ABDURRAHİM TUNCAK

(1908 Diyarbakir - 13 August 1999)

He was born in 1908. Abdürrahim Tuncak, one of Atatürk's adopted sons, is an orphan that Atatürk took from Van at that time. He left eight-year-old Abdürrahim, who he brought to Istanbul, with his mother, Zübeyde Hanım, at their house numbered 78 in Beşiktaş Akaretler.

II. Army Commander Major General Mustafa Kemal Abdurrahim Tunçak in Aleppo. (1917)

After the victory, he brought him to Ankara and enrolled him in a primary school close to Çankaya Mansion, together with Celal Bayar's son Turgut Bayar and chief aide Salih Bozok's son Cemil Bozok. Later, he was sent to the School of Industry.

After graduating from high school, Atatürk said, "We need a technical man, not a soldier any longer." He sent Abdürrahim to Istanbul, where he taught French and mathematics with the help of Istanbul Governor's Office and Municipality.

Mustafa Kemal sent Abdürrahim, whom he saw fit to continue his education abroad, to Berlin Technical University in 1929 and covered all his expenses.

Abdürrahim Bey, who took the surname Tuncak after 1934, acted as a translator in the negotiations for the purchase of the Savarona Yacht. Zübeyde Hanım asked for 20 liras to be given to Abdürrahim Tuncak in her will opened in 1971, years after her death.

Abdürrahim Tuncak worked at EGO and retired from there.

Baskent University has the Abdurrahim Tuncak Ataturk Museum.