Daniş Tunalıgil

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
President	Cevdet Sunay Fahri Korutürk
Preceded by	Hüveyda Mayatepek
Succeeded by	Asaf İnhan
27th Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands
In office 30 November 1970 – 2 November 1973
President	Cevdet Sunay
Preceded by	Vahit Halefoğlu
Succeeded by	Oktay Cankardeş
22nd Turkish Ambassador to Yugoslavia
In office 23 July 1964 – 18 September 1968
President	Cemal Gürsel
Preceded by	Orhan Eralp
Succeeded by	Üstün Gündoğdu
6th Turkish Ambassador to Jordan
In office 29 April 1960 – 1 July 1964
President	Cemal Gürsel
Preceded by	Mahmut Dikerdem
Succeeded by	Hüveyda Mayatepek
Personal details
Born	1915 Ankara, Turkey
Died	22 October 1975(1975-10-22) (aged 60) Vienna, Austria
Spouse	Ferzane Tunalıgil
Alma mater	Galatasaray High School
Profession	Diplomat

Life and career

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

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

• List of assassinated people from Turkey
• List of Turkish diplomats assassinated by Armenian militant organisations
• List of attacks by the Justice Commandos Against Armenian Genocide
• Assassination of Taha Carım
• Assassination of İsmail Erez
• ASALA

References

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 Mahmut Dikerdem	Turkish Ambassador to Jordan 1960–1964	Succeeded by Hüveyda Mayatepek
Preceded by Orhan Eralp	Turkish Ambassador to Yugoslavia 1964–1968	Succeeded by Üstün Gündoğdu
Preceded by Vahit Melih Halefoğlu	Turkish Ambassador to the Netherlands 1970–1973	Succeeded by Oktay Cankardeş
Preceded by Hüveyda Mayatepek	Turkish Ambassador to Austria 1973–1975	Succeeded by Asaf İnhan