İsmail Safa Giray (5 March 1931 – 20 June 2011) was a Turkish

civil engineer A civil engineer is a person who practices civil engineering – the application of planning, designing, constructing, maintaining, and operating infrastructure while protecting the public and environmental health, as well as improving existing i ...

and politician from the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP). He was a member of the

Turkish parliament The Grand National Assembly of Turkey ( tr, ), usually referred to simply as the TBMM or Parliament ( tr, or ''Parlamento''), is the Unicameralism, unicameral Turkey, Turkish legislature. It is the sole body given the legislative prerogatives ...

and served as Minister of Public Works and Housing,http://arama.hurriyet.com.tr/arsivnews.aspx?id=5259289 Minister of National Defense, and

Minister of Foreign Affairs A foreign affairs minister or minister of foreign affairs (less commonly minister for foreign affairs) is generally a cabinet minister in charge of a state's foreign policy and relations. The formal title of the top official varies between coun ...

Early life and education

Safa Giray was born in

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban aggl ...

, Turkey in 1931, as a descendant of the former

Giray Dynasty The House of Giray ( crh3, Geraylar, كرايلر, ota, آل جنكيز, Âl-i Cengiz, lit=Genghisids), also Girays, were the Genghisid/Turkic dynasty that reigned in the Khanate of Crimea from its formation in 1431 until its downfall in 1783. ...

. He graduated in 1954 with a degree from the Faculty of

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

Istanbul Technical University Istanbul Technical University ( tr, İstanbul Teknik Üniversitesi, commonly referred to as ITU or The Technical University) is an international technical university located in Istanbul, Turkey. It is the world's third-oldest technical universit ...

Career

Safa Giray entered politics in 1983 along with

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

from the beginnings of the Motherland Party and was elected into the parliament as an MP from

Balıkesir Province Balıkesir Province ( tr, ) is a province in northwestern Turkey with coastlines on both the Sea of Marmara and the Aegean. Its adjacent provinces are Çanakkale to the west, İzmir to the southwest, Manisa to the south, Kütahya to the southea ...

. He held the office of Minister of Public Works and Settlement (13 December 1983 – 30 March 1989) in two Turgut Özal cabinets, Minister of National Defense (30 March 1989 – 19 October 1990) in the Yıldırım Akbulut cabinet. He resigned from the position because of inter-party and cabinet conflicts. Later, he was appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs (23 June 1991 – 21 November 1991) by Prime minister

Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two p ...

. He left politics in 1999 after 16 years. In 1993, Safa Giray was accused of fraud and misuse of authority during his time of service as Minister of Public Works. He was tried before the

Supreme Court A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...

in conjunction with the awarding of contracts for motorway construction. He was found not guilty and was acquitted on 12 April 1995. Safa Giray died on 20 June 2011 in

Ankara Ankara ( , ; ), historically known as Ancyra and Angora, is the capital of Turkey. Located in the central part of Anatolia, the city has a population of 5.1 million in its urban center and over 5.7 million in Ankara Province, mak ...

and was buried in Gölbaşı Cemetery following a state funeral in front of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey and a funeral service at the

Kocatepe Mosque The Kocatepe Mosque ( tr, Kocatepe Camii) is the largest mosque in Ankara, Turkey. It was built between 1967 and 1987 in the Kocatepe quarter in Kızılay, and its size and prominent situation have made it a landmark that can be seen from almost a ...

References

1931 births 2011 deaths People from İzmir Motherland Party (Turkey) politicians Government ministers of Turkey Ministers of Foreign Affairs of Turkey Ministers of National Defence of Turkey Turkish civil engineers Istanbul Technical University alumni Deputies of Istanbul Deputies of Balıkesir Ministers of Public Works of Turkey Members of the 20th Parliament of Turkey Members of the 45th government of Turkey Members of the 46th government of Turkey Members of the 47th government of Turkey Members of the 48th government of Turkey {{Turkey-politician-stub