Samsun

In the Ottoman Empire, the modern municipal system was introduced during the Tanzimat reform era.[1] With a regulation that was issued on June 13, 1854, the municipal institution of the mayor was established in İstanbul.[2] The city regulations of 1864 and 1871 led the way for the introduction of the modern municipal system in the rural areas.[3] The issuing of the 1868 regulation put into effect the 1864 regulation and the establishment of municipalities outside İstanbul was decided.[4] Within this context, a modern municipality was established in Samsun in 1869. At that time, mayors were assigned to their offices. Thus, Emrullah Efendi was appointed as the mayor of Samsun.[5]

The 112nd article of the Constitution of 1876 proposed that municipalities are to be run by elected assemblies and the organizational principles on this were defined by law. Another important regulation for the Ottoman rural municipalities was introduced by the City Municipal Law of 1877. According to this law, the members of the municipality consisted of an elected city council of 6-12 people, depending on the population of the city, and a mayor who was appointed by the government from the council members.[6] In this context, Hasan Tahsin Efendi was appointed as mayor of Samsun in 1879.[7] The City Municipal Law was reorganized in 1883. The last important municipality regulation of the Ottoman period came with the Dersaadet Teşkilat-ı Municipality Provisional Law (Dersaadet Teşkilat-ı Belediye Kanun-u Muvakkat) in 1912.[8] Following this date, Samsun was grouped into districts by the Samsun Municipality and supervisions were assigned to sergeants, as required by the 61st article of the Municipal law.[9].

As a conclusion, 20 mayors in total took office in the municipality of Samsun between 1869 and 1923. The longest serving mayor during this period was Şişboyum Ahmet Rağıp Efendi, who took office for a period of 8 years.

The following table displays the names and dates in office for the mayors of Samsun between 1864-1923.

Table: Mayors of Samsun:[10]

[1] İlber Ortaylı, “Belediye”, İslam Ansiklopedisi, V..5, MEB, Istanbul 1992, p.399.

[2] Mehmet Seyitdanlıoğlu, “Bir Belge Yerel Yönetim Metinleri (IV) Şehremaneti’nin Kuruluşu ve Şehremaneti Nizamnamesi”, Çağdaş Yerel Yönetimler, Vol. 5, Nu.3, 1996, p.77;İlber Ortaylı, Tanzimat Devrinde Osmanlı Mahalli İdareleri (1840-1880), Türk Tarih Kurumu, Ankara 2000, p.137-138.

[3] Nora Lafi, “Mediterranean Connections: The Circulation of Municipal Knowledge and Practices durin the Ottoman Reforms c. 1830-1910”, Another Global City Historical Explorations into the Transnational Municipal Moment, 1850-2000, Editors: Pierre–Yves and Shane Ewen, Palgrave Macmillan Pub., 2008, p. 40-42; Mustafa Gençoğlu, “1864 ve 1871 Vilayet Nizamnamelerine Göre Osmanlı Taşra İdaresinde Yeniden Yapılanma”, Çankırı Karatekin Üniversitesi sosyal Bilimler enstitüsü Dergisi, Vol: 2, Nu:1, 2011, p.34-38.

[4] Düstur, I. Tertib, Vol. 2, p.450-459; İlber Ortaylı, “Tanzimat ve Meşrutiyet Dönemlerinde Yerel Yönetimler”, Tanzimat’tan Cumhuriyet’e Türkiye Ansiklopedisi, V. I, Istanbul 1985, p.242.

[5] Baki Sarısakal, Samsun Belediye Tarihi, Samsun Büyükşehir Belediyesi Yayınları, Samsun 2007.

[6] Yakup Altan, “Meclis-i Meb’usân Zabıt Cerideleri (1293=1877) Üzerinden Türk Belediyeciliğini Anlamak”, Süleyman Demirel Üniversitesi İktisadi ve İdari Bilimler Fakültesi Dergisi, Vol. 14, Nu.2, 2009, p.294.

[7] Baki Sarısakal, ibid.

[8] Feyzullah Ünal, “Tanzimattan Cumhuriyete Türkiye’de Yerel Yönetimlerin Yasal ve Yapısal Dönüşümü”, Dumlupınar Üniversitesi Sosyal Bilimler Dergisi, Nu.30, 2011, p.244.

[9] Baki Sarısakal, ibid.

[10] Baki Sarısakal, ibid., p.456.