page_title: Hasan Tahsin Uzer
section_title: Life and career
hierarchical_section_title: Hasan Tahsin Uzer / Life and career
caption_attribution_description: English: Given surname of Uzer to Hasan Tahsin Bey, 10 July 1934, manuscript by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.
context_page_description: Hasan Tahsin was an Ottoman-born Turkish bureaucrat of ethnic Albanian descent. Throughout his career as a politician, Tahsin served as a governor to several Ottoman cities including Aydın, Erzurum, Van and the province of Syria. Thereafter, he served as deputy to the cities of Ardahan, Erzurum, and Konya. He is also noted for providing important testimony in the aftermath of the Armenian Genocide.
context_section_description: Hasan Tahsin was born in Thessaloniki, Greece on 27 August 1878 as a descendant of the nobleman Skanderbeg. He was the son of Ibarahim Ağa and Hatice Hanim, and the childhood friend of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. In 1897, after finishing his studies in political science, Hasan Tahsin became the sub-district director of Prosotsani. In 1902, he became district governor. Tahsin would become district governor of several cities before becoming the Vali of Van in 1913. During his tenure, he attempted to counter the influence of the Kurds around Abdürrezak Bedir Khan, who were supported by the Russians. After the Russians and the christian Assyrian tribes retaliated over massacres perpetrated by groups of the Ottoman Special Organization by also inflicting massacres against Kurdish villages, he suggested the deportation of the Assyrians from Hakkari. However, in 1914, Tahsin was removed from his post and transferred to Erzurum where he served as governor until 12 September 1916. He was then transferred to Syria and became the governor of the Syrian province. He resigned from this post on 18 June 1918, but was appointed governor of Syria again a few months later. However, when the Turkish Government lost the province in late 1918, Tahsin was immediately transferred to Aydın. His governorship of Aydın lasted a few weeks. He was then elected to the Turkish National Assembly as a representative of Izmir. Tahsin was apprehended by British forces in the aftermath of World War I and sent to Malta as one of the Malta exiles. When eventually freed, he continued his political career. He eventually joined the Turkish National Assembly once more and represented several cities including Ardahan, Erzurum, and Konya in 1924, 1927, and 1933 respectively.
  In December 1934, Hasan Tahsin adopted the last name Uzer through Atatürk's insistence during the introduction of the Surname Law.
  Hasan Tahsin died on 5 December 1939. He was the father of two sons and two daughters.
caption: Given surname of Uzer to Hasan Tahsin, 10 July 1934, signed by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
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