İmren Aykut (born 1940) is a Turkish female economist, trade unionist, politician and former government minister.

Early years

Aykut was born to Evket Şadi and his wife Emine in Kozan,

Adana Adana (; ; ) is a major city in southern Turkey. It is situated on the Seyhan River, inland from the Mediterranean Sea. The administrative seat of Adana Province, Adana province, it has a population of 2.26 million. Adana lies in the heart ...

, Turkey in 1940. She finished the primary education st Atatürk Elementary School, and the middle education at Adana Girls' High School. She studied at the Faculty of Economics in

Istanbul University , image = Istanbul_University_logo.svg , image_size = 200px , latin_name = Universitas Istanbulensis , motto = tr, Tarihten Geleceğe Bilim Köprüsü , mottoeng = Science Bridge from Past to the Future , established = 1453 1846 1933 ...

graduating in 1964. Aykut specialized in "Employer-Employee relations", "

Industrial relations Industrial relations or employment relations is the multidisciplinary academic field that studies the employment relationship; that is, the complex interrelations between employers and employees, labor/trade unions, employer organizations, ...

" and

Trade unionism A trade union (labor union in American English), often simply referred to as a union, is an organization of workers intent on "maintaining or improving the conditions of their employment", ch. I such as attaining better wages and benefits ( ...

at the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

in England. She completed a programme on "Executive Participation of Workers" at the

University of Oslo The University of Oslo ( no, Universitetet i Oslo; la, Universitas Osloensis) is a public research university located in Oslo, Norway. It is the highest ranked and oldest university in Norway. It is consistently ranked among the top universit ...

in Norway. She also conducted research on "Arbitration and Mediation" in the United States, "Structure of Workers' Unions and Training of Workers" in England. Further, she carried out various researches and studies at the Confederation of Union and the Department of Labour in the United Kingdom. She received a

PhD PHD or PhD may refer to: * Doctor of Philosophy (PhD), an academic qualification Entertainment * '' PhD: Phantasy Degree'', a Korean comic series * ''Piled Higher and Deeper'', a web comic * Ph.D. (band), a 1980s British group ** Ph.D. (Ph.D. albu ...

degree from Istanbul University with her thesis "Exchange Rates for Workers (outside Turkey) and Its Analysis from the View of Turkish Economy".

Professional career

Aykut served in two trade unions as department manager for

collective bargaining Collective bargaining is a process of negotiation between employers and a group of employees aimed at agreements to regulate working salaries, working conditions, benefits, and other aspects of workers' compensation and rights for workers. The i ...

and research between 1964 and 1975, as industrial relations specialist at Şişecam from 1975 to 1976, and secretary general of the Trade Union of Paper Industry Employer between 1976-1983.

In politics

Ayjut was appointed member of the Advisory Parliament of Turkey in 1981. She was among the charter members of the

Nationalist Democracy Party Nationalist Democracy Party ( tr, Milliyetçi Demokrasi Partisi, MDP) was a former political party in Turkey. Background About one year after the coup of 1980, all political parties were closed by the military regime, or the so-called National ...

(MDP) in 1983. After the party's dissolution in 1986, she joined the Motherland Party (ANAP). She was elected to the parliament in the general elections of

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1991 File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

as deputy from

Istanbul Istanbul ( , ; tr, İstanbul ), formerly known as Constantinople ( grc-gre, Κωνσταντινούπολις; la, Constantinopolis), is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, serving as the country's economic, ...

and

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shootin ...

from

. She served as Minister of Labour and Social Security in the cabinets of

Turgut Özal Halil Turgut Özal (; 13 October 192717 April 1993) was a Turkish politician, who served as the 8th President of Turkey from 1989 to 1993. He previously served as the 26th Prime Minister of Turkey from 1983 to 1989 as the leader of the Mothe ...

and

Yıldırım Akbulut Yıldırım Akbulut (; 2 September 1935 – 14 April 2021) was a Turkish people, Turkish politician, who was a leader of the Anavatan Partisi, Motherland Party (ANAP), the List of Prime Ministers of Turkey, Prime Minister of Turkey, and twice the ...

from 21 December 1987 to 23 June 1991. Her next appointment as minister was State Minister in two cabinets of

Mesut Yılmaz Ahmet Mesut Yılmaz () (6 November 1947 – 30 October 2020) was a Turkish politician. He was the leader of the Motherland Party ( tr, Anavatan Partisi, ANAP) from 1991 to 2002, and served three times as Prime Minister of Turkey. His first two p ...

at the 48th and 53rd governments. Aykut was appointed Minister of Environment and Urban Planning in the Cabinet of Mesut Yılmaz on 23 June 1991. Her term ended on 20 November 1991. She is the first ever Turkish female government minister, who came to this position after entering the parliament by general election.

References