A close colleague: Faik Ahmet Barutçu
Born in Trabzon in 1894, Faik Ahmet Barutçu was the son of Barutçuzade Hacı Ahmet Hami Bey, who was the founder and chairman of Trabzon Muhafaza-i Hukuk-i Milliye Cemiyeti (Society for the Defense of National Rights). Having graduated from İstanbul Law School in 1918, Faik Ahmet returned to Trabzon and began publishing the newspaper İstikbal (The Future). Not afraid to criticize even Mustafa Kemal Pasha from time to time, but in complete support of the National Struggle, İstikbal was the leading media organ of the Anatolian press until 1922.
Elected as CHP’s Trabzon deputy in 1939, Faik Ahmet Barutçu served as Minister of State and Deputy Prime Minister in the first and second Hasan Saka governments. He was recognized as a tolerant politician with respect for the opposition during those years. As of 1950, he became the deputy chair of the CHP group. He vehemently criticized the DP rule and defended democracy and the freedom of press. Barutçu died in Ankara on March 14, 1959.
After his death, Ferda Güley of CHP said, “We buried the violin of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey; we are left behind as the fiddles.”
