Sadi Koçaş
Sadi Koçaş (1919–1998) was a Turkish military officer and politician. He was among the military figures who planned a military coup which occurred against the rule of the Democrat Party on 27 May 1960. Retired from the army in 1961 he involved in politics being a member of the Republican People's Party. He briefly served as the deputy prime minister in the cabinet led by Nihat Erim immediately after another military coup in 1971.
Sadi Koçaş | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mehmet Sadi |
| Born | 1919 Karaman, Ottoman Empire |
| Died | 12 January 1998 (aged 78–79) Istanbul, Turkey |
| Buried | Zincirlikuyu cemetery, Istanbul |
| Allegiance |  Turkey |
| Service/ | Turkish Land Forces |
| Rank | Colonel |
| Alma mater | Turkish Military Academy |
| Children | 2 |
| Other work | Deputy Prime Minister (1971) |
Early life and education
He was born in Karaman, Ottoman Empire, in 1919.[1] He graduated from the Turkish Military Academy as an artillery officer in 1940.[1] He continued his education and became a staff officer in 1950.[1] Then he was educated at the School of Land/Air Warfare in the United Kingdom between 1952 and 1953.[2]
Career and activities
Following his graduation Koçaş worked in the Turkish Army and in the Ministry of Defense.[1] He was a military attaché in Bucharest, Romania, between 1954 and 1956.[2] In 1958 he involved in the meetings of the military officers to carry out a military coup against the government led by Prime Minister Adnan Menderes.[2] He managed to get support from Cemal Gürsel who was serving as the commander of land forces.[2] Shortly after these meetings Koçaş was sent to London as a military attaché which he held until 1961.[2] He retired from the army with the rank of colonel in 1961.[2]
Koçaş was made a senator in 1962 and served at the Senate until his resignation in 1969.[1] Then he joined the Republican People's Party and was elected as a deputy from Konya.[2] On 26 March 1971 he was appointed deputy prime minister to the cabinet led by Prime Minister Nihat Erim which had been formed shortly after the Turkish military memorandum on 12 March.[2] Koçaş and eleven other cabinet members resigned from their posts on 3 December 1971.[2] Following this incident he retired from politics.[1]
Personal life and death
Koçaş was married and had two daughters.[1] He died in Istanbul on 12 January 1998 and was buried in the Zincirlikuyu cemetery next day.[3]
Work
Koçaş is the author of several non-fiction books.[1] Two of his books were his memoirs which were published in 1977 and 1978.[4] In these books Koçaş reports the existence of an extremely secret service within the state apparatus which was allegedly led by Fuat Doğu, the undersecretary of Turkish National Intelligence Agency.[4] This claim was also shared by Prime Minister Nihat Erim, and they managed to remove Fuat Doğu from office.[4]
References
- "M. Sadi Koçaş" (in Turkish). Biyografya. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- "Sadi Koçaş öldü". Milliyet (in Turkish). 13 January 1998. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- "Sadi Koçaş toprağa verildi". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 13 January 1998. Retrieved 13 April 2023.
- İlker Aytürk (2017). "The Flagship Institution of Cold War Turcology". European Journal of Turkish Studies (24). doi:10.4000/ejts.5517.