Search Results - Ağaoğlu, Ahmet, 1869-1939

Ahmet Ağaoğlu

Ahmet Ağaoğlu, also known as Ahmet Bey Ağaoğlu (; or Ahmet Akif Agaoglu (December 1869, Shusha – May 19, 1939, Istanbul) was a public and political figure of Azerbaijan and Turkey, thinker, publicist, educator, writer, Turkologist, and the founder of liberal Kemalism.

After studying in France, he returned and opened the first library and reading room in Shusha in 1896. In 1897, he moved to Baku at the invitation of H.Z. Taghiyev and wrote articles for the ''Kaspi'' newspaper. He also worked with A. Huseynzade as an editor for the ''Hayat'' newspaper and served as chief editor for ''Irshad'', ''Taraqqi'', ''Proqres'', ''Tarjumani-haqiqat'', ''Hakimiyyeti-milliye'', and ''Akhın'' newspapers.''''

In 1905, he secretly founded the "Difai" organization to fight against the Tsarist government and Dashnaks. After being persecuted by the Tsarist government, Ahmet Bey lived secretly in his friends' homes for months. To avoid arrest, he relocated to Istanbul at the end of 1908. As a prominent figure in the Turkish Hearths national movement, Agaoglu was elected president of a congress held by the movement. Later, he joined the Young Turks' ''Committee of Union and Progress''. Alongside serving as the director of a library in Suleymaniye and an active contributor to the ''Türk Yurdu'' journal, he taught Turkic-Mongol history and Russian language at Istanbul University.

In 1918, he served as the political advisor to the commander of the Islamic Army of the Caucasus, which came to assist the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic. On December 26, 1918, he was elected as a member of the Parliament of the Azerbaijan Democratic Republic from the Zangezur district as a neutral representative. However, he later declined the membership. Agaoglu was also part of the delegation sent by the Republic to participate in the Paris Peace Conference. Upon reaching Istanbul, he was arrested along with other leaders of the ''Committee of Union and Progress'' by the British and exiled to the island of Malta.

After returning from exile, he led the Press Information Office in Ankara, served as the chief editor of the ''Hakimiyyeti-Milliye'' newspaper, and, after being elected to the second and third terms of the Turkish Grand National Assembly, became Mustafa Kemal Atatürk's political advisor on foreign affairs.

On May 7, 2019, by Decision No. 211 of the Cabinet of Ministers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Ahmet Ağaoğlu was included in the list of authors whose works are declared state property in Azerbaijan. Provided by Wikipedia