Berç Türker Keresteciyan

Berç Türker
Born	Berç Keresteciyan 1870 Constantinople, Ottoman Empire
Died	Istanbul, Turkey
Occupation(s)	Banker, politician
Years active	Early 1900s–1947
Known for	General manager of Ottoman Bank; Deputy in the Turkish Grand National Assembly; Vice chairman of Turkish Red Crescent; first Armenian deputy in Turkish parliament

Berç Türker—also known by the names Berç Türker Keresteci and Berç Keresteciyan Türker (Armenian: Պերճ Քերեստեջյան)—was an Ottoman-Turkish banker and politician of Armenian heritage, living from 1870 to 1949.

Early life

Born in Constantinople in 1870 into an Armenian household, Türker experienced the loss of his father, Mgrdich Kerestejian, who was a customs office manager, when he was only five years old. He was subsequently raised by his uncle Bedros Keresteciyan, a distinguished linguist, financial expert, and author of a Turkish etymological dictionary. Türker received his education at Galatasaray High School and later at Robert College, where he developed a solid expertise in finance and languages.

Professional career

Upon completing his studies at Robert College, Türker spent two years working at the Finance Ministry before his uncle facilitated his appointment at the Ottoman Bank—a prominent financial institution with both Ottoman and European affiliations. After the 1896 attack on the bank by the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Türker was posted as branch manager in Cairo and subsequently took a position in İzmir.

In 1911, he was among the founders of the Turkish Red Crescent, distinguished as its sole non-Muslim executive member and eventually serving as vice chairman. During the First World War, following the expulsion of British and French banking officials due to wartime hostilities, Türker rose to deputy general manager and then general manager of the Ottoman Bank.

Additionally, he held a seat as a Deputy in the Chamber of Deputies, which functioned as the lower chamber of the Ottoman Parliament.

Turkish War of Independence

A notable story credits Berç Keresteciyan with preventing an assassination attempt on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk by warning Atatürk’s legal counsel about a British plan to sink the SS Bandırma in the Black Sea. This ship carried Atatürk from Constantinople in 1919 to initiate the Turkish War of Independence. In recognition of his contributions during this period, he was honored with the white stripe Medal of Independence.

In 1923, serving as honorary president of the Turco-Armenian Friendship Association and as a member of the Armenian Patriarchate’s secular council, Berç Keresteciyan sent a message to Atatürk expressing his community’s allegiance to Ankara’s administration.

Following Turkey’s 1934 surname law reform, Atatürk personally granted him the surname Türker—meaning Turk man—as an acknowledgment of his patriotic dedication.

Political career

With Atatürk’s endorsement, Türker ran as an independent candidate representing Afyonkarahisar in the 1935 general elections. He became the first Armenian deputy and one of only four non-Muslim members in the Turkish Grand National Assembly on March 7, 1935. On that same day, he joined the parliament’s economic commission, applying his financial acumen. He secured re-election in both 1939 and 1943.

Throughout his parliamentary service, Berç Türker Keresteciyan played an important role in shaping legislative discussions across political, economic, social, and international domains.

After retiring from public life in 1947, he settled on Büyükada island in Istanbul. He passed away on July 27, 1949, and was interred in Istanbul two days later.

External links

• Semi Ertan, An Armenian at the Turkish parliament in the early republican period: Berç Türker-Keresteciyan, 1870-1949, thesis, Sabancı University, İstanbul, 2005