Berç Türker Keresteciyan
Berç Türker | |
---|---|
Hyperpolyglot | |
Parent(s) | Sazik and Mgrdich Kerestejian |
Berç Türker (also known as Berç Türker Keresteci
Early life
Türker was born in 1870 in
Professional career
After his education at Robert College, Berç Keresteciyan was employed by the Finance Ministry, where he served for two years. Then, his uncle appointed him to the Ottoman Bank, an institution with half European (English and French) and half Ottoman in character and cosmopolitan personnel.
After the
As the
With the outbreak of World War I and the participation of the Ottoman Empire in the war, the Bank's officials of British and French nationality fell in the position of citizens of hostile countries. The Ottomans threatened the Bank with confiscation, and the general manager and his deputy had to leave their posts and the country until the end of the war. The administration was taken over by non-Muslim Ottomans. Berç Keresteciyan was among them. He was deputy general manager and later became general manager of the Bank.
He served for a period as a Deputy at the
Turkish War of Independence
An anecdote is being told about his contribution to save the life of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as he informed Atatürk's lawyer about a British plot to sink his ship SS Bandırma in the Black Sea, on which Atatürk left Constantinople (today-Istanbul) in 1919 to initiate the Turkish War of Independence. He was awarded the white stripe Medal of Independence after the war.
In 1923, Berç Keresteciyan sent a telegram to Atatürk in his capacity as the honorary president of the Turco-Armenian Friendship Association and a member of the secular council of the
Following the surname reform on June 21, 1934, Atatürk gave Berç Keresteciyan the family name Türker (Turkish for Turk man) for his patriotism.[3]
Political career
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/1e/Premi%C3%A8res_%C3%A9lections_des_minorit%C3%A9s_de_Turquie_-_Ak%C5%9Fam%2C_1935_%28Atat%C3%BCrk%2C_Ber%C3%A7_Keresteciyan_et_Nikola_Taptas%29.jpg/220px-Premi%C3%A8res_%C3%A9lections_des_minorit%C3%A9s_de_Turquie_-_Ak%C5%9Fam%2C_1935_%28Atat%C3%BCrk%2C_Ber%C3%A7_Keresteciyan_et_Nikola_Taptas%29.jpg)
![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/21/Ber%C3%A7_Keresteciyan_T%C3%BCrker_-_%C3%A9lu_de_la_minorit%C3%A9_arm%C3%A9nienne%2C_1935.jpg/220px-Ber%C3%A7_Keresteciyan_T%C3%BCrker_-_%C3%A9lu_de_la_minorit%C3%A9_arm%C3%A9nienne%2C_1935.jpg)
Encouraged and supported by
During his political career in the parliament, Berç Türker Keresteciyan made significant contributions to issues of general political, economic, social and international developments.
After his retirement in 1947, he lived at Büyükada, Istanbul. Berç Türker Keresteciyan died in Istanbul, on 27 July 1949, and interred on 29 July in the same city.[5]
References
- ^ Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi albümü, 23 Nisan, 1920-14 Ekim, 1973, p. 145, at Google Books
- ^ Tarih: Türk dünyası tarih ve kültür dergisi, 217–228. sayılar, p. 103, at Google Books
- ^ a b Afyonkarahisar milletvekilleri: yaşam öyküleri ve meclisteki faaliyetleri, p. 107, at Google Books
- ^ Ermeni portreleri, p. 102, at Google Books
- ^ "Cumhuriyet Arşivi". cumhuriyetarsivi.com. Archived from the original on 2015-11-27. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
External links
- Semi Ertan, An Armenian at the Turkish parliament in the early republican period: Berç Türker-Keresteciyan, 1870-1949, thesis, Sabancı University, İstanbul, 2005