Suleyman Demirel, stalwart of Turkish politics, dies at 90
|
Version 0 of 1. Suleyman Demirel, a leading figure in the public life of Turkey during the last half of the 20th century, whose seven terms as prime minister and one as president won him international recognition as a political survivor, died June 17 at a hospital in Ankara. He was 90. He had been treated for a respiratory infection, according to the Reuters news agency. Trained as an engineer, credited as a builder of dams and power plants, Mr. Demirel was also known for his efforts to bring democracy and industry to a country that had fallen far behind its European neighbors to the west and was struggling to catch up. On the economic front alone, he and his country faced daunting problems, including, at various times, massive inflation, unemployment and foreign debt. As the holder of the top office in a country located physically and culturally between East and West, between Europe and the Middle East, Mr. Demirel was also challenged by religious unrest, concern about the Kurdish minority, tensions with neighboring countries, and conflicts between tradition and modernity. There were also two attempts on his life. Mr. Demirel was the director of the State Hydraulic Works in the late 1950s under the government of Prime Minister Adnan Menderes, who was executed in 1961 after a military coup the previous year. Mr. Demirel completed compulsory military service, then continued to rise in politics. After his party’s victory in the elections of October 1965, he became prime minister of Turkey and, at age 41, the youngest man to hold the office. In 1969, his party won again, giving him his second term. This proved to be a period in which great public works projects were initiated, including the first bridge over the Bosporus. Spanning the strait between Europe and Asia, the bridge held both material and symbolic significance. After the parliament rejected his budget, Mr. Demirel resigned as prime minister, but was soon back in office under a reorganized government. During his third term, tensions increased between the government and the military over many of the issues that were bitterly dividing the country: the economy, legislative futility, acts of domestic terrorism, and the dispute between Turkey and Greece over Cyprus, the island in the eastern Mediterranean. A group of generals, seeking a greater role in the country’s divisive politics, staged in March 1971 what was often called “a military coup by memorandum,” sending an ultimatum to President Cevdet Sunay about the continuing unrest while also positioning their forces to take control. Driven from office that year, Mr. Demirel made what was regarded as one of the more remarkable comebacks credited to a world figure. He returned to head coalition governments from 1975 to 1977 and from 1977 to 1978. He returned to office once again in 1979, but in September 1980, a coup again ousted him from office. He was placed under a 10-year ban from politics. But a referendum in 1987 opened the way for a comeback, and in 1991 he became prime minister for the last time. He then served as president from 1993 to 2000. During the years of his prominence, Turkey was riven by disputes that often prompted street demonstrations. Voters did not provide any party with a clear-cut majority, and forming governments required the blending of members from different parties. Among the attributes for which Mr. Demirel was known was his ability to form coalitions and mediate among leaders of rival groups. For example, although Turkey is a Muslim country, the army stood for secular government. For many years, Mr. Demirel strengthened nascent democratic traditions by persuading the army to stay out of civil politics. Doing this required him to persuade the government to avoid giving offense to the military. In particular, Mr. Demirel was credited with restraining both sides in 1996 when the military became particularly concerned by what was regarded as a growing Islamist threat in the civil government. He was often described as lacking charisma in public but was highly skilled at behind-the-scenes infighting. Amid fragile coalitions, he was said to have the self-discipline needed to avoid the display of strong feelings, and thus to avoid giving offense. Where other leaders might be incautious about handling loud protest marches in the streets, Mr. Demirel appeared unruffled. “Roads do not wear down by walking,” he said. As the leader of a party that was described as occupying a position in the center-right of the political spectrum, he was regarded as upholding traditional values and believing in private enterprise as a means of achieving economic growth. Those asking for their share of the economic pie, he believed, could be accommodated only if the pie grew larger. The son of a farmer, Mr. Demirel was born in late 1924 in Islamkoy, Turkey. Fond of calling himself a “peasant boy,” he graduated from Istanbul Technical University, where he also received the equivalent of a master’s degree in civil engineering in 1949. That year, he went to the United States for further study of hydraulic engineering with the federal Bureau of Reclamation before taking a leading role on dam projects back home. He returned to the United States five years later as an Eisenhower Exchange Fellow. He later worked in private industry in Turkey for Morrison-Knudsen, an American firm. While he tried to ease tensions between his country and the neighboring Soviet Union, he also indicated his loyalty to the Western camp. Turkey had joined NATO in 1952. In 1966, he welcomed Soviet Premier Alexei Kosygin for a visit. After it was over, he said, “Turkey is sticking with NATO.” His wife, Nazmiye, died in 2013. They had no children, and a complete list of survivors was not immediately available. |