He was born on May 18, 1887, in Salonica as the fifth child of Yakubi Mustafa Arif Efendi and his wife Ayşe Hanım, and was named Abdülhalim Lütfi. He studied at the Fevziye Schools and is known to have been a student of Şemsi Efendi during his education. After graduating from high school, he enrolled in the Halkalı Higher School of Agriculture in 1910, where he obtained the Ulum-i Zira’iyye İcazetnamesi (a diploma in Agricultural Sciences). He then went to France and graduated in 1913 from the École d’Horticulture de Versailles.

After returning to Turkey, he worked as Director of the Botanical Garden of the Medical Faculty (1914–1915), a horticulture instructor at the Beykoz Nursery (1916–1917), and a lecturer in horticulture at the Halkalı Higher School of Agriculture (1918–1919). During his time at the Beykoz Nursery, he published his first book titled The Queen of Autumn Among Flowers.

Following his marriage to Nigâr Hanım, his daughters Hande (Unay) were born in 1920 and Dürre (Ergüven) in 1925.

In addition to his work in agriculture, Lütfi Arif was also active in journalism. Before the Surname Law, he used the nickname Çelebioğlu. In 1918, he was among the founders of the Ahali İktisat Fırkası (People’s Economic Party), served as secretary of the Rumelia and Anatolia Defense of Rights Society, and during the Turkish War of Independence, he played a role in organizing the National Defense in Ödemiş and establishing a front in Ahmetli. In cooperation with the Mufti of Denizli, he helped ensure the selection of delegates to the Sivas Congress.

After the Mudanya Armistice, he went to Edirne as a correspondent for Vakit newspaper, where he organized the establishment of a provisional administration. Upon being appointed head of this body, he signed the telegram of allegiance sent to the Grand National Assembly in Ankara on November 5, 1922.

He attended the 1923 İzmir Economic Congress as a delegate from Kırkağaç and played a role—after securing Mustafa Kemal’s approval—in the election of Kâzım Karabekir as chairman of the congress. He also participated as a journalist in both the Lausanne Conference delegation and the Turkish-Greek Population Exchange Commission. During negotiations in Athens, he was expelled by the Greek government due to a speech he delivered in front of the Turkish Embassy, but returned to Athens upon Mustafa Kemal’s orders.

In later years, he served as the Turkey representative of the Société Nationale d’Horticulture de France and held positions as president, vice president, and member of the Chamber of Agriculture’s executive board. He authored dozens of books on horticulture and floriculture and received numerous medals at various exhibitions.

Between 1935 and 1952, Lütfi Arif Kenber taught biology and geology at Işık, Kabataş, and Boğaziçi high schools. From 1924 to 1958, he wrote for many newspapers such as Tan, Tasvir, and Milliyet, as well as journals like Yakın Tarihte Dün ve Bugün and Yolumuz Demokrasiye Doğru. He served as editor-in-chief of Münakaşa newspaper, and in 1947 was elected to the Istanbul Journalists’ Association and, the same year, as secretary of the Turkish Journalists’ Union; in 1953, he was elected to the executive board of the Journalists’ Association.

He also contributed to the design of Yıldız and Emirgân Parks and the Tulip Garden. He named the flower Arctotis, which had no known Turkish equivalent, as “Kenber Flower.” Lütfi Arif Kenber passed away on April 16, 1963, at his home in the Esentepe Journalists’ Residences in Istanbul. The author of these lines, his nephew, was the one who gently closed his eyes as he lay peacefully on his deathbed.

Author: Bilgi Arif Kenber (Nephew)