Fevzi Çakmak
Mustafa Fevzi Çakmak (12 January 1876 – 10 April 1950) was a Turkish field marshal (Mareşal) and politician. He served as the Chief of General Staff from 1918 and 1919 and later the Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire in 1920. He later joined the provisional Government of the Grand National Assembly and became the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of National Defense and later as the Prime Minister of Turkey from 1921 to 1922. He was the second Chief of the General Staff of the provisional Ankara Government and the first Chief of the General Staff of the Republic of Turkey.
Mareşal Fevzi Çakmak | |
|---|---|
Çakmak in 1946 | |
| 2nd Prime Minister of the Government of the Grand National Assembly | |
| In office 24 January 1921 – 12 July 1922 | |
| Preceded by | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| Succeeded by | Rauf Orbay |
| 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey | |
| In office 3 May 1920 – 24 January 1921 | |
| Prime Minister | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Mümtaz Ökmen (1946) |
| 2nd Chief of General Staff | |
| In office 5 August 1921 – 12 January 1944 | |
| President | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk İsmet İnönü |
| Preceded by | İsmet İnönü |
| Succeeded by | Kâzım Orbay |
| 1st Minister of National Defense | |
| In office 3 May 1920 – 5 August 1921 | |
| Prime Minister | Mustafa Kemal Atatürk Himself |
| Preceded by | Position established |
| Succeeded by | Refet Bele |
| Minister of War of the Ottoman Empire | |
| In office 3 February 1920 – 2 April 1920 | |
| Prime Minister | Ali Rıza Pasha Salih Hulusi Pasha |
| 5th Chief of General Staff of the Ottoman Empire | |
| In office 24 December 1918 – 14 May 1919 | |
| Prime Minister | Ahmet Tevfik Pasha Damat Ferid Pasha |
| Preceded by | Djevad Pasha |
| Succeeded by | Djevad Pasha |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 12 January 1876 Cihangir, Istanbul, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 10 April 1950 (aged 74) Teşvikiye, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Resting place | Eyüp Cemetery |
| Political party | Nation Party (Turkish Republic, 1948–50) Democrat Party (Turkish Republic, 1946–48) Committee of Union and Progress (Ottoman Empire) |
| Signature | |
| Nickname(s) | Kavaklı Fevzi, Müşir, Mareşal |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Ottoman Empire (1896–1920) Ankara Government (1920–1923) Turkey (1920–1944) |
| Branch/service | Ottoman Army Army of the GNA Turkish Army |
| Years of service | 1896–1944 |
| Rank | Mareşal |
| Commands | 2nd Division, 5th Corps, 2nd Caucasian Corps, 2nd Army, 7th Army, 1st Army Troops Inspectorate, Chief of the General Staff |
| Battles/wars | Albanian Uprising Italo-Turkish War Balkan Wars First World War War of Independence Sheikh Said rebellion Ararat rebellion Dersim Rebellion |
Graduating from the War College as a Staff Captain and assigned to the 4th Department of the General Staff, Mustafa Fevzi participated in numerous battles during the prolonged downfall of the Ottoman Empire, such as the First Balkan War and the Battle of Monastir. He was engaged as the Commander of the V Corps throughout the defence of Gallipoli, during which his younger brother was killed in the Battle of Chunuk Bair. He became a Pasha and the Chief of General Staff of the Ottoman Empire after the First World War and was appointed as the commander of the First Army Troops Inspectorate in 1919 by Grand Vizier Ahmet Tevfik Pasha. After briefly serving as War Minister in 1920, Fevzi left to join the dissident Grand National Assembly in Ankara as a Member of Parliament for Kozan.
He was appointed as National Defence Minister and Deputy Prime Minister by Mustafa Kemal Paşa in 1920, commanding numerous military successes throughout the Turkish War of Independence, notably during the Battle of Sakarya. He succeeded Mustafa Kemal as Prime Minister in 1921, resigning in 1922 to engage in the successful Battle of Dumlupınar. He was appointed Field Marshal (Mareşal) in 1922 at the recommendation of Mustafa Kemal. He had succeeded İsmet İnönü as the Chief of General Staff in August 1921 and continued serving after the Turkish Republic was declared in 1923. Adopting the surname 'Çakmak', he was a candidate to succeed Mustafa Kemal Atatürk as the President of Turkey after Atatürk's death in 1938, but stood down in favour of İnönü. He continued to serve as Chief of General Staff until 1944, after which he became a Member of Parliament for Istanbul from the Democrat Party. He later resigned from the Democrats and co-founded the Nation Party headed by Osman Bölükbaşı.
Fevzi Çakmak remains, alongside Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, as one of the only two field marshals of Turkey.