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| Tahsin Şahinkaya | |
|---|---|
| Name | Tahsin Şahinkaya |
| Birth date | 1925 |
| Birth place | Mersin, Turkey |
| Death date | 9 January 2018 |
| Death place | Istanbul |
| Allegiance | Turkish Armed Forces |
| Branch | Turkish Air Force |
| Rank | General |
| Battles | 1971 Turkish coup d'état |
Tahsin Şahinkaya was a Turkish Air Force officer who rose to the rank of general and served as Commander of the Turkish Air Force. He is best known for his role in the events surrounding the 1971 Turkish coup d'état and later involvement in Turkish political and legal controversies during the late 20th and early 21st centuries. His career intersected with notable institutions and figures in Ankara, Istanbul, Adnan Menderes, Süleyman Demirel, and the Republic of Turkey.
Born in Mersin, Republic of Turkey, Şahinkaya attended military preparatory schools linked to the Turkish Air Force and graduated from the Turkish Air Force Academy. He received training associated with NATO programs and participated in courses connected to the United States Air Force and other NATO air commands in Europe and Ankara. During his formative years he encountered contemporaries who later served in the Turkish Armed Forces high command, including officers associated with the MİT and the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Şahinkaya's service record included postings to front-line squadrons, staff appointments in Ankara, command roles at major air bases such as those near İzmir and Eskişehir, and staff positions within the General Staff of the Turkish Armed Forces. He advanced through ranks alongside figures who would later be prominent in Turkish politics and security, including officers linked to the 1960 Turkish coup d'état aftermath and the 1971 Turkish coup d'état network. His tenure as Commander of the Turkish Air Force placed him in coordination with the Turkish Land Forces, Turkish Naval Forces, NATO Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE), and ministries in Ankara.
During the period leading to the 1971 intervention, Şahinkaya was among military leaders whose actions and communications intersected with the National Security Council and political figures such as Süleyman Demirel and members of the Justice Party. He participated in the network of senior officers associated with the memorandum delivered in March 1971 that prompted the Demirel government to resign and enabled technocratic cabinets involving figures from Ankara University and bureaucratic elites. His role connected him to contemporaneous events involving the Kurdish movement, leftist movements including factions linked to Workers' Party of Turkey activists, and state responses involving the Constitution of 1961 framework.
After leaving active service, Şahinkaya remained a figure in discussions involving the Turkish Armed Forces legacy, interacting with veterans groups, former commanders from the 1960 coup era, and institutions such as the Presidential Palace during transitions involving presidents like Kenan Evren and Turgut Özal. Decades later he became associated with legal proceedings tied to the Ergenekon trials and broader investigations into alleged deep state networks, where other defendants included retired officers, journalists linked to Cumhuriyet (newspaper), and academics from Istanbul University. He faced indictment alongside figures from the Gulen movement controversies and cases that engaged courts in Istanbul and Ankara.
Şahinkaya's private life involved family ties in Mersin and social connections with other military families from regions such as Adana and Ankara Province. He interacted socially with retired commanders from the Turkish Air Force and was known to attend commemorations at military cemeteries such as Anıtkabir and memorials associated with veterans of conflicts involving Cyprus and NATO deployments. His contemporaries included senior officers who later served in cabinets and as ambassadors to countries like United States and United Kingdom.
Şahinkaya died in Istanbul on 9 January 2018, an event noted by national institutions including the Turkish Air Force and press outlets such as Hürriyet and Milliyet. His legacy is referenced in histories of the 1971 intervention, analyses of civil-military relations involving the National Security Council, and studies of Turkish politics alongside figures such as Süleyman Demirel, Bülent Ecevit, and Kenan Evren. Commemorations and critiques by scholars at institutions like Boğaziçi University, Istanbul University, and think tanks in Ankara reflect the contested interpretations of his role in late 20th-century Turkish history.
Category:Turkish Air Force generals Category:1925 births Category:2018 deaths