Necmettin Cevheri

{{Infobox officeholder

| image =

| imagesize =

| caption =

| office = {{ubl|Minister of State|Deputy Prime Minister}}

| primeminister = Tansu Çiller

| predecessor =

| successor =

| term_start = October 1995

| term_end = October 1995

| office1 = Minister of Agriculture and Rural Affairs

| primeminister1 = Süleyman Demirel

| predecessor1 =

| successor1 =

| term_start1 = 20 November 1991

| term_end1 = 25 June 1993

| office2 = Minister of Justice

| primeminister2 = Süleyman Demirel

| predecessor2 = Selçuk Erverdi

| successor2 = Mehmet Can

| term_start2 = 21 July 1977

| term_end2 = 5 January 1978

| office3 = Minister of Tourism

| primeminister3 = Süleyman Demirel

| predecessor3 =

| successor3 =

| term_start3 = 3 November 1969

| term_end3 = 1971

| birth_date = {{birth year|1930}}

| birth_place = Şanlıurfa, Turkey

| death_date = {{death date and given age|df=y|2023|09|05|93}}

| death_place = Ankara, Turkey

| restingplace = Cebeci Asri Cemetery, Ankara

| party = {{ubl|Democrat|Justice|True Path}}

| alma_mater = Ankara University

| spouse = {{marriage|Yüksel Cevheri||2 August 2021|end=d}}

| children = 2

| occupation = {{hlist|Farmer|lawyer|politician}}

}}

Necmettin Cevheri (1930 – 5 September 2023) was a Turkish farmer, lawyer, and politician who held various cabinet posts. He was a member of the Democrat Party, Justice Party, and True Path Party.

Early life and education

Cevheri was born in Şanlıurfa in 1930. He was a member of the Kurdish origin Şeyhanlı tribe.{{cite book|editor1=Mehmet Gurses|display-editors=et. al.|title=The Kurds in the Middle East: Enduring Problems and New Dynamics

|chapter=Kurdish Political Representation in Turkey: The Changing Context and New Trends|pages=5–6}}{{cite news

|author=Hüseyin Şeyhanlıoğlu|title=Necmettin Cevheri'nin Türkiye Siyasetinde 51 Yıllık Yeri ve Önemi|work=BBN Haber|date=8 September 2023| language=tr|access-date=11 September 2023|url=https://bbnhaber.com.tr/yazarlar/doc-dr-huseyin-seyhanlioglu/necmettin-cevherinin-turkiye-siyasetinde-51-yillik-4614}} His father, Hacı Ömer, was among those who defended Urfa during the War of Independence and was awarded with the Medal of Independence for his contributions to the battles against the occupying British and French forces in 1920.{{cite news|title=Necmettin Cevheri|work=Urfa Haber|date=1 June 2016|language=tr

|url=https://www.urfamiz.com/necmettin-cevheri.html|access-date=7 September 2023}} He was elected as a member of the Parliament for the Democrat Party from Şanlıurfa in 1950 and died in 1952 while serving in the post.{{cite web|title=Hacı Ömer Cevheri|website=Biyografya|language=tr|url=https://www.biyografya.com/biyografi/22637|access-date=7 September 2023}}{{cite book| editor=Suzi Mirgani|author=Michelangelo Guida|title=Informal Politics in the Middle East|publisher=Hurst & Co Publishers|year=2021|isbn=978-0-19-764411-9|page=203|location=London|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wARqEAAAQBAJ&pg=PT203|chapter=Çay Politics: Informal Politics in Turkey and Vote Mobilization in İstanbul and Şanlıurfa}} Cevheri's mother was Fatma Hanım who died during his childhood. The family had to leave Şanlıurfa in the mid-1930s when the resettlement law was put into force, and they settled in Amasya and then in Adana.{{cite news|title=Urfalı siyasetçiyi hiç böyle okumadınız: Ömer Ağ yazdı|author=Ömer Ağ|url=https://www.urfanatik.com/haber/5915793/urfali-siyasetciyi-hic-boyle-okumadiniz-omer-ag-yazdi|work=Urfanatik Haber|date=23 December 2020|access-date=7 September 2023|language=tr}}

