |
| President | |
| Preceded by | Ahmet Muhtar Mollaoğlu |
| Succeeded by | Orhan Halit Erol |
| 4th Ambassador of Turkey to the United Kingdom | |
| In office 1932–1934 | |
| President | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| Preceded by | Ahmet Ferit Tek |
| Succeeded by | Ali Fethi Okyar |
| 2nd Ambassador of Turkey to France | |
| In office 1930–1932 | |
| President | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| Preceded by | Fethi Okyar |
| Succeeded by | Behiç Erkin |
| Ambassador of Turkey to Switzerland | |
| In office 1925–1930 | |
| President | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| Preceded by | Refik Birgen |
| Succeeded by | Cemal Hüsnü Taray |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mehmet Münir Cemil 1883 Constantinople,Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 11 November 1944(1944-11-11) (aged 60–61) Washington, DC, US |
| Resting place | Sultantepe, Üsküdar,Istanbul |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 3, includingAhmet andNesuhi |
| Education | Istanbul University (Law) |
| Occupation |
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Munir Ertegun (Turkish spelling:Münir Ertegün; 1883 – 11 November 1944) was aTurkish legal counsel in international law to the "Sublime Porte" (imperial government) of the lateOttoman Empire and a diplomat of theRepublic of Turkey during its early years. Ertegun married Emine Hayrünnisa Rüstem in 1917 and the couple had three children, two of whom wereNesuhi andAhmet Ertegun, the brothers who foundedAtlantic Records and became iconic figures in theAmerican music industry.
Born inIstanbul to a civil servant father, Mehmed CemilBey, and a mother Ayşe HamideHanım, who was a daughter ofSufi shaykhİbrahim EdhemEfendi,[1] he studied law at Darülfünûn-u Şahâne (دار الفنون شهانه), nowIstanbul University, and graduated in 1908. He was a legal counsel for theOttoman Ministry of Foreign Affairs, when he saw the birth of his first son, Nesuhi, on 26 November 1917, in Constantinople (now Istanbul), during theFirst World War.[2] Taking part in an Ottoman delegation with a mission to seek reconciliation with the Nationalists inAnkara, by the end of 1920, changed his destiny. While the two Ottoman ministers heading the delegation returned to Istanbul after not achieving an understanding with the revolutionaries led byMustafa Kemal Pasha he chose to join theNational Struggle and remained in Ankara, leaving behind his young wife and three-year-old son, Nesuhi.[2] He became an aide to Mustafa Kemal during theTurkish War of Independence and the chief legal counsel of the Turkish delegation to the resultingTreaty of Lausanne in 1923.
After the Western powers recognized the newly foundedRepublic of Turkey in 1923, he was sent to Geneva to theLeague of Nations as an observer for theTurkish Republic. During this assignment, he frequently went to Paris for theOttoman public debt negotiations. Following this posting to the League of Nations, he was appointed ambassador to Switzerland (1925–1930), France (1930–1932), the United Kingdom (1932–1934)[3] and the United States (1934–1944).
As the Republic's ambassador to Washington, Ertegun opened his embassy's parlors to African American jazz musicians, who gathered there to play freely in a socio-historical context which was deeply divided by racial segregation at the time.[4] Ertegun worked also on his government's orders to remove any mention of theArmenian Genocide in American popular culture. In 1934, he led a ferocious and ultimately successful campaign to quash a film adaptation byMGM of Austrian writerFranz Werfel'sForty Days of Musa Dagh, a historical dramatization of an episode from the genocide.[5] He became the Dean of the Diplomatic Corps in May 1944.[6] He held this last post until he died inWashington, D.C., of a heart attack in November of the same year.
In April 1946, a year after World War II had ended, his body was carried back to Istanbul aboard theUSSMissouri[7] and buried in the garden ofSufitekke,Özbekler Tekkesi [tr] in Sultantepe,Üsküdar.[8] near hisshaykh grandfatherİbrahim Edhem Efendi, who was once the head of the Tekke. (His two sonsNesuhi andAhmet Ertegun also rest there.)[9]
When Ertegun died, there was not yet amosque inWashington, D.C., at which his funeral could be held. TheIslamic Center of Washington was built as a result.[citation needed]
He also had a daughter named Selma Göksel.[10]
Media related toMünir Ertegün at Wikimedia Commons
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