Mustafa Hıfzı Rahmi Topuz (25 January 1923, Istanbul – 26 September 2023, Istanbul) was a Turkish journalist, writer and academic. A graduate of Galatasaray High School and Istanbul University Faculty of Law, Topuz began his career as a journalist and held various positions internationally.

Family and Early Years

Hıfzı Topuz was born on 25 January 1923 in Nişantaşı, Istanbul, as the fourth child of Ahmet Rami Bey and Melahat Hanım. During his childhood, he was deeply influenced by his grandmother Rebia Hanım, who descended from Sheikh Edebali. Although his family faced difficult times due to his father’s financial troubles, he continued his education at Galatasaray High School with the support of his grandmother. There, he took courses from literary figures such as İsmail Habip Sevük and Halit Fahri Ozansoy.

Education and Journalism Career

Hıfzı Topuz began his primary education at Saint Jean-Baptiste, the first section of Galatasaray. He completed his secondary and high school education at Galatasaray High School. He then briefly studied at the Academy of Fine Arts before transferring to Istanbul University Faculty of Law, from which he graduated in 1948.

He entered journalism while still a university student in 1947 as a reporter for the newspaper Akşam. He held various positions at Akşam, including director of editorial affairs. Between 1947 and 1957, his articles and interviews were published in numerous newspapers including Akşam, Vatan, Öncü, Cumhuriyet and Milliyet. He was among the founders of the Istanbul Journalists Union established in 1952 and served as its president for a period.

Hıfzı Topuz (Anadolu Agency)

International Career and UNESCO

In 1957, Topuz moved to France where he completed a master’s degree at the International Center for Journalism Training in Strasbourg and earned his doctorate at the Faculty of Law of the University of Strasbourg. From 1959 to 1983, he served as Chief of the Free Flow of Information Division at UNESCO. During this period, he conducted international work on press freedom and communication, organizing educational seminars in countries such as Africa, India and the Philippines. In 1974–1975, at the invitation of İsmail Cem, then Director-General of TRT, he returned to Türkiye and served briefly as Deputy Director-General of TRT. After his tenure at TRT, he returned to his position at UNESCO. He retired from UNESCO in 1983 and permanently returned to Türkiye. Upon his return, he initially worked with Ercan Arıklı on a magazine project. However, when Arıklı concluded that the project was not viable under the prevailing conditions, they abandoned it. In the same year, Topuz began his academic career. On the recommendation of Yılmaz Büyükerşen and the suggestion of Niyazi Öktem, he started teaching communication studies at Anadolu University and Istanbul University, thereby transmitting his expertise in political communication, international communication and the history of radio and television to younger generations.

About Hıfzı Topuz (Anadolu Agency)

Academia and Literary Life

After retiring from UNESCO in 1983 and returning to Türkiye, Topuz continued his academic work. He taught at the Communication Faculties of Anadolu University and Istanbul University. In 1986, he founded the Association for Communication Research (İLAD).

He published his first novel, Meyyale, at the age of 75. The novel, based on the life of his grandmother’s mother, narrates the history of the Ottoman State between 1857 and 1918, with references to Europe, Russia and the Caucasus.

He authored more than forty works in the genres of fiction, criticism and memoir. Among his notable books are Death in Taif, Gazi and Fikriye, Farewell Africa, Goodbye Paris and Do Not Bow Your Head.

Additionally, his only published collection of short stories, titled Secret Loves: True Stories, was released in 2015. In this book, he recounts stories from 1950s and 1960s Paris and Istanbul.

He won the Orhan Kemal Novel Prize in 2007 for Do Not Bow Your Head. He was also honored with the Turkish Journalists Association Press Freedom Award in 2003 and the International Communication Research Association 50th Anniversary Award from UNESCO in 2007.

Novels by Topuz:

Meyyale, Death in Taif, The Last Ottomans in Paris, Gazi and Fikriye, The Three Roses of Çamlıca in the National Struggle, Years of Revolution, Tavcan, Bullets for Freedom, Black Cry, Abdülmecit: Twenty-Two Years in the Palace as the Empire Collapsed, The Air Is as Heavy as Lead (a poetic novel), Tomorrow Will Surely Come (a novel on Tevfik Fikret), We Sold the Homeland for a Penny (a novel on Namık Kemal), Crazy and Free (a novel on Neyzen Tevfik), Glory and Blood Years, Nevbahar, Paris Exile

Research and Critical Works:

The Status and Minimum Wage of Journalists in France, Information Internationale dans la Presse Turque, Dictionary of the Press, Black Africa, 100 Questions on the History of the Press, Election Campaigns, International Communication, Caricature and Society in Communication, Lumumba, Communication in Black Africa, Monopolies in the Press, The Radio and Television System of Tomorrow, Election Campaigns in Türkiye, Political Advertising, Art of Black Africa, Tolerance, World Caricature from Its Origins to the Present, Cultural Policies in the World and in Türkiye, The History of Turkish Press, Magical Africa

Memories and Memoirs:

Guests Pass By, Years in Paris, Old Friends, Farewell Africa, Goodbye Paris, Fikret Mualla, Do Not Bow Your Head, Paris 68: An Experiment in Revolution, Memories of Nişantaşı, They Told Me About Atatürk, Smiling Memories, Years Passed Afterward, A Turkish Painter in Paris: Fikret Mualla, Atatürk Speaks, Once in Nişantaşı, Melih Cevdet Anday Through Memoirs and Letters

Turkish Writer Hıfzı Topuz (Anadolu Agency)

Death

Hıfzı Topuz died in Istanbul on 26 September 2023 at the age of 100 and was buried at Feriköy Cemetery.