Konya, Bozkır, Dere Village
I was born in this earth-covered hut in the Dikilitaş Highlands.
I was born in the afternoon whilst a flock of sheep was running down the hill from Akarca to our village.
Many years later, my mum still remembers this day very clearly: it was 10th August, making me a Leo.
That very same morning, Yusuf (nicknamed Garadan), the son of Shepherd Mehmet, was also born in my village.
This photo, taken at Alakapı in the courtyard of our mountain house, is the oldest photo I have.
I am the child in a loose robe wearing old-fashioned shoes, sitting on my dad’s lap.
My dad was a tailor. Look at his feet: they turn inwards, not outwards! In those times, sewing machines were operated with a foot pedal. As a result, his feet were trained to face inwards.
Haji lady Cicem! Our fellow countrymen called her “Hacanim”.
My Apıl Aga! An abbreviation of the name Abdullah.
Behind us is the house of Mustafa Aga from the Dağoğlu family and his wife, Henife Cice!
The girl sitting on the woman’s lap in the middle is my mum.
Her name is Münire; our fellow countrymen call her Münüre Cice, but for simplicity’s sake they also call her Münürecce.
The frail woman she is sitting on is my mum’s mum i.e. my Hacıhanım grandma.
My Hacıhanım grandma died a short time after this photo was taken – it would have been 1935 or 1939!
My mum believes it was 1939, because she always says, “I was born after Atatürk died.”
With the courage and support shown by her Uncle Memet, my mum sold our calf, the money from which she used to have my photograph taken, and to buy me a school bag and hat, and to enrol me into secondary school, which is where my educational journey began.
The jacket and tie I am wearing in this photo were borrowed especially for the photo from Hayşa Cice, wife of Ahmet Aga, a German Turk, from our village.
In Kuşadası! After being promoted from a teaboy, carrying glasses of tea on a tray, to a waiter working in a tea garden! The handlebar moustache is not mine. It was drawn on by my cousins!
At the senior class in Kaya Aldoğan Secondary School.
My late Uncle Faik!
After I had sent him a letter asking for him to find me a job and take me to his house so I could give my elder brother (who had joined the army) my pocket money, my Uncle called me to Kuşadası, transferring me from Dere Village to Kuşadası school, giving me the chance to enter higher education…
The night he took me to the Teacher Training School for enrolment he noticed I was afraid of the coal-black sea at the port and the strong wind pushing me towards it, and threatened: “If ever you escape from the school, I’ll come and throw you into the sea!” May he rest in peace!
My first night in the 20-person dormitory of Çanakkale Teacher Training School…
I had to sleep in a room with so many unfamiliar people for the first time in my life, and I was afraid.
We had everything and received a very good education at the Teacher Training School.
The words of my teacher, Nebiye Özcan, are written down in my diary and remain in my memory to this day: “A student who always has respect for scientific thought”.
I had a free holiday for 2 weeks in Çanakkale İntepe Youth Camp organised by the Ministry for students.
As money could not yet be remitted to post box accounts at the time, my uncle could not send money to me for my return so I ran out of money. Luckily, my teacher Enver Can, the camp director, arranged a job for me with a very good salary, which meant I continued to stay and work at the camp.
I had the best three summer holidays of my life at this camp.
Istanbul University
In October 1976, when I arrived for enrolment into the Faculty of Law. When I passed through the gate for the first time and walked towards the sculpture describing how Atatürk guides and directs the youth of our country, I felt as if I had been personally elected and assigned to the university for a very special mission.
At last I had become a lawyer!
A photographer in Aksaray took this photo of me and lightly airbrushed it. It then became one of my favourite photographs. The photograph on the right was also taken around that time, but my hair (which I lost a long time ago) seems quite messy.
While working for my uncle and brother Cevat. By then, I was able to type very fast and free of error with the electronic typewriter which had been newly introduced to the market, and to dial and make calls using a magneto telephone, and to memorise the whole telephone index of the office.
And I continued to smoke. By this point I had quit and restarted many times.
I can say that breaking old habits is the most difficult thing for me in life.
My mum and my sons in the highlands.
Sinan’s birthday card is a smile just like my father’s smile when he was younger, spreading wide across his face.
My life story which started in Bozkır has fortunately also been enriched by international prizes. In 2014, I was awarded the prestigious “Law Firm of the Year” prize by The Lawyer magazine in London.
Mehmet Gün is an internationally recognised lawyer and Founder and Chairman of the Better Justice Association.
Born in Dere village, Bozkır-Konya, through perseverance and hard work Mehmet earned a place at the Canakkale Teaching College. However, soon after commencing teacher training, a change in Turkish education policy impelled Mehmet to pursue a law degree at İstanbul University instead. This laid the foundations for his career, in the course of which he has founded one of Turkey’s largest and most prestigious law firms, Gün + Partners. He has also pioneered the development and enforcement of modern Turkish intellectual property laws.
Mehmet has an impressive professional track record; Legal500, Chambers and Partners and Euromoney rank him among the most influential lawyers in Turkey, whilst Gün + Partners was chosen as the National Firm of the Year by The Lawyer in 2014, by Managing IP between 2016 and 2018, and Who’s Who Legal in 2015, 2017 and 2018 and Iam 300 The World’s Leading IP Strategist in 2019. The Turkish Exporters Assembly also identified Gün + Partners as the Top Professional Service Exporter in 2016.
Mehmet is determined to give back to the country that has given him so much; he is sharing his experiences and insight to help Turkey develop an internationally celebrated system of law. As part of this effort he published his autobiography – From the Steppes of Anatolia to the World of Global Law. His books and articles demonstrate his drive to reform the Turkish judiciary in order to strengthen and improve the rule of law and democracy in Turkey, and in turn help achieve sustainable economic growth. These include Unconstitutionality of the Privileged Protection Afforded to the Community of Experts and Turkey’s Middle Democracy Issues. The latter identifies Turkey’s democratisation issues, highlights the root causes and offers solutions.
In addition to the Better Justice Association, created to advocate for an independently functioning judiciary as a necessary foundation for a democratic Turkey, he is Founder and Chairman of İSTA, the İstanbul Arbitration Association. Through İSTA, Mehmet hopes that arbitration will be fostered as Turkey’s favoured method of dispute resolution and aims to promote İstanbul as a leading centre for international arbitration. He directed İSTA to write and publish Ethics Rules for Arbitrators, a product of the first and most in-depth studies in the field of Arbitration Ethics in Turkey.
Mehmet recognises the importance of a system of beliefs and behaviours which empowers the whole of society and is therefore very keen to help others progress. The principles of equality and diversity are enshrined into the very foundations of Gün + Partners and the firm has invested significant resources into providing fair opportunities for all, transparency and implementing measures to protect and promote women across all levels in the firm. The Gün + Partners staff is majority female both at board level and more widely. He also runs a scholarship programme for disadvantaged children from his hometown, helping them to pursue higher education.
He is an active member of several professional associations, such as TÜSIAD (the Turkish Business and Industry Association) and is the Vice President of the Turkish Enterprise and Business Confederation. Mehmet has also developed software for law firms with applications for governance.
© 2024 Mehmet Gün. by mare.design
