Mehmet Recai Kutan (5 April 1930 – 7 October 2024) was a Turkish politician who was the leader of the

Felicity Party The Felicity Party (, SAADET) is an Islamism, Islamist Turkey, Turkish political party. It was founded in 2001, and mainly supported by conservative Muslims in Turkey. It was founded on 20 July 2001 after the Virtue Party (Turkey), Virtue Party ...

(SP).

Life and career

Kutan graduated from ITU obtaining a degree in

civil engineering Civil engineering is a regulation and licensure in engineering, professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads ...

in 1952. Until 1973, he worked as an engineer in various projects including the GAP. His political career started 1973 in MSP and after 1983 he served in

Welfare Party The Welfare Party (, RP) was an Islamist political party in Turkey. It was founded by Ali Türkmen, Ahmet Tekdal, and Necmettin Erbakan in Ankara in 1983 as heir to two earlier parties, National Order Party (MNP) and National Salvation Party ...

. He was minister of energy in 1996 in a coalition led by Refah Party. At the 3rd party congress held on 26 October 2008 in

Ankara Ankara is the capital city of Turkey and List of national capitals by area, the largest capital by area in the world. Located in the Central Anatolia Region, central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5,290,822 in its urban center ( ...

, he did not run for re-election as the leader of the SP, and was succeeded by

Numan Kurtulmuş Numan Kurtulmuş (born 15 September 1959) is a Turkish politician and academic who is currently the speaker of the Grand National Assembly. He served as Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey in the 62nd, 63rd, 64th and 65th AKP governments between ...

in the post. He was a member of the

İsmailağa İsmailağa Jamaah or İsmail Ağa Jamaah (; Ottoman Turkish: اسماعیل آغا جماعتی) is a branch of ''the :tr:Gümüşhanevî Dergâhı, Gümüşhanevî Dargah, Dergâh of Nakşibendi-Khalidiyya, Khālidī Ṭarīqah'' (List of Sufi ...

, a Turkish

sufi Sufism ( or ) is a mysticism, mystic body of religious practice found within Islam which is characterized by a focus on Islamic Tazkiyah, purification, spirituality, ritualism, and Asceticism#Islam, asceticism. Practitioners of Sufism are r ...

stic community of the

Naqshbandi Naqshbandi (Persian: نقشبندیه) is a major Sufi order within Sunni Islam, named after its 14th-century founder, Baha' al-Din Naqshband. Practitioners, known as Naqshbandis, trace their spiritual lineage (silsila) directly to the Prophet ...

tariqah A ''tariqa'' () is a religious order of Sufism, or specifically a concept for the mystical teaching and spiritual practices of such an order with the aim of seeking , which translates as "ultimate truth". A tariqa has a (guide) who plays the r ...

. Kutan died on 7 October 2024, at the age of 94. He was buried at Karşıyaka Cemetery in Ankara.

References

Sources

Biography

External links

* 1930 births 2024 deaths 20th-century Turkish engineers People from Malatya National Salvation Party politicians Welfare Party politicians Virtue Party politicians Felicity Party politicians Government ministers of Turkey Leaders of political parties in Turkey Istanbul Technical University alumni Leaders of the opposition (Turkey) Deputies of Malatya Ministers of energy and natural resources of Turkey Members of the 21st Parliament of Turkey Members of the 20th Parliament of Turkey Naqshbandi order Turkish civil engineers Burials at Karşıyaka Cemetery, Ankara {{Turkey-politician-stub