Cevheri received his primary education in three different cities. He graduated from Galatasaray High School and obtained a law degree from Ankara University.{{cite web|title=Vefat ve başsağlığı: Necmettin Cevheri|url=https://www.galatasaray.org/haber/galatasaray-haberleri/camiadan-haberler/vefat-ve-bassagligi-necmettin-cevheri/53870

|language=tr|website=galatasaray.org|access-date=7 September 2023|date=6 September 2023}}

Career

Cevheri joined the Democrat Party in January 1951 and was part of the party's Şanlıurfa branch. After his graduation, he was involved in agricultural activities in Şanlıurfa where he also worked as a lawyer from 1957. The same year he became the provincial head of the party.

Following the closure of the Democrat Party in 1960, Cevheri became a member of the Justice Party and was elected as its provincial head in Şanlıurfa in 1963.{{cite journal|author=Orhan Kutluay|title=Urfa'da Siyasi Hayat ve Genel Seçimler (1960–1970)|journal=Kadim Akademi SBD|url=https://dergipark.org.tr/tr/pub/kadimsbd/issue/58607/816990#article_cite|date=December 2020|volume=4|issue=2|pages=1–15

|language=tr}} He was elected to the Turkish Parliament representing Şanlıurfa in 1965. He was also elected as a deputy in the 1969 general elections. He was appointed minister of tourism on 3 November 1969. He served in the post in the second and third cabinets of Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel until 1971. Cevheri was named as the minister of justice on 21 July 1977 succeeding Selçuk Erverdi in the post. The cabinet was led by again Süleyman Demirel.{{cite journal|title=Chronology May 16, 1977-August 15, 1977|journal=The Middle East Journal|volume=31|issue=4|year=1977|jstor=4325678

|page=481}} Cevheri's tenure ended on 5 January 1978, and he was replaced by Mehmet Can as the minister of justice.{{cite web|title=Önceki Adalet Bakanları|website=Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Adalet Bakanlığı|url=https://www.adalet.gov.tr/onceki-adalet-bakanlari|access-date=7 September 2023|language=tr}}

Cevheri cofounded the True Path Party after the closure of the Justice Party on 12 September 1980 when the Turkish army seized power. He was one of the politicians who were banned by the military government from political activity, and his political ban was lifted in 1987. He was elected to the Parliament in the general elections held in 1990 and 1995 representing Şanlıurfa. He was the minister of agriculture and rural affairs in the cabinet led by Süleyman Demirel between 20 November 1991 and 25 June 1993.{{cite web|title=Necmettin Cevheri|language=tr|website=tarimpusulasi.com

|url=https://www.tarimpusulasi.com/biyografiler/necmettin-cevheri-40|access-date=7 September 2023}} When Demirel, leader of the True Path Party, was elected as the President of Turkey, Cevheri was one of the candidates for the party chairmanship in 1993. However, he left the race, and Tansu Çiller became the leader of the party defeating Köksal Toptan and Mehmet Dülger.{{cite book|editor1=Metin Heper|editor2=Sabri Sayari|title=Political Leaders and Democracy in Turkey|publisher=Lexington Books|chapter=Tansu Ciller: Lusting for Power and Undermining Democracy|year=2002|isbn=978-0-7391-0352-4|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JoRpAAAAMAAJ

|author=Ümit Cizre|page=216|location=Lanham, MD}}

Cevheri was deputy prime minister in the cabinet of Tansu Çiller in October 1995.{{cite web|title=Necmettin Cevheri

|url=https://www.biyografya.com/biyografi/10993|publisher=Biyografya|access-date=15 July 2023|language=tr}} He was appointed minister of state in the following cabinet of Çiller and was in charge of the various state institutions, including the Presidency of Religious Affairs.{{cite journal|author=Z. Selen Artan|title=Debating diaspora: Securitization framework and the Turkish state's making of dissent abroad|journal=Political Geography|volume=98|year=2022|doi=10.1016/j.polgeo.2022.102717|page=6}} As of 1997 he was deputy chairman of the True Path Party. In the late May 1997 he and other deputies of the party resigned which would lead to the collapse of the coalition cabinet formed by the True Path Party and the Islamist Welfare Party. The cabinet was headed by the Welfare Party leader Necmettin Erbakan.{{cite news|author=James M. Dorsey|title=Turkish Premier's Majority Hangs by a Single Thread|access-date=16 July 2023|work=The Wall Street Journal|date=26 May 1997

|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/308308235|location=Brussels|id={{ProQuest|308308235}}}}

