Erdal Inönü
Encyclopedia
Erdal İnönü was a Turkish
physicist
and politician
. He was the son of Turkey's second president İsmet İnönü
. Leader of the Social Democratic Populist Party
between 1983 and 1993, he served as Deputy Prime Minister in two governments between 1991 and 1993 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs for approximately six months in 1995.
in 1947 and received his PhD
from California Institute of Technology
in 1951. Upon his return to Turkey, İnönü worked at first as assistant professor in Ankara University. Between 1964-1974, he was professor of physics and the first Chairman of the Department of Theoretical Physics at the Middle East Technical University
(1960–1966). He initiated research on neutron transport
during that period. Between 1969-1971, he was the Dean of the university's Faculty of Art and Sciences. He served as president of METU between 1970-1971. In 1974, İnönü moved to Bosphorus University in Istanbul
and lectured there until his venture into politics when he founded the Social Democracy Party (SODEP)
in 1983.
(Halkçı Parti) formed a union, i.e., SHP
. According to consolidation agreement İnönü briefly lost his post. But he became the leader of SHP in May 1986. SHP was one of the parties which weighed the heaviest in Turkey's political scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. İnönü challenged the liberal conservative
party of Turgut Özal
, ANAP
, both in 1987
and 1991
elections. One of the main reasons why SHP could not win an election was the division of the moderate left
votes between SHP and DSP
, the party of the former CHP
leader Bülent Ecevit
. Erdal İnönü was also a member of the Socialist International
. He joined discussions as the Deputy Chairman of the organization.
Erdal İnönü was deputy Prime Minister in the two coalition governments formed between center-right DYP and SHP, which were led by Demirel at first (from 1991 to 1993) and when Demirel became President, by Tansu Çiller, in a unity largely caused by their resentment at the time against the outgoing Motherland Party
.
. He lectured at Sabanci University
and the Feza Gürsey Institute
from 2004 to 2007.
, USA on 31 October 2007, where he was being treated for leukaemia. His body was flown to Turkey and was buried at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery
in İstanbul on 4 November 2007 following a state funeral
held before the building of Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara the previous day and then an Islamic funeral
in the Teşvikiye Mosque
in İstanbul
.
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
and politician
Politician
A politician, political leader, or political figure is an individual who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making...
. He was the son of Turkey's second president İsmet İnönü
Ismet Inönü
Mustafa İsmet İnönü was a Turkish Army General, Prime Minister and the second President of Turkey. In 1938, the Republican People's Party gave him the title of "Milli Şef" .-Family and early life:...
. Leader of the Social Democratic Populist Party
Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey)
The Social Democratic Populist Party was the name of a former Turkish left social-democratic party, which resulted from the fusion, in 1985, of the Social Democracy Party of Erdal İnönü and the People's Party of Aydın Güven Gürkan, both founded in 1983 with the return to democracy after the...
between 1983 and 1993, he served as Deputy Prime Minister in two governments between 1991 and 1993 and as Minister of Foreign Affairs for approximately six months in 1995.
Early life
He graduated from the Physics Department of the Faculty of Sciences of Ankara UniversityAnkara University
Ankara University is a public university in Ankara, the capital city of Turkey. It was the first higher education institution founded in the Turkish Republic....
in 1947 and received his PhD
PHD
PHD may refer to:*Ph.D., a doctorate of philosophy*Ph.D. , a 1980s British group*PHD finger, a protein sequence*PHD Mountain Software, an outdoor clothing and equipment company*PhD Docbook renderer, an XML renderer...
from California Institute of Technology
California Institute of Technology
The California Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Pasadena, California, United States. Caltech has six academic divisions with strong emphases on science and engineering...
in 1951. Upon his return to Turkey, İnönü worked at first as assistant professor in Ankara University. Between 1964-1974, he was professor of physics and the first Chairman of the Department of Theoretical Physics at the Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University
Middle East Technical University is a public technical university located in Ankara, Turkey...
(1960–1966). He initiated research on neutron transport
Neutron transport
Neutron transport is the study of the motions and interactions of neutrons with materials. Nuclear scientists and engineers often need to know where neutrons are in an apparatus, what direction they are going, and how quickly they are moving. It is commonly used to determine the behavior of nuclear...
during that period. Between 1969-1971, he was the Dean of the university's Faculty of Art and Sciences. He served as president of METU between 1970-1971. In 1974, İnönü moved to Bosphorus University in Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
and lectured there until his venture into politics when he founded the Social Democracy Party (SODEP)
SODEP
SODEP is the abbreviation of Social Democracy Party of Turkey which was one of the two main parties of Turkey in early 1980s but later on merged with another party.- Background :...
in 1983.
Political career
Although the military government banned İnönü's party in 1983 elections, SODEP managed to survive and became the second party in 1984 local elections. In November 1985 SODEP and another party named People's PartyPeople's Party (Turkey)
- Background :After the coup of 1980, all political parties were closed by the military rule regardless of their political views, on the 16th of October 1981. In 1983, MGK decided to allow the formation of new parties with severe restrictions...
(Halkçı Parti) formed a union, i.e., SHP
Social Democratic Populist Party (Turkey)
The Social Democratic Populist Party was the name of a former Turkish left social-democratic party, which resulted from the fusion, in 1985, of the Social Democracy Party of Erdal İnönü and the People's Party of Aydın Güven Gürkan, both founded in 1983 with the return to democracy after the...
