He was appointed governor of Erzincan Province in 1939. During his tenure, the province witnessed a huge natural disaster, the 1939 Erzincan earthquake. The earthquake with an intensity of 8.2 MS hit the province at 1:57 am (GMT 11:57 pm) on 27 December 1939. The death toll was around 32,962. Tekeli informed the government officials about the disaster as soon as possible. Then, the province began to receive medical, food and other related assistance.