Süleyman Demirel

Presenter(s)

Şükrü Karaoğlu

Abstract or Description

Over the past two years, I have been developing, summarizing, and translating the works, which are about Turkish politics & water development projects, of Süleyman Demirel. I was involved in a broad literature review in both English and Turkish, and helped with study design, writing, editing, and reviewing. Demirel was one of the former presidents of Turkey from 1993 to 2000. He used to be a prime minister and studied previously in United States of the America. I have familial connections. My grandfather used to work under the supervision of Demirel as a water engineer. Although I never met Demirel in person, it is very fascinating to know that my grandfather was an employee and an acquaintance of Demirel. I learned about this fact after I started doing research on Demirel. Being connected to a famous, influential person, especially a president of a country, through family is a privilege and a prestige that not a lot of people have. It is important that I share this privilege with others and explain how my connection to him helped me understand his policies, personality, and life better. I was able to deepen my research by personalizing it even further. The translation I have done became more meaningful to me. I am going to do a presentation on how I am connected to him and relate my research to the experiences of my family with him. As a Turkish citizen and an aspiring social justice activist, I will use my connections to Süleyman Demirel to continue his legacy and restore his ideals based on Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s vision in creating a free, democratic, liberal Turkey that protects the rights and freedoms of all human beings. Walking in his footsteps to make Turkey a better place is one of my life goals.