Yildirim Akbulut

Yıldırım Akbulut was a Turkish politician who served as the 20th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1989 to 1991. He was also the leader of the Motherland Party (ANAP) and twice the Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. He was a lawyer by profession and one of the founding members of the ANAP in 1983. He entered Parliament in the 1983 general election and became the Minister of the Interior under Prime Minister and ANAP leader Turgut Özal in 1984. He served as the Minister of the Interior until 1987, when he was elected as the Speaker of the Parliament. He held this position until 1989, when Özal was elected as the 8th President of Turkey. Özal chose Akbulut as his successor as Prime Minister, leading him to be elected ANAP leader and taking office as the Prime Minister. He was widely regarded as a 'puppet' of President Özal, who was accused of interfering in the government affairs despite his ceremonial and impartial position. He faced several challenges during his premiership, such as the Kurdish refugee crisis following the First Gulf War, the ethnic Turkish Bulgarian exodus due to an assimilation policy, and the economic recession. He was defeated in the 1991 ANAP leadership primaries by Mesut Yılmaz and subsequently left office. In 1999, he was elected for a second time as the Speaker of the Parliament, a position he held until 2000. He retired from politics in 2007 and died in 2021 from COVID-19 at the age of 85. He was buried at the State Cemetery in Ankara. He was married to Saime Akbulut and had three children. He was known for his modesty, honesty, and loyalty to his party and his country.