Former Turkish Minister Kemal Derviş Dies at age 68
Former Minister of State and United Nations Secretary-General, Kemal Derviş, passed away at the age of 74. Derviş had served as State Minister responsible for the Economy in the Bülent Ecevit Government in 2001. Following the news of Derviş’s death, former Economy Minister Masum Türker made statements regarding Derviş’s lifetime achievements and political contributions. According to Türker, Derviş played an important role in starting the left-of-centre movement in Turkey and turned to the democratic left. He later became the World Bank’s vice-president for developing countries such as Egypt, Algeria, and Albania.
After the February crisis in Turkey, Derviş was invited to the Presidency of the Central Bank to manage all economic matters in Turkey, responsible for the Central Bank and the Treasury. He controlled Turkey’s economy in the right direction during the globalization process, enabling the liberal economy to be formed at a desired size. He dealt with the design of Turkey’s politics and joined the CHP. He would have been responsible for the economy and foreign affairs if the AK Party-CHP coalition had formed.
Derviş’s father was Turkish, and his mother was German. He received his undergraduate and graduate education at the London School of Economics (LSE) and his doctorate at Princeton University. After teaching economics at METU and Princeton University between 1973-77, he entered the World Bank in 1978. In 1996, he was promoted to vice president responsible for the Middle East and North Africa in this institution.
He became involved in Turkish politics after two financial crises in November 2000 and February 2001. He disagreed with the Deputy Prime Minister, Devlet Bahçeli, and resigned from his duty in August 2002. He participated in the founding of the New Turkey Party but did not join this party and became a deputy candidate from the Republican People’s Party. In the November 3, 2002 elections, he was elected as Istanbul deputy from the CHP in the Turkish general elections. In 2005, he handed over the head position of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) to the former prime minister of New Zealand, Helen Clark.
Kemal Derviş’s contributions to the country’s economy and politics will be remembered by many for years to come.
