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Mahmut Esat Bozkurt | |
|---|---|
 Mahmut Esat in the 1930s | |
| Minister of Economy | |
| In office 12 July 1922 – 24 September 1923 | |
| Prime Minister | Rauf Bey,Fethi Bey |
| Preceded by | Hasan Saka |
| Succeeded by | Hasan Saka |
| Minister of Justice | |
| In office 22 November 1924 – 27 September 1930 | |
| Prime Minister | İsmet İnönü |
| Preceded by | Mustafa Necati |
| Succeeded by | Yusuf Kemal Bey |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Mahmut Esat 1892 Kuşadası,Aydın Vilayet,Ottoman Empire |
| Died | December 21, 1943(1943-12-21) (aged 50–51) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Political party | Republican People's Party (CHP) |
| Education | Law |
| Alma mater | Istanbul University's Law School |
| Occupation | Jurist, politician and academic |
| Known for | Turkish civil code (1926),Lotus case |
Mahmut Esat Bozkurt (1892 – 21 December 1943) was aTurkish jurist, politician, government minister and academic. His birth name was Mahmut Esat. But after the adaptation of the TurkishSurname Law in 1934, he chose the surnameBozkurt in remembrance of theGrey Wolf, a symbol for Turkdom.[1] The surname also refers to the Turkish steamerS.S. Bozkurt in theLotus case.[2] He was in the intellectual environment of theTurkish Hearths for almost two decades.[3]
Mahmut Esat was born to Hasan Bey of Hacı Mahmutoğulları inKuşadası,Aydın Vilayet during theOttoman Empire era in 1892.[4] His family came to Kuşadası fromMora as refugees because of theGreek uprising. His father, Hasan Bey, became mayor of Kuşadası in 1900.[5] He finished the idadi (high school) inİzmir in 1908. The same year he entered theIstanbul University's School of Law, from which he graduated in 1912.[4] He traveled toFribourg,Switzerland for further studies.[4] He completed his doctorate thesisDu régime des capitulations ottomanes ("On theCapitulations of the Ottoman Empire") withsumma cum laude, "highest honor" at theUniversity of Fribourg. InLausanne, he served as the leader of the Turkish Student Association.[6][7] As such he worked closely withŞükrü Saraçoğlu, then a leader of the Turkish society inGeneva.[8]
In June 1919, afterGreek landing at Smyrna, he returned home to join theKemalists in theTurkish War of Independence. He secretly traveled in an Italian ship together with Saraçoğlu.[9] The ship was also carrying ammunition to the Italian occupation troops in Anatolia. Although he was arrested by the Italians, he managed to escape.[7]
He became a member of theTurkish parliament established on 23 April 1920 and held this post up to his death in 1943. Before the proclamation of the Republic and in the4th cabinet of the Executive Ministers of Turkey, he was appointedMinister of Economy in 1922.[9] As Minister of Economy, he attempted to alleviate the financial situation for the farmers and together with the leader of the Nationalist Movement Mustafa Kemal advocated for the Turkification of the Turkish economy at the First Economic Congress in Izmir.[3] He held this post in the5th cabinet of the Executive Ministers of Turkey up to 24 September 1923. After the Republic was proclaimed on 29 October 1923, he was elected a deputy ofİzmir and served asMinister of Justice in the3rd,4th and the5th government of Turkey between 22 November 1924 – 27 September 1930.[6]
As Minister of Justice, he was member of the Reform Council for the East (Turkish:Şark İslahat Encümeni) who prepared theReport for Reform in the East (Turkish:Şark İslahat Raporu) which recommended to resettlement of the Kurds and the prohibition of non-Turkish languages.[10] It was Mahmut Esat, who introduced theSwiss Civil Code in Turkey in 1926.[11] Mahmut Esat is known as the progenitor ofTurkish civil code.[7] The preamble of the code written by Mahmut Esat is considered to reflect the philosophy ofTurkish Revolution.[12][13] Parallel to being a Minister of Justice he was teaching at theKemalist lesson History of the Revolutions at theAnkara University since 1925.[14]
Mahmut Esat was also known by his struggles in an international trial named theLotus case. On 2 August 1926, a French steamship named S.S.Lotus collided on high seas with the Turkish steamer S.S.Boz-Kourt causing the death of eight Turkish seamen. As the lieutenant on watch duty of the French vessel was arrested by the Turkish government, French government accused Turkey in thePermanent Court of International Justice claiming that Turkey had no right to arrest any French person. The French side was represented in court by the renowned law professorJules Basdevant. Mahmut Esat personally defended the Turkish position in court. The court rejected France's position.[6][7]
Regarding women's rights, he rejectedpolygamy, themuslim veil or privileges for a man when it comes to divorce.[9] He was a fierce advocate ofTurkishness[9] and equated the Kemalist policies as similar to theItalian fascism ofBenito Mussolini and in 1930 he claimed absolute superiority of the Turkish race, saying, "I believe that the Turk must be the only lord, the only master of this country. Those who are not of pure Turkish stock can have only one right in this country, the right to be servants and slaves."[15][16] He was a member of the environment of theTurkish Hearths since his times in Switzerland.[3]
After resigning from the post of Justice Minister, he kept on working at the Ankara University,[14] for which he became a professor and taughtInternational law at theLaw School andConstitutional law at theFaculty of Political Science. He authored the booksLotus Davasında Türkiye-Fransa Müdafaaları (1927),Türk İhtilalinde Vatan Müdafaası (1934),Türk Köylü ve İşçilerinin Hakları (1939),Devletlerarası Hak (1940),Atatürk İhtilali (1940) andAksak Timur’un Devlet Politikası (1943).[6]
He died fromintracerebral hemorrhage inIstanbul on 21 December 1943.[6]
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