Mesut Yilmaz

Mesut Yilmaz was a Turkish politician who served as the leader of the Motherland Party and the prime minister of Turkey three times in the 1990s. He was born in Istanbul in 1947 and graduated from Ankara University and University of Cologne. He started his political career as a member of parliament from Rize in 1983 and became a minister of state in Turgut Ozal's government. He later served as the minister of culture and tourism and the minister of foreign affairs. He became the leader of the Motherland Party in 1991 and formed his first government, which lasted only five months. He formed his second government in 1996, which also lasted for a short time. His third and longest government was formed in 1997 after the military intervention that ousted Necmettin Erbakan's government. He resigned in 1999 after a corruption scandal involving a bank tender. He continued to lead the Motherland Party until 2002, when he lost his seat in the parliament. He returned to politics in 2007 as an independent member of parliament from Rize. He retired from politics in 2011 and focused on his business and academic activities. He was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2019 and underwent surgery to remove a brain tumor in 2020. He died in Istanbul on October 30, 2020 at the age of 72. He was buried at Kanlıca Cemetery two days later. He was married to Berna Yilmaz and had two sons, Hasan and Yavuz. He was known for his pro-Western and liberal views and his efforts to improve Turkey's relations with the European Union and the United States. He also advocated for a peaceful solution to the Kurdish issue and supported the rights of religious minorities in Turkey. He was a prominent figure in Turkish politics and left a lasting legacy in the Motherland Party and the Turkish society.