Ahmet Piriştina (8 April 1952 – 15 June 2004) was a Turkish politician who was Mayor of

İzmir İzmir ( , ; ), also spelled Izmir, is a metropolitan city in the western extremity of Anatolia, capital of the province of the same name. It is the third most populous city in Turkey, after Istanbul and Ankara and the second largest urban agglo ...

from 1999 to 2004. He was of

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

descent. Piriştina was born in İzmir,

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a list of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolia, Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with ...

. He was elected as Mayor of İzmir in two consecutive elections, in 1999 and 2004. As mayor he became known in Izmir for keeping his electoral promises and being an honest politician. He died of a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

at the age of 52. Mayor Piriştina's image was draped by Izmir residents over buildings, monuments, boats and buses, while over a million people attended his funeral. "In Izmir, the metropolis on the Aegean coast, Mayor Priştina died suddenly at the age of fifty-two following a massive heart attack. An entire city-its buildings, busses, boats, and monuments-were all draped with the photos of the late mayor. A crowd estimated in excess of one million attended his funeral. What was the reason behind the affection of the people for this son of Albanian immigrants. First, as a mayor, he has done something quite unusual for a politician: he had delivered on his promises. Second, he displayed an even more unusual characteristic: he was honest."

Political life

During his terms of office he launched many projects to resolve the structural problems of İzmir and protect İzmir's natural resources and cultural heritage. Some examples of his achievements are: * İzmir Port Area Urban Design International Ideas Competition: The aim of this competition was to encourage new ideas for the development of urban areas and the architectural character of the İzmir port area, and, following this competition, construct a new city centre in the port area of an international repute. * Channel Project: The aim of this project was to collect the domestic and industrial waste water throughout İzmir and, after purification, to discharge them to the

Gulf of İzmir The Gulf of İzmir ( tr, İzmir Körfezi), formerly known as the Gulf of Smyrna, is a gulf on the Aegean Sea, with its inlet between the Karaburun Peninsula and the mainland area of Foça. It is in length by in breadth, with an excellent anchor ...

, the biggest natural gulf of Turkey. This project resulted in a reduction in the pollution levels of the Gulf. * Parks and gardens: Mr Piriştina created of open spaces. He also grassed over street refuges and viaducts and not only doubled the area of open spaces but also improved their appearance. * Metro Project: He constructed the

İzmir Metro İzmir Metro ( tr, İzmir Metrosu) is a metro system in İzmir, Turkey that is in the process of being extended with new stations being put in service. The current system, consisting of one line, starts from Fahrettin Altay station Göztepe in th ...

to reduce traffic congestion. With its high technology and coordination, the İzmir Metro System became an important model for many developed countries. * Car Park Project: Rapid immigration resulted in a spate of unplanned and chaotic construction, accompanied by a decline in open spaces and car parking lots. Such a one process, local administrations experience difficulties in finding corresponding places for increasing access needs, and come across with high costs. Despite these problems, the İzmir Metropolitan Government created new areas to meet the requirements for car parking. * The Project of Protecting Water Sources: While providing a reliable water supply to İzmir, he was setting workers to resolve firmly to protect existent water sources for ensuring high quality and healthy water to İzmir. Besides of these, Piriştina entrenched and safeguarded the dam of Tahtalı and its basin. Tahtalı barrage is important for İzmir because it makes up the shortage in water supply to the city. * Parent House of İzmir: Among the buildings constructed during the period of İzmir’s Republic, Fire Department Building had a privilege. Because of this concession, Mr. Piriştina restored this building and made it Parent House of İzmir. * Museums in İzmir: Ahmet Piriştina constructed a culture park for historical artifacts (stone, ceramic and precious works of art). This museum contains many precious works covering several civilisations.

References

External links

* Who is who database
''Biography of Ahmet Piriştina''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Piristina, Ahmet 1952 births 2004 deaths People from İzmir Turkish people of Albanian descent Mayors of İzmir Republican People's Party (Turkey) politicians Members of the 20th Parliament of Turkey