Turgut Özal
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| Halil Turgut Özal | |
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| In office November 9, 1989 – April 17, 1993 |
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| Preceded by | Kenan Evren |
| Succeeded by | Süleyman Demirel |
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| Born | October 13, 1927 Malatya |
| Died | April 17, 1993 Ankara |
| Spouse | Semra Özal |
Halil Turgut Özal (October 13, 1927–April 17, 1993) was a Turkish liberal political leader, prime minister and the 8th president of Turkey. As prime minister and later president, he transformed the economy of Turkey by paving the way for the privatization of many state sectors. This improved relations with the western world, especially the United States; Özal even described Turkey as a "little America", for the preponderance of goods that became available during his leadership.
Özal has been criticized by some, who have asserted that this shift from state-dominated to privatized economy came at the expense of the old Turkish middle class. This criticism has been answered by others who emphasize that Özal had tried to expand the middle class so as to integrate the more traditional popular rural base previously excluded from the markets. His presidential tenure is often perceived as having "brought capitalism to the country".[1]
In the 1991 Gulf War, Özal supported the coalition against Iraq.
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[edit] Background
He was born in Malatya and was of partial Kurdish descent.[2] He graduated elementary school in Silifke (Mersin), middle school in Mardin, and high school in Kayseri. Özal graduated from the school of electrical engineering at the Istanbul Technical University in 1950.
[edit] Before Anavatan Partisi
Between 1950-1952, he worked in the State Electrical Power Planning Administration and continued his studies in the United States on electrical energy and engineering management between 1952-1953. After his return to Turkey, he worked in the same organization again on electrification projects until 1958. Özal was in the State Planning Department in 1959, and in the Planning Coordination Department in 1960. After his military service in 1961, he worked at several state organizations in leading positions and lectured at ODTÜ (Middle East Technical University). The World Bank employed him between 1971-1973. Then, he was chairman of some private Turkish companies until 1979. Back to the state service, he was undersecretary to the Prime minister Süleyman Demirel until the military coup on September 12, 1980. The military rulers under Kenan Evren appointed him state minister and deputy prime minister in charge of economic affairs until July 1982.
[edit] Premier of Turkey
On May 20, 1983 he founded Anavatan Partisi (Motherland Party) and became its leader. His party won the elections and he formed the government to become the 19th Prime minister on December 13, 1983. In 1987 he was reelected.
On June 18, 1988 he survived an assassination attempt during the party congress. He was wounded on his finger while another bullet missed his head. The assassin was captured and sentenced to life in prison but later pardoned by Özal.
[edit] Presidency of Özal
On November 9, 1989, Özal became the eighth president of Turkey elected by the Grand National Assembly of Turkey.
With the dissolution of the Soviet Union, Özal made an effort to create alliances with the Turkic countries of Central Asia as well as Azerbaijan in the South Caucasus. He provided moral, economic, and military support to the latter during the Nagorno-Karabakh War threatening to invade Armenia.
On April 17, 1993, Özal died of a sudden heart attack in office.[3] He was buried with a state ceremony in İstanbul next to the mausoleum of Adnan Menderes, whom he had greatly revered. On the 14th anniversary of his death, thousands of people gathered in Ankara and commemorated him.[4]
[edit] Family
Turgut Özal wife's name was Semra; they had two sons and a daughter. One of their sons, Ahmet Özal, was elected to parliament after the elections of 1999, but stayed out after the elections of 2002.
| Party political offices | ||
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| Preceded by Suleyman Demirel of Justice Party |
Leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP) May 20, 1983–Oct 31, 1989 |
Succeeded by Yıldırım Akbulut |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by Orhan Eyüpoğlu Hikmet Çetin |
Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey Sep 20, 1980–Jul 14, 1982 |
Succeeded by Kaya Erdem |
| Preceded by Bülend Ulusu |
Prime Minister of Turkey Dec 13, 1983–Oct 31, 1989 |
Succeeded by Yıldırım Akbulut |
| Preceded by Kenan Evren |
President of Turkey Nov 9, 1989–Apr 17, 1993 |
Succeeded by Süleyman Demirel |
[edit] External links
[edit] Notes
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