Suleyman Demirel

Süleyman Demirel (born November 1 1924) was the Prime Minister (1965-1971, 1975-1978, 1979-1980, 1991-1993) and the President of Turkey from 1993 to 2000.

Demirel was born in Islamköy and studied civil engineering at Istanbul Technical University. He began his first government in 1965, and during the 1970s he controlled the government of Turkey, but in 1980 he was overthrown by a military coup d'etat headed by Kenan Evren, who became Turkey's president. Demirel was banned from politics in Turkey until the Constitution of 1982 permitted him to return. Nine years later, he was elected again as Prime Minister, and at the end of his fourth government, he won the presidential elections of 1993, becoming the 9th President of Turkey.

Demirel's period as President ended on May 16, 2000, when he was succeeded by Ahmet Necdet Sezer.