Ismail Cem ipeki

İsmail Cem İpekçi was a Turkish centre-leftist politician, intellectual, writer, author and journalist who served as the Minister of Culture of Turkey from July 7 to October 26, 1995, and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkey from June 30, 1997 to July 11, 2002. He was also the founder and leader of the New Turkey Party and the Social Democratic People's Party. İsmail Cem finished high school at Robert College in İstanbul in 1959 and graduated from the Law School at the University of Lausanne, Switzerland in 1963. He had his master's degree in sociology of politics at the École Libre des Sciences Politiques in 1983, Paris, France. He was an exchange student with AFS Intercultural Programs at Piedmont High School, Piedmont California for one year during his high school years after Işık Koleji. Cem was the cousin of murdered liberal-leftist journalist, intellectual and human rights activist Abdi İpekçi, the editor in chief for then centre-leftist Milliyet newspaper. He was also related to the fashion designer Cemil İpekçi. Returning home in 1963, Cem started his professional career as a journalist. He worked in some major newspapers who published articles and became a columnist for Milliyet, Cumhuriyet and Politika, where he served as the editor in chief for the second newspaper from 1964 until 1966. Between 1971 and 1974, he served as the chief of the Istanbul office within the Turkish Newspaper Workers Union. In 1974–1975, he acted as the general manager of the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) under the 37th and 38th governments. Cem entered politics in 1987 as a deputy of Istanbul from the Social Democratic Populist Party (SHP). He was re-elected in 1991 and 1995 from the same party, which later merged with the Republican People's Party (CHP). He served as the Minister of Culture in 1995 under the coalition government of Tansu Çiller. In 1997, he joined the Democratic Left Party (DSP) of Bülent Ecevit and became the Minister of Foreign Affairs. He held this position until 2002, during which he pursued a pro-European and pro-peace foreign policy. He was instrumental in launching the Helsinki process that granted Turkey the status of a candidate country for the European Union membership in 1999. He also initiated the Istanbul Process for a comprehensive settlement of the Cyprus dispute, which led to the Annan Plan in 2004. He was a strong advocate of dialogue and cooperation with Greece, and developed a close friendship with his Greek counterpart George Papandreou. The two men planted an olive tree together in 2000 as a symbol of peace. In 2002, Cem resigned from the DSP and founded the New Turkey Party (YTP), a centrist and liberal party that aimed to attract the urban and educated voters. However, the party failed to pass the 10% electoral threshold in the 2002 general elections and Cem lost his seat in the parliament. He dissolved the YTP in 2004 and established the Social Democratic People's Party (SDHP), which was also unsuccessful in gaining popular support. Cem retired from active politics in 2006 and became the chief advisor to Deniz Baykal, the leader of CHP. He also lectured in Applied Foreign Politics of Turkey at the Istanbul Bilgi University until his death. İsmail Cem was an avid photographer, and held four photo exhibits in his lifetime, and published a book Mevsim, Mevsim (Seasons, Seasons). He also wrote several books on Turkish politics, foreign policy, culture and history, such as Türkiye'nin Sorunları (Turkey's Problems), Türkiye Avrupa Birliği'ne Neden Tam Üye Olmalıdır? (Why Turkey Should Be a Full Member of the European Union?), Türkiye'nin Yeni Ufku (Turkey's New Horizon), Türkiye'nin Bölgesel Güç Olma Stratejisi (Turkey's Strategy to Become a Regional Power), and Türkiye'nin Yakın Tarihi (Turkey's Recent History). İsmail Cem died on 24 January 2007 in İstanbul after suffering for two years from lung cancer. He was interred at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery. Papandreou laid on his grave a branch from the olive tree they both had planted 2000 in Greece as a symbol of peace. He was survived by his wife Elçin Trak, and their two children, İpek Cem Taha and Kerim Cem.