Mehmet Zekeriya SERTEL 1890-1980

He is a Turkish journalist and publisher. He is one of the leading figures in the history of the Turkish press.

He was born in 1890 in Usturumca, Thessaloniki. After completing his primary education in the place where he was born and his secondary education in Thessaloniki and Edirne High School, he continued his education at Thessaloniki Law School. While studying law in Thessaloniki, he started his journalism career in Rumeli, that is, the media organ of the İttihat ve Terakki. He published a magazine called Yeni Felsefe (New Philosophy). During the same period, he learned French. He expanded his knowledge of philosophy and sociology. In 1911, he published his first book, Hayat ve Şebab. At the end of the First Balkan War, he started to work for the newspaper Tasvir-i Efkâr and continued his law education at the İstanbul Law School.

In 1913, he went to Paris with a scholarship provided by the Ministry of Education and started to study sociology at the Sorbonne. On the other hand, he continued to work as a reporter for the newspaper Tasvir-i Efkâr. After the outbreak of World War I, he returned to İstanbul. In 1914, he published his own newspaper, Turan. He served for two years in the Directorate of Muhâcirîn ve Ashâir. In 1923, he was appointed as the General Manager of Press and Publication. As a publication of the Directorate of Printing, he published a magazine called Ayın Tarihi. He was one of the founders of Cumhuriyet newspaper. He published the Resimli Ay and brought Nâzım Hikmet to Turkish readers through this magazine. He published a daily newspaper called Son Posta. Between 1932 and 1936, he prepared the country's first encyclopedia, Hayat Ansiklopedisi. During the years of World War II, he published the newspaper, Tan. He wrote articles for Cumhuriyet and Vatan newspapers.

He died in Paris on March 11, 1980. Since 1996, the Sertel Foundation, which was established after his death, has given the Sertel Democracy Award to journalists, scientists and institutions that have done the best work in the field of democracy.