Ahmet İsvan (1923–2017) was a leftist Turkish politician. He served as the mayor of Istanbul between 1973 and 1977. He was among the pioneers of the municipal socialism in Turkey.
Ahmet İsvan | |
|---|---|
| Mayor of Istanbul | |
| In office 1973 – December 1977 | |
| Preceded by | Fahri Atabey |
| Succeeded by | Aytekin Kotil |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1923 İstanbul, Turkey |
| Died | 1 May 2017 (aged 93–94) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Resting place | Taşköprü, Yalova |
| Political party | Republican People's Party (until 12 September 1980) |
| Other political affiliations | Social Democratic Populist Party |
| Spouse | Reha İsvan |
| Children | 3 |
| Alma mater | Robert College |
Early life and education
editİsvan was born in Istanbul in 1923.[1] His father was a bureaucrat working in the state-owned Sümerbank.[1] He was a graduate of Robert College[2] where he first met Bülent Ecevit, future leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP).[3] İsvan, Bülent Ecevit and his wife Rahşan were all 1944 graduates of Robert College.[3] İsvan studied agronomy in the USA.[2]
Career and activities
editİsvan bought a farm in Taşköprü, Yalova, after his studies.[1] He joined the CHP's Yalova organization.[1] From the early 1970s he became active in the CHP's Istanbul organization.[3] In the 1973 local election he was elected as the mayor of Istanbul from CHP, replacing Fahri Atabey in the post.[1][4] Bülent Ecevit asked him to run for the office.[3] Isvan took 56.12% of votes in the election.[4] Isvan's tenure ended in December 1977 since he lost the pre-election carried out before the local elections.[4] He was replaced by Aytekin Kotil, a fellow CHP member, in the post.[4] Isvan established the Istanbul People’s Bread during his term as mayor to sell cheap but quality bread to those in need in the city.[5] In 1977 Isvan and other CHP mayors, including Ankara mayor Vedat Dalokay and İzmit mayor Erol Köse issued a declaration on the municipal socialism.[6]
Following the military coup on 12 September 1980 İsvan was arrested and imprisoned for 27 months.[7] The reason for his arrest was his alleged role in the 1 May demonstrations organized by the DISK, a leftist confederation of trade unions.[7] It is reported by David Barchard that Isvan had been tortured in the prison.[8] After his release from the prison İsvan involved in agricultural activities at his farm in Taşköprü.[1] Later he joined the Social Democratic Populist Party, being a member of its council.[7] In the party İsvan was part of the left-wing faction alongside Seyfi Oktay and Cevdet Selvi.[9]
Personal life and death
editİsvan met his future wife, Reha, while studying at Robert College.[1] They married in 1950[10] when he returned to Turkey following his graduation from the California University.[1] They had three children.[3][10]
İsvan died in Istanbul on 1 May 2017.[7] Funeral prayers for him were performed at the Teşvikiye Mosque, Istanbul, and he was buried in Taşköprü next to his wife who had died on 8 May 2013.[10]
Work
editİsvan was the author of several books including Başkent gölgesinde İstanbul (Turkish: Istanbul in the shadow of the capital) published by İletişim Publications in 2002[2] and Köprüler gelip geçmeye. Tarımda bir modernleşme (Turkish: Bridges to come and go. Modernization in agriculture) published in 2009.[1]
References
edit- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Yazarlar. Ahmet İsvan" (in Turkish). İşbankası Kültür Yayınları. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ a b c Reuben Silverman (Spring 2019). "Republican People's Party People: Partisan Polarization in the Republic of Turkey, 1950–1953". The Middle East Journal. 73 (1): 77. doi:10.3751/73.1.14. S2CID 151048571.
- ^ a b c d e Kerem Hocaoğlu (2018). 1973 Seçimlerinde Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi (MA thesis) (in Turkish). Hacettepe University. pp. 121, 167.
- ^ a b c d Nebi Miş. "Istanbul Elections 1950-2014". History of Istanbul. Vol. 3. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
- ^ Kerem Öktem (Summer 2021). "Dilemmas of Subnational Democracy under Authoritarianism: Istanbul's Metropolitan Municipality". Social Research: An International Quarterly. 88 (2): 534. doi:10.1353/sor.2021.0023.
- ^ İpek Sakarya (Fall 2016). "Türkiye'de Toplumcu Belediyecilik Hareketi Ekseninde Çanakkale'de Yerel Siyaset (1968-1980)". Çanakkale Araştırmaları Türk Yıllığı (in Turkish). 14 (21): 139.
- ^ a b c d "Ahmet İsvan" (in Turkish). Biyografi. Retrieved 18 November 2022.
- ^ David Barchard (December 1983). "Western silence on Turkey". Index on Censorship. 12 (6): 9. doi:10.1080/03064228308533623.
- ^ Haldun Cancı (1992). Party Discipline Problem in the Social Democratic Populist Party (MA thesis). Bilkent University. p. 44. ISBN 979-8-209-97671-4. ProQuest 2652592351.
- ^ a b c Süheyla Gözdereliler. "Reha İsvan Yalova'da yaşamını yitirdi". Haber Hürriyeti (in Turkish). Yalova. DHA. Retrieved 11 June 2023.
External links
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Media related to Ahmet İsvan at Wikimedia Commons
