Selim Rauf Sarper was among the early diplomats, bureaucrats, and politicians of the Republic of Turkey. He served extensively in foreign service, holding posts in key locations such as the Soviet Union, Germany, Romania, Italy, and the United Nations. In 1960, he became Turkey’s third Foreign Minister to rise from the professional diplomatic corps.

Early Life and Family

Selim Rauf Sarper was born on August 14, 1899, in Istanbul into a prominent bureaucratic family. His grandfather, Mustafa Rauf Pasha, served as the Governor-General (Beylerbeyi) of Rumelia, and his father, Esad Rauf Bey, held administrative positions such as mutasarrıf during the final years of the Ottoman Empire. Sarper married Kamuran Hanım, daughter of Fuat Uralman Pasha, an acquaintance of his father, and they had two daughters, Ülker and Ayşe.

Education

Sarper received his primary education in Sivas and completed his secondary studies at Istanbul Robert College. He spent part of his youth in Germany, finishing high school in Magdeburg. He began his legal studies at the University of Berlin and completed them at Ankara University Faculty of Law. As a multilingual diplomat, he was proficient in German, French, and English. His education was heavily influenced by Western traditions, and he developed a diplomatic approach distinct from the classical Ottoman Foreign Ministry school.

Career

Sarper’s professional career began in 1923 in Adana, where he worked as a translator for the French Railways, also engaging in French language teaching and journalism. In 1925, he served as a clerk at the Eastern Independence Tribunal. He entered the diplomatic service in 1927, initially working as an interpreter at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

His first foreign posting was in 1928 to Odessa in the Soviet Union. Subsequently, he held significant assignments in Moscow, Komotini, Berlin, and Bucharest. Between 1940 and 1944, during World War II, he served as Director General of the Press, overseeing media supervision and the communication of foreign policy to the public.

Ambassadorship in Moscow and the Soviet Note

From 1944 to 1946, Sarper served as Turkey’s Ambassador to Moscow. During this period, he conducted negotiations on the 1945 Soviet note demanding territorial concessions in Kars and Ardahan and revisions to the Montreux Convention regarding the Turkish Straits. These negotiations marked a turning point in Turkey’s foreign policy vis-à-vis the USSR, facilitating closer ties with the West and laying the groundwork for NATO membership.

Ambassador to Rome and Permanent Representative to the United Nations

Sarper was Ambassador to Rome from 1946 to 1947, after which he was appointed Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations on May 20, 1947—a position he held until 1957. During this tenure, he played an active role in Turkey’s temporary membership in the UN Security Council and its decision to send troops to the Korean War. He also contributed to advocating Turkey’s position on the Cyprus issue at the UN in the 1950s.

NATO Permanent Delegation

Following his UN service, Sarper was appointed Turkey’s Permanent Delegate to NATO in 1957. In this capacity, he championed Turkish positions during negotiations concerning the Syrian Crisis and the Cyprus dispute.

Minister of Foreign Affairs and Political Life

In 1960, Sarper was appointed Secretary General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Following the military intervention of May 27, he served as Foreign Minister in the subsequent cabinet, becoming the third professional diplomat to hold this office in the Republic’s history. He also continued his political career as a member of parliament for Istanbul, representing the Republican People's Party (CHP).

Personal Traits and Interests

During his youth, Sarper engaged in sports such as fencing and athletics, and he was also an avid horseman and hunter.

Death

Selim Rauf Sarper passed away in 1968 due to cancer.