Kemal Dervis: A Life Remembered
Former Turkish Economy Minister Kemal Derviş Passes Away at 74
Kemal Derviş, former Turkish Minister of State for Economy and former CHP Deputy passed away at the age of 74. Derviş, who assumed the post of Minister of State Responsible for the Economy after the 2001 financial crisis, had been receiving treatment in Washington, USA. According to sources, he was struggling with Parkinson’s disease and had been going through an intense illness and treatment process for the last 3 months.
Before his time in politics, Derviş studied economics at METU and Princeton University. He then joined the World Bank in 1977 where he worked for 22 years before being invited to Turkey after two economic crises in 2000 and 2001.
On March 13, 2001, Derviş resigned from his duty at the World Bank to become the Minister of State in Bülent Ecevit’s Government. He resigned from this role in August 2002. Derviş later participated in the founding of the New Turkey Party, but did not join the party himself. He became a deputy candidate from the Republican People’s Party and was elected as an Istanbul deputy in the November 3, 2002 elections. He resigned from his parliamentary position on May 9, 2005, and was appointed as the head of the United Nations Development Programme.
Derviş’s passing marks a significant loss for Turkey, especially in the economic and political fields where he made significant contributions throughout his career.
