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Recep Peker
6th Prime Minister of Turkey
In office 7 August 1946 – 10 September 1947
President	İsmet İnönü
Preceded by	Şükrü Saraçoğlu
Succeeded by	Hasan Saka
Minister of the Interior
In office 17 August 1942 – 20 May 1943
Prime Minister	Şükrü Saracoğlu
Preceded by	Ahmet Fikri Tüzer
Succeeded by	Hilmi Uran
In office 21 May 1924 – 5 January 1925
Prime Minister	Fethi Okyar
Preceded by	Ahmet Ferit Tek
Succeeded by	Mehmet Cemil Uybadın
Minister of National Education
In office 7 April 1929 – 10 April 1929
Prime Minister	İsmet İnönü
Preceded by	Hüseyin Vasıf Çınar
Succeeded by	Cemal Hüsnü Taray
Minister of Public Works
In office 15 October 1928 – 27 September 1930
Prime Minister	İsmet İnönü
Preceded by	Behiç Erkin
Succeeded by	Zekai Apaydın
Minister of National Defense
In office 4 March 1925 – 1 November 1927
Prime Minister	İsmet İnönü
Preceded by	Fethi Okyar
Succeeded by	Abdülhalik Renda
Minister of Finance
In office 21 May 1924 – 22 November 1924
Prime Minister	İsmet İnönü
Preceded by	Abdülhalik Renda
Succeeded by	Abdülhalik Renda
Member of the Grand National Assembly
In office 28 June 1923 – 1 April 1950
Constituency	Kütahya ( 1923, 1927, 1931, 1935, 1939, 1943, 1946)
Personal details
Born	Mehmet Recep (1889-02-05)5 February 1889 Istanbul, Ottoman Empire
Died	1 April 1950(1950-04-01) (aged 61) Istanbul, Turkey
Resting place	Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery, Istanbul
Political party	Republican People's Party (CHP)
Alma mater	Ottoman Military Academy Ottoman Military College
Occupation	Army officer, politician

Mehmet Recep Peker (Turkish pronunciation: [mehˈmet ɾeˈdʒep peˈcæɾ]; 5 February 1889 – 1 April 1950) was a Turkish military officer and politician. He served in various ministerial posts and finally as the Prime Minister of Turkey. Contrary to popular belief^{[ among whom?]} he wasn't a fascist but rather a pragmatic modernist and was critical of Islam. ^[1]

Early life

Born in Istanbul on 5 February 1889, his father was named Mustafa and was of Lezgi descent, ^[2] migrated to Anatolia from the Dagestan region of the Caucasus.

He studied at the Military College following his graduation from the Kuleli Military High School, where he enrolled after completing his primary and secondary education at Koca Mustafa Pasha Primary School and Military Middle School. After finishing the academy in the rank of a lieutenant in 1907, he was assigned to the staff officer class.

Recep Peker took part at the battles of Yemen ^[3] and Libya, Balkan Wars, Thrace and Caucasus campaigns of the World War I. He graduated in 1919, as the first of his class, from the Staff College to which he entered in 1911.

At the second half of 1919, he served as assistant teacher of history of war at the Military Academy. He joined on 4 February 1920, the Turkish War of Independence in Anatolia as a squadron leader.

Politics

He was appointed secretary general of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey on 23 April 1920, the day the parliament was opened. He served in this position more than three years.

In the time between his appointment as the parliament's secretary general until the Battle of Sakarya, he served in addition as the chief of Second Branch Office at the General Staff. On 12 July 1923, he was re-elected into the parliament as the deputy from Kütahya.

He was the Minister of Finance between 6 March and 22 November 1924, and Minister of Interior and on commission the Minister of Barter and Minister of Development and Housing. Peker was appointed as the Minister of National Defence on 4 March 1926, and the Minister of Public Works in 1927. He was elected the parliamentary group spokesman and secretary general of the Republican People's Party (CHP) in 1928.

Recep Peker initiated the introduction of the "History of the Revolution" in the school curricula. He taught Republican Ideology at universities in Ankara and Istanbul in the academic year 1933-1934. His classes were known as revolution lessons (İnkılap Dersleri). ^[4] He wrote a book about it. ^[5] He supported the idea that women should be liberated from the sack (the veil) and that the Arabic alphabet should be replaced by a Latin based alphabet. ^[4]

On 17 August 1942, he was appointed Minister of Interior in the cabinet of Şükrü Saracoğlu serving nine months. Recep Peker became the first prime minister of the multi-party period on 7 August 1946, however Peker was a strong advocate of statism and the authoritarian one-party state. As prime minister, he opposed democratization and the introduction of the multi-party system. He served in this position until 7 September 1947. In 1948, he retired from political life.

Recep Peker died on 2 April 1950, and was laid to rest at the Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery in Istanbul.

References

• Ministry of Culture and Tourism, the General Directorate of Cultural Heritages and Museums