Fahrettin Kerim Gökay

Fahrettin Kerim Gökay (January 9, 1900 – July 22, 1987) was a Turkish politician, civil servant, professor ordinarius and physician. He served as government minister, and is well known for his long-term position as governor of Istanbul.

Early years He was born on January 9, 1900, in Eskişehir. His father was Hajji Kerim Efendi, a Crimean Tatar from Kerch and his mother Hajji Azize Hanım, an immigrant daughter from Dobruja. After finishing the primary school in his hometown, he studied in a high school in Istanbul.

Gökay was educated at Istanbul University's Faculty of Medicine, from where he graduated as a physician in 1922. He then carried out studies between 1922 and 1924 at the Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München and the University of Hamburg in Germany as well as at the University of Vienna, Austria, specializing in neuropathy. He served also as president of the Turkish Red Crescent.

Civil servant On October 24, 1949, he was appointed governor and mayor of Istanbul, succeeding Lütfi Kırdar (in office 1938–1949). Gökay served in this post until November 26, 1957. Gökay opened up the area outside the Walls of Istanbul for urbanization. He also initiated the foundation of around fifty schools in Istanbul. There is an Anatolian High School at Sefaköy in Küçükçekmece district of Istanbul bearing his name.