Mulkiye celebrates 165 years as Türkiye’s oldest civil servant training institution

Türkiye’s oldest civil servant training institution, commonly known as Mulkiye, celebrated its 165th anniversary on Sunday.

The Mulkiye, officially Mekteb-i Mulkiye-i Funun-u Sahane, was established in 1859 to cultivate a class of elite civil servants during the late Ottoman Empire. The initiative aimed to address the empire’s pressing domestic and foreign challenges.

With the transition from the Ottomans to modern Türkiye, Mulkiye remained the country’s first and quintessential institution for training civil servants in the fields of political science and economics.

The Mulkiye’s alumni association commemorated the anniversary with a series of events, including speeches, a concert by the Istanbul Symphony Orchestra, and a reception hosted at the headquarters of Is Bank in Istanbul.

Moving from Istanbul to Ankara, empire to republic

Since its first graduating class in 1861, Mulkiye has produced countless high-ranking Turkish bureaucrats who have made a lasting impact on the nation’s politics, language and culture.

Established by Sultan Abdulmecid as part of the Tanzimat Reforms, the institution was a key component of the late Ottoman Empire’s ambitious drive to modernize and catch up with European powers in the second half of the 19th century.

During World War I, with the Ottoman Empire facing attacks on multiple fronts, Mulkiye briefly paused operations between 1915 and 1918.

In December 1935, Türkiye’s founder and first President Mustafa Kemal Ataturk wrote to Vice President Ismet Inonu to tell Mulkiye students, “My duties toward the Turkish nation, the Turkish Republic, and the future of Turkish identity are far from over. You (Mulkiye) will complete them.”

In 1936, Mulkiye relocated to Ankara, with a special train organized for the move. By 1950, the institution had formally become the Faculty of Political Science of Ankara University.

Between the 1960s and 1980s, Mulkiye played a pivotal role in shaping political discourse, particularly with its strong leftist leanings.

Mulkiye anthem

Another love is not necessary, our hearts beat with your love,

O Homeland stop your tears, because we have grown up.

Smile so that with your joy so smiles the moon, the son, the earth, the sea.

O Motherland, may your tears cease, because we have grown up.

Excerpt from the Mulkiye Anthem (unofficial translation)

The anthem was written by 17-year-old Mulkiye student Cemal Edhem Yesil.

Yesil, born in Diyarbakir, eventually became the Undersecretariat of the Ministry of Finance (1942-1947) and a Turkish ambassador posted to Afghanistan (1951-1956), Hungary (1956-1960), and Poland (1962-1965).

Graduates who built and shaped Türkiye

Mulkiye graduates have gone on to become ministers, parliamentarians, ambassadors, businesspeople, writers and leaders of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

Notable Mulkiye alumni currently holding critical positions include Finance Minister Mehmet Simsek, Education Minister Yusuf Tekin, Deputy Foreign Minister Faruk Kaymakci, Ambassador to Belgium and the European Union Bekir Uysal, and Koc Holding CEO Levent Cakiroglu.

Since its founding, Mulkiye has played an indispensable role in the development and shaping of the Republic of Türkiye.