Adnan Kahveci (20 February 1949 – 5 February 1993) was a noted Turkish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who served as a key advisor to Prime Minister

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, bureaucrat, engineer and statesman who served as the eighth president of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th prime minister of Turkey from 1983 ...

throughout the 1980s. He was one of the founders in 1983 of the Motherland Party (ANAP) led by Turgut Özal, and later a minister in Özal's government. He died in a car accident in 1993. Prior to his political career in Turkey, Kahveci had led a successful career as an

electrical engineer Electrical engineering is an engineering discipline concerned with the study, design, and application of equipment, devices, and systems that use electricity, electronics, and electromagnetism. It emerged as an identifiable occupation in the l ...

and academic in the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, having done his studies in

Purdue University Purdue University is a Public university#United States, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in West Lafayette, Indiana, United States, and the flagship campus of the Purdue University system. The university was founded ...

and having risen to become a professor at the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

Background

He was born in

Sürmene Sürmene (; , ''Sourmena''; , romanized as ''Sürmena e') is a municipality and district of Trabzon Province, Turkey. Its area is 166 km2, and its population is 25,950 (2022). In ancient times the town of Hyssus or Hyssos () was nearby. The ...

Trabzon Province Trabzon Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province and Metropolitan municipalities in Turkey, metropolitan municipality of Turkey on the Black Sea coast. Its area is 4,628 km2, and its population is 818,023 (2022). Located in a strategic ...

in 1949. Adnan Kahveci was recognized very early as a

child prodigy A child prodigy is, technically, a child under the age of 10 who produces meaningful work in some domain at the level of an adult expert. The term is also applied more broadly to describe young people who are extraordinarily talented in some f ...

, having come first in a nationwide exam organized by the newspaper ''

Milliyet ''Milliyet'' ( Turkish for "''nationality''") is a daily newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. History and profile ''Milliyet'' came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950 ...

'' among primary school students in 1961, in the entry exams for the select Kabataş High School in 1966, in another nationwide exam organized this time by the newspaper ''

Hürriyet ''Hürriyet'' (, ''Liberty'') is a major List of newspapers in Turkey, Turkish newspaper, founded in 1948. it had the highest circulation of any newspaper in Turkey at around 319,000. ''Hürriyet'' combines entertainment with news coverage and ...

'' and among high school students, in the nationwide university entry exams in 1966 and in

Istanbul University Istanbul University, also known as University of Istanbul (), is a Public university, public research university located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded by Mehmed II on May 30, 1453, a day after Fall of Constantinople, the conquest of Constantinop ...

scholarship exams. He pursued his studies in electrical engineering in Purdue University in the United States and obtained his

doctorate A doctorate (from Latin ''doctor'', meaning "teacher") or doctoral degree is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities and some other educational institutions, derived from the ancient formalism '' licentia docendi'' ("licence to teach ...

from University of Missouri where he went on to become a professor. After his return to Turkey, he was, for a time in the academic staff of

Boğaziçi University Boğaziçi University (Turkish language, Turkish: ''Boğaziçi Üniversitesi''), also known as Bosphorus University, is a Public university, public research university in Istanbul, Turkey, historically tied to a former American educational insti ...

Political career

In the early 1980s Kahveci was "chef de cabinet" (chief of staff) to Prime Minister

, becoming, in the words of ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'', "the main link between Ozal and the outside world, including local politicians and civil servants, the military, as well as Western journalists and foreign investors."

, 9 February 1993
Obituary: Adnan Kahveci
/ref> When Özal broke with the military in 1982, Kahveci supported his creation of the ANAP (''Motherland Party''), and would have stood in the 1983 elections if he had not been banned by the military. He became Özal's chief advisor, and entered Parliament in the 1987 elections. He then served for three terms, and was

Minister of State Minister of state is a designation for a government minister, with varying meanings in different jurisdictions. In a number of European countries, the title is given as an honorific conferring a higher rank, often bestowed upon senior minister ...

responsible, notably, for the

Turkish Radio and Television Corporation The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT; Turkish: ) is the national public broadcasting, public broadcaster of Turkey, founded in 1964. TRT was for many years the only television and radio broadcaster in Turkey. Before the introductio ...

(TRT) as well as

Minister of Finance A ministry of finance is a ministry or other government agency in charge of government finance, fiscal policy, and financial regulation. It is headed by a finance minister, an executive or cabinet position . A ministry of finance's portfolio ...

(1990 - 1991). Under his tenure, TRT slowly and through equivocal means ceased to be the single TV network in Turkey's media, as private networks were increasingly tolerated and then legalised. As minister and previously advisor to Özal, Kahveci played a catalytic role in many of the key steps taken by ANAP in the eighties, including shaping Turkey's first privatisations. He also followed up allegations of corruption, arranging for a minister who had accepted a pay-off for contracting a shipment of oil to be taped during the conversation on the transaction, and bringing the recording to Özal. Both in office and during the short subsequent period he spent as a member of the opposition after the 1991 elections, he was widely recognized as a maverick deputy, who spoke his mind irrespective of the party line. Prior to his death, Kahveci was working with Özal on the Kurdish question, and wrote a report urging a peaceful solution, including recognition of the

Kurdish language Kurdish (, , ) is a Northwestern Iranian languages, Northwestern Iranian language or dialect continuum, group of languages spoken by Kurds in the region of Kurdistan, namely in southeast Turkish Kurdistan, Turkey, northern Iraqi Kurdistan, Ira ...

. According to the autobiography of

Sakıp Sabancı Sakıp Sabancı (7 April 1933 – 10 April 2004) was a Turkish business tycoon and philanthropist. Biography He was the second son of a cotton trader and worked in his father's business without completing high school. He was the head of Turkey's ...

, Özal had also entrusted Kahveci with the issue of potentially reserving seats in Parliament for minorities (an idea Sabancı had urged Özal to take up).Rıfat N. Bali (2012),
Model Citizens of the State: The Jews of Turkey During the Multi-Party Period
', Lexington Books. p445

Death

Kahveci died in a car accident in

Gerede Gerede is a town in Bolu Province in the Black Sea region of Turkey. It is located on the highway from Istanbul to Ankara (approximately from Ankara, where the road to the Black Sea coast branches off). It is the seat of Gerede District.

on 5 February 1993, together with his wife and daughter.

References

Books

Sources

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kahveci, Adnan 1949 births 1993 deaths People from Sürmene Motherland Party (Turkey) politicians Ministers of finance of Turkey Turkish electrical engineers Purdue University College of Engineering alumni Kabataş Erkek Lisesi alumni University of Missouri faculty Academic staff of Boğaziçi University Road incident deaths in Turkey Deputies of Istanbul Ministers of customs and trade of Turkey Members of the 46th government of Turkey Members of the 47th government of Turkey Members of the 48th government of Turkey Ministers of state of Turkey