Deputy Of Bolu Mehmet Şükrü Gülez

The aim of the study is to investigate the life of İlyaszade Mehmet Şükrü Gülez, a prominent citizen of the ancient town of Bolu and his political activities. Mr. Gülez lived between 1870?1950. Although he was active in the political life of his town, no record of his past existed until today. He has lived through the dramatic events of the early twentieth century and has taken a leading role in them. It is believed that an account of the activities leading to the founding of the Republic of Turkey in the region may help fill important gaps.Mehmet Şükrü Gülez, started his public life as a civil servant and worked as a clerk in different courts of law. Although he at the same time managed his family estate, he was not detached from matters of the society of which he was a member. His political life started with the membership of Committee of Union and Progress, a party which led the Ottoman Empire through the disastrous Great War.The ?Dertli Newspaper? published by Mehmet Şükrü Gülez was active during the period of national struggle for independence. The publication of the newspaper drew the attention of Mustafa Kemal, the leader of the nationalists. Mehmet Şükrü Gülez and his brother Hafız Hakkı hosted Ismet, another leader of the movement in Bolu, at a time when no one dared get into contact with the nationalists.He was subsequently elected as a deputy to the first Turkish Grand National Assembly from the district of Bolu in April 1920. But before he started his parliamentary life, he and colleagues Hüsrev (Gerede), Fuat (Umay), Osman Nuri (Özgen) were sent back to Bolu by Mustafa Kemal, the president of the Grand National Assembly at the time , to calm the rebels who rose against the Nationalists in his district as the ?Committee of Counsel?. They were captured as they were entering the town of Gerede and taken to Düzce to be hanged for ?treason? against the Sultan. He lived the narrow line between life and death for the week in captivity before they were rescued by the nationalist forces.His career as a deputy started with the 1st term of Turkish Grand National Assembly and continued till the 5th term from 1920 to 1939. Mehmet Şükrü returned to Bolu after retiring in 1939, and he died of lung illness in 1950.Key Words: Bolu, The Period of National Struggle, Committee of Counsel, The Dertli Newspaper.