İsmail Safa Özler's life and their place in Turkish maarif

From the 18th century onwards, the Ottoman Empire began to decline politically and militarily in the mingling of Western states. However, it has been noticed that there is a significant inadequacy in the field of education among the reasons for the state's weakness in the face of the West. In order to prevent this collapse, an intensive modernization process was initiated. However, despite the modernization moves, the Ottoman Empire entered the process of de facto collapse after the World War I. and faced with Anatolian occupation movements. Education and training continued with difficulty under these harsh political and war conditions. The military phase of the National Struggle resulted in a political victory with the Treaty of Lausanne. With the proclamation of the Republic on October 29, 1923 and the revolutionary movements, the Anatolian people entered a new process of modernization and nationalization. Mustafa Kemal Pasha accepted that in order for the newly established Turkey to be built on solid foundations, it would be possible to get rid of old institutions and traditions, and also by adopting the modern institutional structure and lifestyles of the West. Thus, in order to raise the new Turkey above the level of contemporary civilization, efforts were made to follow more original education and cultural methods and to create a secular and nationalist education system without allowing the abuse of religion by some segments. In this study; Ismail Safa (Ozler), who played some active roles in the early republic years as a journalist, National Forces member, deputy, governor, president of the Community Center and deputy education during the National Struggle, by considering the educational policies that the Republic of Turkey followed in the establishment phase of the institutionalization in the field of education/education. It aims to analyze the life of Ismail Safa (Ozler) Bey, his contributions to the Turkish education system with a new contemporary and nationalist understanding, and the political struggle he followed within this framework.