Kâzım Dirik

Kâzım Dirik (1881 in Bitola, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire – July 3, 1941 in Edirne) was an officer of the Ottoman Army and a general of the Turkish Army. During his political career he was Governor of Izmir between 1926 and 1935. In cooperation with the Peoples Houses, he encouraged the campaign which demanded from the population to only speak Turkish in 1934. After 1935, he also became the Inspector General of the Second Inspectorate-General in the Turkish western provinces and was involved in the Turkification and resettlement program of the Turkish Government. He presented the idea of the “Ideal Republican Village” (Turkish: İdeal Cumhuriyet Köyü).