Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu
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| Born | 1879 |
| Died | 1945 (aged 65–66) |
| Nationality | Turkish |
| Alma mater | Istanbul University |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Known for | Founding the newspaper Cumhuriyet |
Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu (1879 – 28 June 1945) was an important Turkish journalist. He was also the person who started the newspaper Cumhuriyet. Before World War II, he published articles that supported certain political ideas.
About Yunus Nadi
Yunus Nadi was born in 1879 in a village called Seydiler, near Fethiye. Fethiye is a town in the south Aegean region. After finishing primary school in Fethiye, he went to school on the island of Rhodes. Later, Yunus Nadi moved to Istanbul. He studied at Galatasaray High School and then at Istanbul University. He earned a degree in Law from the university.
Yunus Nadi began his career as a journalist in 1900. He worked for a magazine called Malumat. When he was only 22 years old, he faced trouble for an article he wrote in 1901. He was sentenced to three years in prison and sent away from Istanbul. He lived in Fethiye until 1908. That year, the Second Constitutional Monarchy was announced. This meant the country would be ruled by a king or queen, but with a constitution that limited their power.
After this, Yunus Nadi returned to Istanbul. He joined the newspapers İkdam and Tasvîr-i Efkâr. In 1910, he became the main editor, or editor-in-chief, of the newspaper Rumeli. This newspaper was published in Thessaloniki by the Committee for Union and Progress party.
In 1912, when he was 32, he was chosen to be a representative for Aydın. He became a member of the Ottoman Parliament in Constantinople. He was chosen again for another five-year term in 1914.
Today, there is a special writing competition named after him. It is called the Yunus Nadi Prize. This competition is the oldest one of its kind in Turkey.
Turkish War of Independence
Yunus Nadi started a newspaper called Yeni Gün. This newspaper was the only one that reported on the Turkish War of Independence to the rest of the world. This war was fought to create an independent Turkey. Even though there was strict control over what could be published, he kept supporting Mustafa Kemal. Mustafa Kemal started the independence movement on 19 May 1919 in Samsun.
On November 13, 1918, forces from the British, French, Italian, and Greek countries took over Constantinople. Because of his support for independence, the Parliament banned Yunus Nadi. He had to leave Constantinople to avoid being arrested. He went to Ankara.
Mustafa Kemal was very happy to welcome Yunus Nadi on 2 April 1920. Yunus Nadi started publishing his newspaper Yeni Gün again in Ankara on 9 August 1920. The printing machine from Constantinople was taken apart. Then, its pieces were secretly brought to Ankara. Yunus Nadi's family also moved to Ankara to be with him.
Yunus Nadi also helped create the news agency Anadolu Ajansı. He started it with Halide Edib. At the same time, he was chosen to be a member of the new Turkish Grand National Assembly. He represented the city of İzmir. His newspaper had to move again, this time to Kayseri. This happened because Greek forces were getting close to Ankara during the Battle of Sakarya.
In the summer of 1923, newspapers in Constantinople were strongly against the idea of Turkey becoming a republic. A republic is a country where the people elect their leaders. Yunus Nadi worked very closely with Mustafa Kemal. He was also in charge of a special group in parliament. This group was working on writing a new constitution for Turkey. On 29 October 1923, Yunus Nadi read the new constitution in parliament. This happened right after the republic was officially announced.
Republican Period
On 5 January 1924, Mustafa Kemal met with some newspaper representatives in İzmir. He tried to convince them to support the new government. But these newspapers became even more negative. They openly criticized the government in Ankara. Because of this, Mustafa Kemal asked Yunus Nadi to start a new newspaper in Constantinople. This new newspaper would support the ideas of the republic and democracy. It would also argue against the old system of monarchy (rule by a king) and the caliphate (rule by a religious leader).
Yunus Nadi worked on preparing this new newspaper until the end of April 1924. The first issue of the newspaper was published on 7 May 1924. Mustafa Kemal himself named the newspaper Cumhuriyet, which means "Republic" in Turkish. Yunus Nadi owned the newspaper and was its main editor until he passed away. He died on 28 June 1945 in a hospital in Geneva, Switzerland.
After his death, his oldest son, Nadir Nadi, took over the newspaper. Later, Nadir Nadi's wife, Berin, owned it. Today, a group called "Cumhuriyet Vakfı" publishes the newspaper.
Yunus Nadi's body was brought back to Istanbul. He was buried at the Edirnekapı Martyr's Cemetery.
