Zeynel Abidin Bayhan was a politician, lawyer, and organizer who held active roles during the Second Constitutional Era and the National Struggle. Born in 1869 in Niğde, he spent many years working in the justice system before transitioning to legal practice and politics. He joined the Committee of Union and Progress, served in the Society for the Defense of Rights and as a member of the First Term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye. He was also one of the founders of the Niğde Farmers and Commerce Bank. Abidin Efendi, who passed away in 1944, made direct contributions to the legal and political developments of his time.

Life and Education

Abidin Efendi was born in 1869 in Niğde. His father was Battal Efendi and his mother was Halime Hanım. He completed his primary and secondary education at the Niğde Sıbyan Mektebi and Rüştiyesi. Entering state service at a young age, he began his career as a judicial officer in 1890. He held positions such as court clerk and assistant inquiry judge. After serving in the civil service until 1904, he successfully passed the bar examination and entered private legal practice.

Political Life and the National Struggle

With the proclamation of the Second Constitutional Era in 1908, Abidin Efendi entered politics as a member of the Committee of Union and Progress. He was elected to the Niğde Provincial General Assembly. Following World War I, when various regions of the country came under occupation, he actively participated in the National Struggle. He served in the Society for the Defense of Rights and simultaneously assumed the role of Acting Director of Education for Niğde Province.

Membership in the Grand National Assembly and Parliamentary Activities

In the elections of 1920, Abidin Efendi was elected as a deputy from Niğde to the First Term of the Grand National Assembly of Türkiye and joined the Assembly on 26 April 1920. In the Assembly, he contributed to debates on Article 4 of the Law on Treason against the Nation and on mobile gendarmerie detachments. Records in the Assembly minutes document six distinct speeches and proposals he made.

Choice of Office and Later Life

Under the Law on Eligibility for Negotiation, adopted on 5 September 1920, which prohibited an individual from simultaneously holding the position of civil servant and member of parliament, Abidin Efendi chose to retain his membership in the Niğde Liva General Assembly instead of continuing as a deputy. The General Assembly accepted his resignation on 11 October 1920. He served for many years as a member of the Liva General Assembly and the Permanent Council.

He was also one of the founding members of the Niğde Farmers and Commerce Bank and served as Chairman of its Board of Directors.

Death and Family

Abidin Efendi passed away on 6 February 1944. He was married and had eight children: Mehmet Arif, Mahmure, Besime, Raife, Kevser, Nedime, Salih Selim, and Zehra.