. According to consolidation agreement İnönü briefly lost his post. But he became the leader of SHP in May 1986. SHP was one of the parties which weighed the heaviest in Turkey's political scene during the late 1980s and early 1990s. İnönü challenged the liberal conservative
Liberal conservatism
Liberal conservatism also known as progressive conservatism is a variant of political conservatism which incorporates liberal elements. As "conservatism" and "liberalism" have had different meanings over time and across countries, the term "liberal conservatism" has been used in quite different...
party of Turgut Özal
Turgut Özal
Halil Turgut Özal was Prime Minister of Turkey and President of Turkey . As Prime Minister, he transformed the economy of Turkey by paving the way for the privatization of many state enterprises.-Early life and career:...
, ANAP
ANAP
ANAP may refer to:*National Association of Small Farmers in Cuba*The Motherland Party of Turkey *Alliance Party for the Sake of Azerbaijan , a political party in Azerbaijan*Afghan National Auxiliary Police...
, both in 1987
Turkish general election, 1987
General elections were held in Turkey on 29 October 1987. This election is important for two events; the Military junta's restrictions on former politicians were lifted so they joined to the political scene again, whilst the Motherland Party retained its majority in the parliament by losing votes...
and 1991
Turkish general election, 1991
General elections were held in Turkey on 20 October 1991. It was the first by the ruling Motherland Party to be contested without its founding leader, Turgut Özal, who had become Turkish president two years previously. The result was a swing against Özal's former party in favour of its fierce...
elections. One of the main reasons why SHP could not win an election was the division of the moderate left
Left-wing politics
In politics, Left, left-wing and leftist generally refer to support for social change to create a more egalitarian society...
votes between SHP and DSP
Democratic Left Party (Turkey)
The Democratic Left Party is a Turkish political party founded on November 14, 1985, by Rahşan Ecevit.-1985-1999:The DSP, a social democratic oriented party, was registered on November 14, 1985 by Rahşan Ecevit, wife of Bülent Ecevit, as he was banned from political life after the 1980 coup...
, the party of the former CHP
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
leader Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
. Erdal İnönü was also a member of the Socialist International
Socialist International
The Socialist International is a worldwide organization of democratic socialist, social democratic and labour political parties. It was formed in 1951.- History :...
. He joined discussions as the Deputy Chairman of the organization.
Erdal İnönü was deputy Prime Minister in the two coalition governments formed between center-right DYP and SHP, which were led by Demirel at first (from 1991 to 1993) and when Demirel became President, by Tansu Çiller, in a unity largely caused by their resentment at the time against the outgoing Motherland Party
Motherland Party (Turkey)
The Motherland Party, was a political party in Turkey. It was founded in 1983 by Turgut Özal. It was merged to Democratic Party in October 2009...
.
Later life
He was the 2004 recipient of the Wigner medal, administered by the Group Theory and Fundamental Physics Foundation, for his contributions to group contractions. İnönü was also known for his work on the history of science in the Republic of Turkey and the Ottoman EmpireOttoman Empire
The Ottoman EmpireIt was usually referred to as the "Ottoman Empire", the "Turkish Empire", the "Ottoman Caliphate" or more commonly "Turkey" by its contemporaries...
. He lectured at Sabanci University
Sabanci University
Sabancı University is a private research institution located in Istanbul, Turkey. Founded in 1996. SU is a small and highly focused university with 2861 undergraduates and 624 graduates, maintaining a strong emphasis on social and natural sciences...
and the Feza Gürsey Institute
Feza Gürsey Institute
Feza Gürsey Institute is a joint institute of Boğaziçi University and TÜBİTAK on physics research, founded in 1983 by Erdal İnönü with the name Research Institute for Basic Sciences. It now continues as the Feza Gürsey Institute, having been renamed in honor of Feza Gürsey, a distinguished...
from 2004 to 2007.
Death
Erdal İnönü died in Houston, TexasHouston, Texas
Houston is the fourth-largest city in the United States, and the largest city in the state of Texas. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 2.1 million people within an area of . Houston is the seat of Harris County and the economic center of , which is the ...
, USA on 31 October 2007, where he was being treated for leukaemia. His body was flown to Turkey and was buried at the Zincirlikuyu Cemetery
Zincirlikuyu Cemetery
The Zincirlikuyu Cemetery is a modern burial ground at the European part of Istanbul, Turkey. It is administered by the Metropolitan Municipality. Many prominent figures from the world of politics, business, sports and arts rest here....
in İstanbul on 4 November 2007 following a state funeral
State funeral
A state funeral is a public funeral ceremony, observing the strict rules of protocol, held to honor heads of state or other important people of national significance. State funerals usually include much pomp and ceremony as well as religious overtones and distinctive elements of military tradition...
held before the building of Turkish Grand National Assembly in Ankara the previous day and then an Islamic funeral
Islamic funeral
Funerals in Islam follow fairly specific rites, though they are subject to regional interpretation and variation in custom. In all cases, however, sharia calls for burial of the body, preceded by a simple ritual involving bathing and shrouding the body, followed by salah...
in the Teşvikiye Mosque
Tesvikiye Mosque
The Teşvikiye Mosque is a neo-baroque structure located in the Teşvikiye neighbourhood of Şişli district in Istanbul, Turkey. It was originally commissioned in 1794 by Sultan Selim III, but most of the current mosque that stands today was completed in 1854 during the reign of Sultan Abdülmecit I...
in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
.