Ali Çetinkaya

Who was Ali Çetinkaya?

Ali Çetinkaya, also known as "Kel" Ali Bey was an Ottoman Army officer and Turkish politician who served eight terms in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey, including a period in 1939–40 as his country's first Minister of Transport.

He was born in Kara Hisâr-i Sâhib in Hüdavendigâr Vilayet as a son of Ahmed Efendi. He studied in the Bursa Military High School. After graduating from military highschool, he entered the Ottoman Military Academy In 1898 he graduated academy and joined the Ottoman military as an Second Lieutenant. During World War I, he served for the army in the Caucasus and Galicia fronts.

When the Greek forces were landing at Smyrna in May 15, 1919, he was a lieutenant colonel and the commander of 172nd Infantry Regiment stationed in the Aegean coastal town of Ayvalık. His regiment was under the command of the 56th Division of Hürrem Bey. Ali played a key role in the first stage of the Greco-Turkish War of 1919–1922, starting with the opening battle.

He was briefly able to hold back the advance into the city of Greek occupation forces.