Alaeddin Bey is a jurist and bureaucrat who served as the first general manager of Anadolu Agency after it gained autonomous status. He undertook important duties in the field of press and publishing during Turkey's National Struggle years and in the early Republican period; he particularly managed the institutionalization process of Anadolu Agency.

Life

Born in Konya in 1889, Alaeddin Bey is the son of Mehmet Şemseddin Bey, one of the Düyun-u Umumiye ministers. After completing Konya Idadi, he graduated from Istanbul Law Faculty in 1911. He began his civil service career in 1914 as Assistant Prosecutor in Zeytin District of Aleppo province; subsequently, he served as a member of the courts in Maraş and Adana. In 1917, he returned to Istanbul and worked as a freelance lawyer during the armistice period.

National Struggle and Duties

Alaeddin Bey, who moved to Ankara in the years when the National Struggle began, was appointed director of the General Directorate of Press and Intelligence Printing House, and then director of the Intelligence Branch. Upon Ahmet Ağaoğlu's departure, he served as acting General Manager of Press on August 12, 1923; he resigned from his acting position when Zekeriya Sertel was appointed to this post on September 4, 1923. In April 1925, he was re-appointed as General Manager of Press, and after leaving this position, he was appointed General Manager of Anadolu Agency on January 1, 1926.

General Management of Anadolu Agency

Established on April 6, 1920, by Halide Edip Adıvar and Yunus Nadi, upon the instructions of Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Anadolu Agency worked to both inform Turkey's domestic public opinion and to convey its righteous struggle to the outside world. With the agency gaining the status of "Anadolu Ajansı Türk Anonim Şirketi" (Anadolu Agency Turkish Joint Stock Company) on March 1, 1925, Alaeddin Bey was appointed as the first general manager to the newly established board of directors.

Alaeddin Bey made significant contributions to the process of Anadolu Agency transforming into an autonomous and modern news agency in the Western sense. During his tenure, the agency reached a recognized level by domestic and foreign observers; it fulfilled its function of announcing the Republic's achievements and national interests both domestically and internationally.

Demise

While serving as the General Manager of Anadolu Agency, Alaeddin Bey passed away on December 21, 1930, at the age of 41. He was succeeded by Muvaffak Menemencioğlu on February 1, 1931, who continued this duty until 1944.