Ahmet Ağaoğlu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Ahmet Ağaoğlu
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| Born | December 1869 Shusha, Elisabethpol Governorate, Russian Empire |
| Died | 19 May 1939 (aged 69–70) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Resting place | Feriköy Cemetery, Istanbul, Turkey |
| Occupation | Journalist and politician |
| Nationality | Azerbaijani |
| Children | 5, including Samet, Süreyya and Tezer |
| Relatives | Neriman Ağaoğlu (daughter-in-law) |
Ahmet Ağaoğlu, also known as Ahmet Bey Ağaoğlu (Azerbaijani: Əhməd bəy Ağaoğlu; December 1869 – 19 May 1939), was an important Azerbaijani and later Turkish politician, writer, and journalist. He helped start two big ideas: Pan-Turkism, which aimed to unite Turkic peoples, and liberal Kemalism, a way of thinking about modern Turkey.
Contents
Life Story
Early Years
Ahmet Ağaoğlu was born in December 1869 in Shusha, a town in the Russian Empire. His family was Muslim. His father, Mirza Hassan, was a cotton farmer. His mother, Taze Khanum, came from a semi-nomadic tribe.
As a child, Ahmet enjoyed reading classic stories and learning Persian and Arabic. In 1888, he went to Paris, France, to study. He stayed there until 1894. In Paris, he studied history, languages, and religion with famous French scholars. He even helped translate old texts. He also wrote articles for French magazines. In these early writings, he sometimes presented himself as Persian.
In 1896, he returned to Shusha and taught French for a year. The next year, he moved to Baku. There, he continued teaching and writing for various magazines. Around this time, he started to feel a stronger connection to his Turkish identity. He was very good with languages, speaking Azerbaijani, Persian, Russian, French, and Ottoman Turkish.
From 1905, he worked as an editor for the newspaper Həyat. This newspaper was very important for developing nationalist ideas in Azerbaijan. He also published other newspapers like İrşad and Progress. In 1908, he started Tərəqqi and published it until he moved to Turkey in 1909.
Becoming a Nationalist Politician
In 1905, Ahmet Ağaoğlu played a key role in stopping fights between Armenians and Azeris. He was also chosen to represent Muslims from his region in the Russian Parliament, called the Duma.
He helped create a group called Difai (Defender) National Committee in Ganja. This group later joined with other parties to form a bigger one in 1917.
To avoid being arrested, Ağaoğlu moved to Constantinople (now Istanbul) in late 1908. This was during the Young Turk Revolution, a time of big changes in the Ottoman Empire. He joined a group that supported Iranian nationalism and wrote for their newspaper. In his articles, he criticized the pro-Russian Shah of Persia.
In 1910, he became an Ottoman citizen. He worked as a school inspector and later taught at Istanbul University. In 1912, he joined a powerful political group called the Committee of Union and Progress. He was elected to the Ottoman Parliament.
During these years, Ağaoğlu became a leading figure in the Turkish nationalist movement. He worked with other writers who had also moved from the Russian Empire. He was president of the Türk Ocağı ("Turkish Hearth") movement, which promoted Turkish culture and identity.
When the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic (ADR) was formed in May 1918, Ağaoğlu went back to Azerbaijan. He became an Azerbaijani citizen and was elected to their Parliament. He was chosen to represent the ADR at the Paris Peace Conference in 1919. However, on his way to the conference, the British arrested him in Malta. He was released in 1921.
Later Life and Legacy
After being freed, Ahmet Ağaoğlu moved to Ankara, Turkey. He continued his work as a journalist and politician. He became the editor-in-chief of Hâkimiyet-i Milliye ("National Sovereignty"), an important official newspaper. He also became a close advisor to Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey.
In 1921, Atatürk appointed him as the General Director of Press and Information. Ağaoğlu strongly supported making Turkish society more like Western countries and separating religion from government. He believed that this would help Turkey progress.
In 1923, he was elected as a Member of Parliament. He also worked on the Constitutional Committee. In 1930, he started the Free Republican Party. However, the party became very popular, and it was closed down that same year. This ended his political career. In 1933, he published a newspaper called Akın, but it was also closed because of its critical views.
Ahmet Ağaoğlu passed away in Istanbul in 1939. He is buried in the Feriköy Cemetery in Istanbul. He was married to Sitare Hanım and had five children. His children also became important figures. His son, Samet Ağaoğlu, was a key person in the Democrat Party. His daughter, Süreyya Ağaoğlu, became Turkey's first female lawyer. Another daughter, Tezer Taşkıran, was a writer and politician.
Liberal Kemalism
Liberal Kemalism is a way of thinking that combines Kemalism (the main ideas behind the Republic of Turkey) with liberalism, which focuses on freedom.
Ahmet Ağaoğlu helped develop Liberal Kemalism in the early years of the Turkish Republic. He saw himself as a "Reformist and Kemalist" but also worked to create the idea of "Liberal Kemalism."
His Views
Ahmet Ağaoğlu believed that cultural and educational progress was essential for a nation to be truly free. He also strongly supported equal rights for women. He was one of the first Azerbaijani thinkers to speak up for women's rights.
In his 1901 book, Woman in the Islamic World, he wrote that a nation could not truly progress unless women were free and equal.
See Also
- Pan-Turkism
- Kemalism