Before the 1999 general election Cevheri won the preliminary election in Şanlıurfa becoming the first candidate in the list, but Çiller decided to identify the candidate list herself. However, Cevheri managed to be elected as a deputy. After this incident Cevheri together with Esat Kıratlıoğlu and Nahit Menteşe began to act as opposition leaders against Çiller. Following the elections Cevheri was a member of the General Administrative Council of the party.{{cite news|title=Turkey: True Path Party leaders assess position after elections|url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/451677162|access-date=15 July 2023|work=BBC Monitoring European|agency=Anadolu Agency|date=27 April 1999|id={{ProQuest|451677162}}}} He retired from politics in 2002.

Personal life and death

Cevheri's wife, Yüksel, died on 2 August 2021 and was buried in Ankara.{{cite news|author=Mehmet Yıldırım

|title=Şanlıurfalı Eski Bakan Cevheri'nin acı günü|url=https://www.sabah.com.tr/sanliurfa/2021/08/02/sanliurfali-eski-bakan-cevherinin-aci-gunu|access-date=15 July 2023 |work=Sabah|date=2 August 2021|language=tr}} He had two children, a son and a daughter{{cite web|title=Karaköprü Belediyesinden Necmettin Cevheriye büyük vefa|url=https://www.karakopru.bel.tr/icerik/1314/12/karakopru-belediyesinden-necmettin-cevheriye-buyuk-vefa-|website=Karaköprü Belediyesi|language=tr}}{{cite news|title=Cevheri: Günden güne tarımda daha fazla ithalatçı ülke oluyoruz|work=Finans Gündem|date=24 February 2022|url=https://www.finansgundem.com/haber/cevheri-gunden-gune-tarimda-daha-fazla-ithalatci-ulke-oluyoruz/1644786|language=tr|access-date=11 September 2023}} His son, İbrahim Cevher, is also a politician and served as a member of the Parliament for the True Path Party representing Adana at the 20th term.{{cite journal

|journal=Şehir ve İrfan Araştırmaları Dergisi|language=tr}} Cevheri himself was also serving at the Parliament during the same term. Cevheri's nephew, Mehmet Ali Cevheri, is a member of the Parliament for the Justice and Development Party from Şanlıurfa.

Cevheri died at Güven Hospital, Ankara, on 5 September 2023, at the age of 93.{{cite news|title=Eski bakan Necmettin Cevheri hayatını kaybetti!|work=Cumhuriyet|date=5 September 2023|url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/eski-bakan-necmettin-cevheri-hayatini-kaybetti-2116301|language=tr|access-date=5 September 2023}} A funeral ceremony was organized for him the next day at the Parliament, and he was buried in Cebeci Asri cemetery, Ankara.{{cite news|title=Eski bakan Necmettin Cevheri'nin cenaze programı belli oldu|newspaper=Cumhuriyet|date=6 September 2023|url=https://www.cumhuriyet.com.tr/turkiye/eski-bakan-necmettin-cevherinin-cenaze-programi-belli-oldu-2116525|language=tr|access-date=6 September 2023}} Various leading politicians attended the ceremony, including Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Devlet Bahçeli, Meral Akşener, Bülent Arınç, Köksal Toptan and Mehmet Ali Şahin.{{cite news|title=Eski bakanlardan Necmettin Cevheri'nin cenazesi Ankara'da defnedildi|website=Anadolu Agency|date=6 September 2023| url=https://www.aa.com.tr/tr/politika/eski-bakanlardan-necmettin-cevherinin-cenazesi-ankarada-defnedildi/2985075|language=tr|access-date=7 September 2023}} Galatasaray S.K. published a condolence message for Cevheri on the same day.