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Turgut Özal

8th President of the Republic of Turkey (1927–1993)

AI overview

Turgut Özal was the 8th President of Turkey who served from 1989 until his death in 1993, and he is remembered as a significant political figure in modern Turkish history. His presidency came during an important period of economic and political change in Turkey, making him a notable leader in the country's development during the late 20th century.

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Quotes

“What if we officially recognize the 1915 Armenian genocide and face up to our past?”
“In all these countries, (Özal swept his hand across the map from Afghanistan to Algeria) too many people have too little hope.”
“Turkey must show its teeth to Armenia. What harm would it do if a few bombs were dropped on the Armenian side by Turkish troops holding maneuvers on the border?”
“The only thing not to do in a crisis situation is to remain in the status quo. Up to the present every crisis has ultimately served as a springboard for progress.”
“Now, we changed it, here you are!”

via Wikiquote · CC BY-SA

Article

Halil Turgut Özal (13 October 1927 – 17 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, bureaucrat, engineer and statesman who served as the president of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the prime minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Motherland Party. He was the deputy prime minister of Turkey in the military government of Bülend Ulusu between 1980 and 1982.

After working briefly at the World Bank in the United States and as a university lecturer, Özal became the general secretary and later the leader of the main miners' trade union of Turkey in 1979, serving as a chief negotiator during large-scale industrial action in 1977. He unsuccessfully stood for Parliament in the 1977 general election as a National Salvation Party (MSP) candidate from İzmir. In 1979, he became an undersecretary to Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel's minority government until the 1980 military coup. As an undersecretary, he played a major role in developing economic reforms, known as the 24 January decisions, which paved the way for greater neoliberalism in the Turkish economy. After the coup, he was appointed Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey responsible for the economy in Bülend Ulusu's government and continued to implement economic reforms. He resigned in 1982 following disagreements over economic policy.