Hüseyin Daniş Tunalıgil (1915 – 22 October 1975) was a Turkish diplomat. He was assassinated by JCAG in 1975 during his duty as the Turkish ambassador to Austria.[1]

Daniş Tunalıgil
Tunalıgil sometime before his death
39th Turkish Ambassador to Austria
In office
1 January 1973 – 22 October 1975
PresidentCevdet Sunay
Fahri Korutürk
Preceded byHüveyda Mayatepek
Succeeded byAsaf İnhan
27th Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office
30 November 1970 – 2 November 1973
PresidentCevdet Sunay
Preceded byVahit Halefoğlu
Succeeded byOktay Cankardeş
22nd Turkish Ambassador to Yugoslavia
In office
23 July 1964 – 18 September 1968
PresidentCemal Gürsel
Preceded byOrhan Eralp
Succeeded byÜstün Gündoğdu
6th Turkish Ambassador to Jordan
In office
29 April 1960 – 1 July 1964
PresidentCemal Gürsel
Preceded byMahmut Dikerdem
Succeeded byHüveyda Mayatepek
Personal details
Born1915
Ankara, Turkey
Died22 October 1975(1975-10-22) (aged 60)
Vienna, Austria
SpouseFerzane Tunalıgil
Alma materGalatasaray High School
ProfessionDiplomat

Life and career

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Tunalıgil was born in Ankara, Turkey in 1915. He graduated from Galatasaray High School in 1933.[2] In 1939, he entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. During his diplomatic career he had been ambassador of Turkey to Jordan, Yugoslavia, the Netherlands and finally Austria.

Assassination

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At noon, on 22 October 1975, three gunmen bearing automatic weapons ambushed the Turkish Embassy in Vienna, killing the security guards and entering the Ambassador's office. Once face to face with the ambassador, the militants asked if he was the Turkish ambassador. Receiving an affirmative answer, they shot him with British and Israeli made submachine guns.[3] Tunalıgil died on the spot and the militants quickly left the scene by an automobile.[4]

The attack was followed by another planned attack against the ambassador of Turkey to France, Ismail Erez on October 24, 1975 killing him and his chauffeur.[5]

The 3 militants were never identified and caught.[6][7] It was the first assassination perpetrated by JCAG, and by 1984 it would have claimed the lives of 20 Turkish diplomats and members of their immediate families.[8]

 
An ornamental tablet in commemoration of Tunalıgil in front of the Turkish Embassy in Vienna

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Newspaper Milliyet October 22, 2004 Archived June 4, 2006, at the Wayback Machine (in Turkish)
  2. ^ Oku July 4, 2007[permanent dead link] (in Turkish)
  3. ^ Lester A. Sobel, "Political terrorism, Volume 2, University of Michigan, Facts on File, 1978, p. 248
  4. ^ "TURKISH DIPLOMATS KILLED BY THE ARMENIAN TERRORISTS DURING THEIR DUTY". Archived from the original on 2012-06-26. Retrieved 2012-09-07.
  5. ^ Guerre et terrorisme arméniens, Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 2002, p. 44
  6. ^ Encyclopedia of terrorism Archived 2014-06-29 at the Wayback Machine, Infobase Publishing, 2007, Cindy C. Combs, Martin W. Slann, p. 394]
  7. ^ Michael M. Gunter, "Pursuing the Just Cause of their People. A Study of Contemporary Armenian Terrorism, Westport-New York-London, Greenwood Press, 1986, p. 68
  8. ^ Baron Max, Beloff Beloff, "Beyond the Soviet Union: the fragmentation of power, Ashgate, 1997, p. 42
Diplomatic posts
Preceded by Turkish Ambassador to Jordan
1960–1964
Succeeded by
Preceded by Turkish Ambassador to Yugoslavia
1964–1968
Succeeded by
Preceded by Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands
1970–1973
Succeeded by
Preceded by Turkish Ambassador to Austria
1973–1975
Succeeded by