History

Turkish Green Crescent Society was founded by patriotic people and intellectuals (Dist. Prof. Mazhar Osman and his friends) from a diverse set of backgrounds in 1920, response to the British attempts to distribute booze and drugs free of charge in Istanbul in an effort to undermine the resistance against the occupation. The founders sensed the upcoming dangers of alcohol and drug addiction that resulted decline in the resistance against the occupation. The patriotic intellectuals established the “Green Crescent”, “Hilal-i Ahdar” in Istanbul in order to warn Turkish society. The official name of the association is “Türkiye Yeşilay Cemiyeti”, “Turkish Green Crescent Society”.

The Green Crescent is a non-profit and non-governmental organization that empowers youth and adults with factual information about drugs so they can make informed decisions against different kind of addictions including alcohol, tobacco, drug, gambling etc. The Green Crescent was established in 1920 and given the status of Public-Beneficial Society (public beneficial society status is given to the organizations that serve for public benefits) by the Turkish government in 1934.

Today, the Green Crescent has become a trademark in fight against addictions within the country by 24 branches and 64 representatives operating in numerous cities.

Former Presidents

No	Name - Surname	Start	End
1	Dist. Prof. Mazhar Osman UZMAN	05.03.1920	January 1945
2	Dist. Prof. Fahreddin Kerim GÖKAY	January 1945	22.01.1950
3	Atty. Celal Feyyaz GÜRSEL	26.01.1950	17.05.1952
4	Dr. Şükrü Hazım TİNER	17.05.1952	17.09.1955
5	Safiye ELBİ	17.09.1955	26.05.1956
6	Dr. Şükrü Hazım TİNER	26.05.1956	25.01.1960
7	Vecihi DİVİTÇİ	25.01.1960	November 1960
8	Aytekin OZAN	August 1961	December 1961
9	Fahreddin ZAİM	December 1961	January 1962
10	Aytekin OZAN	April 1962	December 1962
11	Prof. Dr. Abdülkadir KARAHAN	November 1962	17.03.1963
12	Atty. Yusuf Ziya İNAN	17.03.1963	27.09.1964
13	Prof. Dr. Ayhan SONGAR	04.10.1964	12.02.1968
14	Atty. Kemaleddin NOMER	12.02.1968	29.11.1969
15	Selahaddin KAPTANAĞASI	29.11.1969	27.03.2004
16	Atty. Mustafa Necati ÖZFATURA	27.03.2004	13.10.2010
17	Atty. Muharrem BALCI	13.10.2010	31.10.2012
18	Prof. Dr. M. İhsan Karaman	31.10.2012	23.05.2015